In the past, the fishing season at the coast was assumed to start in August, but more and more boats are now hard at it in July, and even a few trips in June can be productive, with the weather not really a deterrent. Skipper Callum Looman in Tarka is usually the first into action, with a couple of sail, followed by two black marlin  in early July, while Angus Paul in Neptune and Pete Darnborough in Alleycat were soon into marlin and sail. By end July, Unreel, B's Nest and Snowgoose were also all catching sailfish, with most of the action on the Watamu Banks, live-baiting with frigate mackerel and kawa kawa. Good sized wahoo and giant trevally were also around, while schoolie yellowfin and kingfish were also plentiful. July is fast becoming a fishing month of choice by those experienced anglers who are not put off by windy weather and some rough days - indeed the latter afternoons are often best for marlin!

August started rather quietly, with marlin seen finning on the Banks but not so many being caught, though this changed mid-month with five marlin caught in a day between the Watamu boats on the 18th. Malindi boats found sailfish close to port during the month, early for these and much closer to home for them. Sailfish were also around on the Banks, plus all the usual smaller fish, though a 44.5 kg wahoo on Ol Jogi is hardly 'small'! Marlin were also caught and more lost at Shimoni, both black and striped, an early start for this area.

September saw the tourist numbers dropping, with boats reporting fewer trips as the holiday season ended. Peter Hoffman  went to the North Kenya Banks in Neptune to find plenty of yellowfin up to 38.5 kgs but a rough wet ride. Alleycat on the Banks had a black of 185 kgs for Justin Brown and his brother from Florida, the biggest so far this season. Well known actor and film maker Robson Green tagged and released a nice 140kg black marlin on B's Nest, a good advert for the country in his TV fishing features, while marlin were caught not only on the Banks, but up at Malindi among the sailfish, to add a spot of variety. The annual wahoo run on the Banks was in full swing later in the month, with Ol Jogi catching eight one day, while north of Malindi Neptune saw eight kingfish simultaneously attacking a yellowfin tuna on the line - a sight never seen before by skipper Angus Paul in his many years at sea, nor probably by anyone else! The annual Latham Island tournament in Tanzania was fished at the end of the month, with Watamu boats scooping the top three places - Tarka with a hundred school size yellowfin the first day and sixty the second being the winners. Plenty of sashimi for Dar-es-Salaam! While on the return trip up north, four boats found a broadbill swordfish fishing lures at night, to indicate these fish are probably all along the coast, if one looks for them. Simba, from Watamu, went to Kiwayu with Garry and Gai Cullen and Richard Baudry to try for early sailfish on fly, and were rewarded with eight sail on the long wands in their first three days.

October usually sees the start of the main sailfish season off Malindi, but it was slow this year initially till into the second week when Tina found a lot of fish straight out from Malindi, finishing with five sail on a short day and thereafter boats were flying five red flags or more daily.  The Malindi Festival, now renamed the 'Herbie Paul International' was appropriately won by Neptune, skippered by Herbie's son Angus Paul, who with Richie Moller and Russell Brumby tagged ten sail over the two days. At Watamu, ten minutes from the harbour in 'Sail Alley', Tony Prior in White Bear found himself facing a multiple strike with five sail leaping in all directions all over the ocean! With help from the crew, three were tagged.     

November started with the heavy rains in October easing off, but there was still plenty of dirty green water around. Fishing further out can be one answer, and skipper Adam Ogden in his Black Widow tried for broadbill thirty miles out from Kilifi for the DuPlessis brothers from Dubai, two experienced skippers themselves with both of them catching their first 'broadie'.

The fishing at Kiwaiyu was not as good as last year, but boats started raising sail off Malindi  and the annual Driftwood Extravaganza went well, with nine teams teams from South Africa catching forty sail over four days, but the fish could be difficult on flat calm days and Watamu boats resorted to leaving the grounds earlier to try deep jigging en route home, catching amberjack, grouper and snapper. Business was slow at Shimoni, but the boats that did go out caught the odd marlin and sail, as well as a 13.5 kg longtail tuna, rare here and thought to be the first ever caught in that area. At Mtwapa the annual 'Eye Go Fishing' tournament was won by the team on Nala, with five sail and a wahoo, while the amateur stream gave Matamu first place with a stripey and a sail. The Capt. Morgan competition at Hemingways averaged about two sail a day per boat, after last years amazing twelve fish per day, but the winning team had fifteen sail in their four days - good enough for most!

December is usually peak time for sail at Malindi, and so it proved this year. The wind which had changed to the kusi, the NE wind, in earlier November had been swinging around but settled to blow well, and by mid month boats were catching up to ten sail a day and this improved by the Christmas period. Earlier in the month the fishing at Kiwaiyu was great, Snowgoose having eighteen sail on the first day of their trip up there, and fifteen the second day while Little Toot tagged four on fly. Watamu boats were finding fish in the Leopard Reef and Boiling Pot areas, much closer to home for them, but trips to the Rips were quiet. Interestingly, these areas started to produce striped marlin late in the month and by the Watamu Xmas comp marlin were widespread, Blue Eyes with the Parkinson family taking top honours with a striped and a black marlin and several sailfish over the two days. Boxing day saw a Kid's comp at Ocean Sports, with the winners on Neptune tagging fifteen sail and back by midday - tough kids! At Kilifi the Xmas Hamper was won by Tarka with nine sail, ahead of Delta with seven sail. At Shimoni, sailfish were dominant with boats catching up to half a dozen a day, but the marlin were slow.

January saw amazing fishing around Malindi and Watamu, with all three species of marlin and sail all over the different areas. Super and grand slams became common, while Tina had seven stripeys in a day, a record for the north coast - but this was beaten a few days later when Snark caught eight with Peter Boke - yes, striped marlin, not sail! The Casino Malindi tournament found sixteen boats catching forty-four marlin over the two days, Alleycat winning with five marlin just ahead of Instedda, with the same number. Gai Cullen on Simba caught a striped marlin on fly, a first for ladies in our waters, while other boats were coming in with five, six, seven and once eight marlin on Clueless to make this probably the best marlin month ever in the area. Marlin were caught in good numbers around Mombasa and down in the Pemba Channel also, Kamara II scoring eleven marlin in four days and Inca four stripeys and a sail in the day.

February was almost as good, tho' calm weather slowed things down on some days, but mention must be made of Con Jooste's grand slam of a broadbill, a marlin and a sail on fly in the one trip - a first anywhere! The Malindi International was won by Tarka with four stripeys, all caught on the first day. With quiet weather and a change in the current, the billfish were found much further offshore, up to forty miles from the coast, following the warmer water gyres. The Kilifi Classic was won by Simba, with three marlin and six sail as the month ended, but a run of wahoo added variety to the fishing, Snark catching twenty-eight one day for those wanting a rest from the billfish!

March marked the Watamu Fly 540 tournament, twenty marlin and sixty eight sail being tagged between the sixteen boats competing. Black Widow won, with two stripeys, four sail and a 194 kg black marlin which died on the line weighed in ahead of Tega which had three stripeys and four sail, looking well ahead on the first day but unable to score much the second day. The Hemingways 'Friends of Kenya' tournament followed a couple of days later, with the team on White Mischief came home having tagged a blue and four striped marlin and two broadbill for the 34 hours fishing marathon. Second was Gai Cullen on Seastorm, with a black marlin on fly, scoring treble points, again her first after her recent stripey. Ed Ghaui on B's Nest caught a broadbill on fly to join a select club of less than half a dozen anglers in the world to achieve this. Good fishing continued throughout March with some big fish being caught, Eclare weighing a blue marlin of 779 lbs which died on the line, while Alleycat released another huge blue estimated at 800 lbs.

With over a hundred marlin to their credit, skipper Callum Looman (112) and Angus Paul (102) both established new records for the north coast, and without doubt this has been the best ever season for marlin in these northern waters.