Baloo wins Kilulu Charity tournament at Mtwapa

Mtwapa is the scene of many competitions, some of them raising money for good causes -in November it was for the Kwale Eye Centre, which does such good work for those with vision problems, and now it is the turn of the Kilulu Home for old people.

Baloo, a Mtwapa charter boat, was the winner, with Harmuth Keiper and Wieland Urban from Germany catching a sailfish, two dorado and a barega (a small kingfish species) to score 154 pts. Close on their heels, local father and son team, Nigel and Kyle Spencer, also had a sail, a dorado and a barracuda, fishing in their Sesse canoe Tengesi for 149 pts - who says small boats can’t do well in tournaments!

Centa was third, with Thornton and Haller family members fishing, while the young Thorntons, Hallers and Spencers took all the Junior Angler awards!

An easterly wind made the fishing difficult, it always does! but previously in the Friends Trophy competition at Mtwapa the top three boats, Samvuke, Smuggler and Vuma all caught black marlin, while Sue Lawrence-Brown on her husband’s charter boat Kipapa, released a sailfish, her first in fourteen years fishing, to win the Ladies Prize - very satisfying!

At Malindi/Watamu, the marlin are still there, but few tourists to go out fishing. Batian Craig skipper on Eclare, went out for an afternoon on AlleyCat with skipper Peter Darnborough, and released a black marlin, which, ironically, puts the latter boat ahead of his own in the seasonal tally! The same boat had another black the previous day, while Castle Lager weighed in a black marlin of 76 kgs on Saturday, when AlleyCat only managed to release a sail and a silvertip shark.

A good shower of rain on Saturday, the first for three months, helped relieve the humidity, and the wind is still veering in different directions, but with excellent fishing conditions it is a pity there are not more fishermen about to take advantage of all the marlin providing such good sport. Perhaps the Easter holiday will liven things up.