The weather has improved over the last ten days, with gentler winds and plenty of sunshine, but overall activity has been quiet with fewer anglers booking than usual at this time of the year, while marlin and sailfish have been harder to find.

One area proved very active, with Neptune finding plenty of sailfish in the Boiling Pot, a very rough patch of water on the south-eastern corner of the Banks, where currents meet and turbulent waves pound the boat from all directions. Greg Mutch is a regular angler, and was rewarded with thirteen sailfish in an afternoon after a quiet morning on the Banks at the beginning of last week, then had two later days with seven and eleven sail in the same area, also releasing some nice giant trevally around 25 kgs. Gerald and Tom Taylor fishing with Andrew Belcher and family also found  sail in the same boat, catching five.

Several trips further north from Malindi have seen good shoals of yellowfin tuna, with  Tina, Eclare and Snowgoose having days with up to 18 yellowfin, several of the fish over 20 kgs, but often it is too windy to fish this area which can get rough as the wind gets up and the Banks off Watamu is the only option. Watamu boats have been catching yellowfin, with wahoo and kingfish and some giant trevally, but the sailfish have been quiet in this area, and marlin, while around, have failed to get hooked up successfully.

From Shimoni skipper Simon Hemphill reports a client coming at this time of year especially to try for a short-billed spearfish, a very rare species in most Kenyan waters. He was rewarded with two which were duly tagged and released - a lucky optimist as most skippers have never seen a spearfish!

Capt. Andy's have launched a new website www.captandyskenya.com - of interest to all fishermen and boat enthusiasts, put this on your favourites list. They are also planning courses for skippers specially designed for local conditions, a very necessary detail as at present, anyone can drive a boat out into the open ocean, even taking paying passengers, with little or no experience.

KASA, the Kenya Association of Sea Anglers, are holding their annual trophy dinner on Friday September 10th at the La Marina restaurant at Mtwapa. The annual prizes and trophies are for boat skippers with the most sailfish and marlin and various species, with separate classes for professional and private boats, and the biggest fish of various species caught during the year. The are also prizes for young and lady anglers, boat catch of the year and for photos to be submitted.

All claims for these prizes to be submitted to Capt Andy's before Sept.6th, so if you feel entitled get your claim in now!