Winter is over, according to the local fishing calendar and it is now formally tournament season. That may have been in doubt this week, but now the bluster has gone out of the weather and boats have been able to start concentrating on the offshore scene.

It takes a certain amount of effort to provide an accurate picture of the Banks and other fishing spots that the work of a single boat is unlikely to uncover. Such information is needed, especially for the amateurs who have only a day or so a week to dedicate to their piscatorial pursuits.

Although the blue water has been only slightly worked recently, there have been plenty of signs that the wahoo are out there and are willing to please. At least one boat has recently posted double figures with a nice average size of the fish at somewhere better than 30lbs. Obviously, some will be smaller but a good few are likely to be larger at this time of the year before the ten to 20-pounders become the summertime norm.

The tuna, particularly of the yellowfin variety, seem to be keeping a low profile, although, to be fair, they are normally more associated with June than May. It usually takes the weather to settle down and for the tides around the Banks to be reliable for the serious chumming to begin.

While fish on the move will take trolled offerings, tuna are often a mite finicky and so, if they are the target species, it is usually necessary to carry a couple of naturally rigged baits way back in the spread.

Small game should be getting on for abundant, with mackerel (or false albacore) providing a ready source of bait for cut-up or, if their size allows, a live offering. Robins will please in the chum and there should be lots of rainbow runners around as well.

Inshore, there are plenty of schools of jacks around, as evidenced by the success had by some of the net fishermen who are now doing a roaring trade in jacks along the roadside. Trolling small feathers or silvery spoons often get results and mackerel travelling often with schools of jacks means that every so often they will beat the jacks to the lure, so the results may surprise. There will be plenty of improving action over the next few weeks.

Meanwhile, we all wait with bated breath for the start of July and the marlin tournaments that make that month so exciting. We really need to take a second and comprehend a return to reality. While there has been some first-class marlin action here over the past 15 to 20 years, there are few who would deny that the past couple of years have shown signs of slowing up.

An ever-increasing percentage of white marlin have figured in the tournament standings and, while there are some big fish taken, the general feeling is that they are not as large as they used to be.

Such trends are not new; nor are they unlikely. For various reasons, possibly related to changes in oceanic conditions or the movements of tuna and other “bait” species, the billfish alter their migratory patterns, often perplexing those of us who pursue them.

Witness the huge success and sudden demise of Madeira that became the mecca for giant fish and then fizzled out almost entirely within a few years. It would be presumptuous to think that the same could not happen here.

The reason for raising this possibility is not to suggest that the locally based tournaments will fizzle out this year or the next, but to bring attention to a hot spot that has finally realised its potential after several years of being just “off the map”.

This is Cape Verde (not really a cape but actually a group of ten islands, about 300 miles off the coast of North Africa). Formerly a Portuguese colony, this developing country is working on expanding tourism and has been blessed seemingly with one of the keys to upper-crust tourism — great billfishing.

The recent reports from Capt Ron Fields and his mate, Tyler Princinsky, who fished the Bermuda tournaments last season, on board Big Oh, fishing Cape Verde at present are nothing short of astonishing.

A quick summary would run something like this: in four weeks of fishing, with the odd day off, there are 123 blue marlin releases with double figures raised every day, making for something like 200 raised. Triples and double-headers pretty common, with the fish probably averaging about 250lbs with some larger but no real giants yet. There are also some white marlin, spearfish and even swordfish. The sea conditions have been calm and the fishing grounds are a 30-minute run from the dock. Does that sound like something approaching billfish heaven?

One advantage, of course, is the number of boats working there, which, at the moment, is very small. Increased effort will probably initially produce more fish but then become counterproductive, particularly if the preferred grounds are limited. One thing that is sure: there is something about isolated island pinnacles that attract blue marlin.

Most of the world’s better blue-water bottoms are associated with such features and, happily, Bermuda is one of those. Assuming all goes well and there is no reason why it should not, the next few months should provide locals and visitors with a plethora of Tight Lines!!!