After an unlikely but positively springlike interlude, Nature reverted to her normal self and the howling winds, grey skies and cooler temperatures have prevailed this past week.

A bit of rough weather is actually welcome, as it aids the offshore mixing process, which, in turn, gives stimulus to the various chemical and biological processes that make for a productive ocean. Less than obvious around this Island, it still plays an important role in ensuring conditions that will be conducive to bait fish and their predators as the year progresses.

And while all that continues, we still have some gorgeous days during the winter that simply cry out for a boat trip out to the deep water. Despite all the angling articles, magazines and television programmes, there really are not too many other places in this world that allow us to have a shot at recognised game fish throughout the year. With a bit of careful planning, there are some good times to be had, particularly now that the days are growing noticeably longer.

Working against this is that boaters observing the bays and waters immediately surrounding their boats and moorings will have been dismayed at the amount of rich, brown seaweed that is hugging the shoreline.

The fairly obvious conclusion is: if there is that much in here then there must be a whole ocean full of it offshore. That, in and of itself, is enough to dissuade anyone from grabbing a bag of garfish and heading out to the Edge for a quick troll.

Do not be deterred! Strange as it may seem, the deep blue offshore is relatively free of the seaweed, although there are a few patches where there is a fairly heavy concentration of the nasty stuff. These, though, can be easily avoided and need not trouble the careful troller.

After what appeared to be an incredibly slow start to the winter season, there is just now a bit more activity that could augur well. Fishermen and anglers with good memories will remember those years when the winter wahoo action was nothing short of incredible, with the average size of the fish being upwards of 40lbs!

Although the recent weather has precluded much in the way of blue-water activity, boats making it offshore over the past week or so have been rewarded with small mixed bags consisting of wahoo and yellowfin tuna.

The latter are generally thought of as a tropical species, but they are found in a fairly wide range of temperatures with mid-60F being acceptable, and that is probably what the offshore surface waters are around now.

Most of the tuna being caught are schoolies in the 15lb to 25lb range, but there have been a few larger specimens taken off the East End. These fish have inhaled trolled offerings, but one must suspect that they will respond to chum, given respectable conditions. Such a technique would be likely to attract the larger fish along with the apparently resident blackfin tuna that are to be found here all year round.

So far, the wahoo have been consistent in size, but that is not necessarily good news. Twenty to 25lbs or so seems to be the norm. This is a bit on the small size for winter fish that are usually thought to be 10lbs more, on average, and better. This seems to be a holdover from last year when even the autumnal run failed to materialise and the wahoo on tap were smaller than expected.

The key here is that things can change very quickly and there may well be some larger fish down on the Banks. What it needs is for some effort to be put in; then, if it gets results, the effort will increase exponentially, with more and larger fish being brought ashore.

A little experimentation can also pay off. It is no secret that the deep water around the Island holds swordfish in reasonable numbers and, while drifting, even during the daylight hours, with a few lines set at between 100 and 300 metres may not be everyone’s cup of tea, it has been shown in Florida and elsewhere to be an effective means of hooking into the mighty sword-bearer.

Long regarded as a great game fish, in recent years the opportunities to catch such a fish on sporting tackle have become few and far between, but it is clear that this is one of the places where you can have a reasonable shot at a fish that will give a great account of itself on even heavy tackle and then will provide some of the most delightful fish steaks that the sea has to offer.

Actually, devoting a couple of hours drifting in the deep off or between the Banks is a good way of conserving fuel and soaking up some rare winter sun. Chumming out in “never, never land” may also produce surprises: there are also large numbers of albacore known to frequent this region during the winter months but that get a free ride largely because local methods simply do not work the water 100ft or more below the surface.

Perhaps surprisingly, for a tuna species, albacore prefer cooler waters and all our methods are aimed at the warmer-water-loving species.

Like all the other members of the tuna clan, though, albacore are powerful swimmers and always up to a challenge. And a challenge they may very well be, as they are both a highly desirable species and one fully capable of a performance that will ensure Tight Lines!!!