
Special delivery: Sign up for the free Marlin email newsletter. Subscribe to Marlin magazine and get a year of highly collectible, keepsake editions – plus access to the digital edition and archives.
On February 14, shortly after 7 in the morning, Sirai Sea, a Viking 38 with Capt. Alex Haller at the helm, slipped her mooring at Watamu, Kenya. Cautiously she made her way through the narrow gap in the reef. Upon reaching open water, Haller opened the throttle and headed almost due east into the rising sun. In the cockpit, the crew, Sammy and Ricky Yongo, Fondo Kitsao and Garama Bongo, prepared the rods for fishing. Meanwhile, the day’s clients, Martin Clark, Chris Chapman and Dave Holland, quietly watched the crew. The three men had traveled to East Africa to experience the amazing bluewater fishing for which this region is rightly famous.
By Kenyan standards, the fishing during the previous couple of days had been slow. Having considered his options, Haller decided to head 30 miles offshore to fish the Vipingo Sea Mounts. Shortly after clearing the reef, the crew deployed a mixed spread of lures and baits, and it wasn’t long before they raised a sailfish. They hooked the fish and released it at approximately 8 a.m. When they resumed trolling, they raised an estimated 110-pound blue marlin, which piled on a lure and was released at 8:45 a.m. It was the best possible start to a day, but things were about to get even better for Sirai Sea’s team.
As they continued heading offshore, barely an hour had passed when a hot striped marlin appeared in the spread. The fish, estimated at around 70 pounds, was hooked with a pitch bait, and the day’s third billfish release was logged at 10:08 a.m. In just three hours of fishing, Sirai Sea had already achieved a grand slam. With seven hours left to fish, the crew started to ponder the prospects of raising their grand slam to a super slam with a swordfish.

East Africa, and Kenya in particular, is one of the most productive areas anywhere in the world for swordfish, the vast majority of which are caught at night while slow-trolling strip baits rigged with light sticks. The crew had the necessary heavy weights and tackle, so they decided to test their luck.
Fishing in 1,700 feet of water is never easy, especially without the luxury of an electric reel. Even so, the crew aboard Sirai Sea rigged and deployed the necessary baits and just 30 minutes later had a bite. Slowly the fish was hand-cranked up through the water column, no easy feat, especially under a hot equatorial sun. The fish eventually provided a stunning display of jumps at the surface. Just 40 minutes after hookup, the crew successfully boated the 110-pound sword. With their super slam achieved, of course they had to try to go one step further and attempt one of bluewater angling’s rarest feats: a billfish fantasy slam. For this, Sirai Sea needed a black marlin, the marlin species that under normal conditions is the most consistent to target in these waters.

Slams 101
It had always been my understanding that for various slams to be recognized by the IGFA, all relevant species must be caught during a single calendar day and in accordance with IGFA rules. It is not necessary to kill fish. In fact, the IGFA encourages catch-and-release. Assuming a boat leaves the dock at 7 a.m., they have until 11:59 p.m. that same day to catch all five species. Looking for absolute clarity on the parameters, I contacted Zack Bellapigna, angler recognition manager at the IGFA, who confirmed this but also provided some additional surprising information. “Unfortunately, the IGFA no longer recognizes boat slams where multiple anglers participate in the capture of the required fish,” Bellapigna states. “To qualify for any IGFA slam, the species must be caught by a single angler.” This single-angler requirement was news to me.
Since the organization only recognizes slams caught by an individual, the 2024 IGFA World Record Game Fishes book lists just two anglers who have achieved an IGFA billfish fantasy slam. Most other recorded fantasy slams are “boat slams,” or five species of billfish caught aboard a boat, but not necessarily by the same angler. Although the IGFA may not recognize them officially, I think we can all agree that these slams are incredible achievements for all involved and worthy of recognition.
The first fantasy slam recorded by the IGFA was achieved in Venezuela in 1997 by Hank Manley, who caught a swordfish, a blue marlin, a white marlin, a sailfish and a spearfish while fishing the famed La Guaira Bank aboard Escapade. The only other individual angler to have achieved this incredible feat is Robert Ruwitch, who also fished at La Guaira. Ruwitch, a die-hard billfish angler and tournament competitor, had spent several seasons fishing Venezuela aboard his own globe-trotting boat, Sharkey’s Revenge.

In mid-December 2004 with Capt. Bubba Carter at the helm, the crew aboard Sharkey’s Revenge had been enjoying several days of stellar fishing, having already recorded multiple catches of various species of billfish, including several grand slams. On December 14, their first bite of the day was a white marlin, ironically the species they had needed the previous day to have gotten their third grand slam that day. A short while later, their second fish looked to be another white marlin. Just as they were getting ready to release it, the mate confirmed it was instead a spearfish, Ruwitch’s first. Their next bite was a sailfish. At this point, they considered the prospects of a super slam. Carter moved the boat into deeper water, looking for a blue, and they soon got a bite. The fish stayed deep and didn’t jump, but just as they had hoped, it turned out to be a blue. It wasn’t even midday, and their super slam was in the bag.
All they needed now to complete a fantasy slam was a broadbill swordfish, but they didn’t have suitable tackle aboard to deep-drop. Carter got on the VHF and secured a pair of 80s and some swordfish baits, along with several rocks from the beach to serve as weights. Then, they ran back to the bank and dropped a bait, and the first bite didn’t take long. With nearly all the line off the spool, and no braid backing, it was a long crank to work the fish up to the surface. The fish weighed only about 25 pounds, but it was a swordfish. It was approximately 2 p.m. when they started heading back to the marina with the fantasy slam accomplished.

Chasing the Fantasy
Along with Venezuela, Kenya is one of just a few destinations in the world where catching five species of billfish during a single trip has been recorded. East Africa’s first was in March 2005 aboard Simba with Capt. Mark Allen. A second was caught in February 2009 aboard Unreel with Capt. Rob Hellier, and the third was clinched aboard Tega with Capt. Steve George. There have also been several fantasy slams recorded along the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, including Full Pull in August 2016 out of Virginia Beach and then No Quarter just a few weeks later fishing out of Ocean City, Maryland.
But where else, aside from the notable hotspots of Kenya and Venezuela, could consistently provide anglers with a shot at the fantasy slam? I have long thought that the Dominican Republic might be a contender. A noted destination for white and blue marlin, the DR also produces good sailfish numbers at certain times of the year. In addition, spearfish have been caught, as have swordfish.

Capt. Tim Richardson spends several months each year fishing out of both Marina Cap Cana and Casa de Campo while running his boat Tradition. When asked if the DR might one day produce a fantasy slam, Richardson says, “I’ve caught several grand slams fishing the DR with blues, whites and sailfish. Swordfish are certainly possible, and I have caught them there on numerous occasions. There are also spearfish, but I have never caught one in my nearly 800 days of fishing there. I think most reported spears are actually tiny blues or whites with juvenile dorsal fins. Yes, there have been a few real spearfish caught in the DR, but most I think are misidentified.”
Now for the big question, which, again, I posed to Richardson: Is it feasible to leave the dock with the day’s primary intention being to catch a fantasy slam? “Everything has to align early in the day to make this possible,” Richardson states. “It’s a luck thing more than anything. If you can target the others after a lucky spear, it might be possible. But I don’t know if it’s something you can ever plan for when leaving the dock, regardless of where you’re fishing.”

I put the same question to Hellier, who achieved a boat fantasy slam in Kenya in 2009. “When there are plenty of fish about, it’s often in the back of my mind,” Hellier says with a chuckle. “Typically, we might fish a couple smaller baits and lures on our way offshore to try and get a sailfish and striped marlin. Blacks seem to be more active later in the day, so if we do catch a blue, we might head in a little earlier to look for the black. If you can get live bait, as Sirai Sea did for their slam, then all well and good, but otherwise we troll the black marlin areas on the way in. We had a day last year when we caught a blue and striped marlin and a sailfish, but the sea was rough, and we had already told the client to forget fishing for a swordfish, as we wouldn’t stay out. Then we hooked a black marlin that came off after six or seven jumps. I might have changed my mind had we gotten it!”

Fantasy Becomes Reality
Back to that Valentine’s Day earlier this year in Kenya. The East African sport-fishing community is a very close-knit group. Captains willingly share information, usually over an ice-cold Tusker lager or two at the end of the day. Word of the incredible fishing that Sirai Sea had experienced so far that day spread quickly throughout the fleet. Two of the local captains, Hellier aboard Unreel and Callum Loomis aboard Tarka, contacted Haller with the news that just the previous day they had each found black marlin on the banks off Watamu.
Like black marlin everywhere, a well-presented live bait will often invoke a strike from a black off Kenya. As Sirai Sea headed back inshore, the crew fished for live bait, which they caught and subsequently rigged and deployed. At 4:30 p.m., a bait was taken, and just ten minutes later, the crew released an estimated 200-pound black marlin. The first ever boat fantasy slam recorded in Kenya during a standard 10-hour daylight trip had been achieved.

A Breakdown of Billfish Slams
The IGFA recognizes several types of slams that require the capture of a collection of species in a given amount of time. In the mid-2010s, the IGFA discontinued acknowledging boat slams and only recognizes slams achieved by individual anglers. Listed here is some additional terminology on how slams are categorized.
- Grand slam: Catching three different species of billfish in one calendar day
- Super grand slam: Catching four different species of billfish in one calendar day
- Fantasy slam: Catching five different species of billfish in one calendar day
- Royal slam: Catching all species of billfish (nine species as required by the IGFA) over the course of a lifetime
- Individual slam: A slam caught by a single angler
- Boat slam: A slam caught by a combination of anglers aboard one vessel