We have moved into September now, and it is in the middle of this month when the weather usually changes with warmer temperatures and calmer seas, but so far the wind has continued to blow strongly. making for those choppy days, particularly in the afternoons, when billfish seem to come up to the surface to feed.

So it was not surprising to see Alleycat come in on Wednesday with two black  marlin flags, one fish of 77kgs which had swallowed the hook and was badly injured so it was boated, and the second which was released, a slightly bigger fish. Tarka had returned a little earlier with a black marlin and two sail flags, so good fishing there, and obviously the marlin run is still going well, and the boats are also catching a lot of wahoo up to the 20kg mark.

The wahoo run generally peaks in October, and bigger yellowfin tuna also can be expected so good portents for the next couple of months, although the hotels are beginning to empty after the August season, so not so many anglers to be found now.

Unreel, with skipper Rob Hellier, has also been busy in the marlin bonanza, and with regular overseas angler Phil Rivett soon found a black marlin on his first trip soon after arrival - Phil has won many tournaments here over recent years and releases all his fish. Vuma, famous charter boat formerly owned by veteran James Adcock at Mtwapa, and now chartering at Watamu started her season well with a couple of sailfish and a good yellowfin of 15kgs, while both the Hemingways boats in action scored a pair of sailfish, B’s Nest with anglers Ian Carling and K,Sprules and Ol Jogi with the Jonathon Topping family.

Malindi boats have been in action, and Neptune, recently launched with her new Perkins engines, christened them with a black marlin, while Eclare found at least three sailfish on four consecutive days, amongst them a great day with Peter Wahl, the editor of Global Angler, a well known German fishing magazine, who also managed to take some amazing action shots. In the seven days he and his friends fished they caught twelve sailfish, and a great variety of other fish, giant trevally, wahoo, kingfish, barracuda and tuna, although he had no luck with the marlin.

Young Alister Paul is only six years old, and out with his dad Angus on a trial run in Neptune, he hooked and landed his first sailfish on his own, unassisted - quite a feat at that age! However, ringing the bell at the fishing club to celebrate, meant drinks all round - on Dad!

Even on quiet days there is much to see at sea, the sea birds, giant whale sharks, huge and harmless, the biggest fish in the ocean, and as a  special treat humpback whales, which are usually around at this time of year. Skipper Howard Lawrence -Brown in his Kipapa has been lucky enough to show all these to recent clients, as well as on two separate occasions with young anglers, catching a turtle! This is a rare occurrence, usually on a multi-hooked Rappala which hooks into the turtle’s shell as it swims across a line, by mistake - but one has to fight the turtle to the boat to remove the hooks, as to cut the line with a length of line dangling behind would be certain death eventually for the turtle. And they are very, very, strong and hard work to bring in - but happily, once released they swim away strongly, unharmed.