Between the rather blustery weather earlier in the week and the Good Friday holiday, there hasn’t been much in the way of fishing effort expended but that is probably just the calm before the storm.

Improving weather and a reduction in familial duties will see the weekenders starting to get their boats over and out onto the briny.

After all, May, the recognised start of the Bermuda fishing season is merely days away!

The wahoo bite has taken on that “on again, off again” look. A good day can be followed by a day with absolutely no strikes even in the same area so productive the day before.

The eastern side of Challenger had some promise but it appears that the fish have moved on before the heavier weather kept explorations to a minimum. Now, it looks like the warmer weather experienced back in February and March and the seemingly winterless conditions have conspired to undo what the legal system has sought to protect.

For many years now, protection has been afforded the red hind. A popular food species, the red hind is a smaller member of the grouper family but has many of the attributes of various rockfish and groupers which are now either completely protected or so thin on the ground as to hardly ever be caught.

The seasonally protected areas, an advancement on the old “hind grounds” close off large portions of the inner bottom out to Bermuda’s Edge during the months of May through August.

The reason for this is that, as the name suggests, the hinds and other groupers form spawning aggregations at certain places at certain times of the year.

At these spots, there are large numbers of the fish there and, once discovered, they are easy prey to just about any fishing method. Naturally catching a lot of any species at the time when they are supposed to be laying their eggs is a sure-fire recipe for disaster and that is something that pretty much plagues the grouper species throughout the tropical world. It wasn’t just Bermuda fishermen who learned the where and when and then caught great numbers of fish, ultimately reducing the population for the future. Other factors were involved but fishing the spawning aggregations is a major one.

In any case, the spring like conditions have led some red hinds to believe that it is getting to be that time and it has been discovered that there are good numbers of hinds already populating the areas that will be closed to fishing in a little over a week.

The fish have also proven to be quite willing to take hooked baits and, perhaps best of all, the fish are of good size. Maybe, the bigger ones get to the aggregation spots sooner than the little ones. It is funny to think of red hinds that seem a bit ungainly migrating any distance but studies have proven beyond doubt that they do move all over Bermuda’s bottom.

For the next few days at least, fishing in those areas is likely to produce some nice hinds.

Hinds do grow big here, although people tend to exaggerate weights. In most places a seven or eight pound hind is a real trophy. In fact, the IGFA all-tackle record is an 8lb 7 oz fish caught off Florida. Here, they have been caught to at least 20 pounds, making a mockery of the existing record. Should you want to have a go at setting a new world mark, remember that you have to use tackle that meets with the IGFA requirements (numbers of hooks and so on) and that the fish has to be caught unaided. Nothing too difficult if you put your mind to it; but, then again, when bottom fishing, game fish and records are not what you have in mind. Although some amateurs and some of the commercial operators have been taking advantage of this unseasonable bonanza, thus far, there have been no reports of hinds carrying large roes.

This may be reflective of the fact that the actual spawning period is some time away (when the areas would be closed). There is also the fact that red hinds undergo sex changes during their lifespan.

They start off first as females although it might take them a few years to mature. When they reach a certain size (this is not known and may result from other factors as well), they turn into males.

So, the rule of thumb is that the really big red hinds are males and the smaller to middle size ones are the females. Bottom line: it takes two to tango and removal of large numbers of just small ones or just large ones (the usual method preferred by fishermen) is going to have a negative effect on the population in long term. In case you feel a bit guilty about taking advantage of this situation, just remember you have less than a week to go and there is a minimum legal size of 14 inches.

Those looking for something a bit different can try to take on a thrilling challenge without venturing offshore. There have been sightings of a small school of tarpon in Mill’s Creek.

Although there have always been some of these fish here, they remain rather cryptic until the late summer months when they follow the schools of blue fry in off the South Shore through Ferry Reach.

There have been some large specimens caught over the years but very little effort has gone into catching them as they tend to be released after all.

The school in question seems to consist of about six fish in the 20lb range. While not giants, there is enough junk, moorings and natural obstruction in the Creek to make catching anything a real feat of Tight lines!!!