This could be the weekend that you have been waiting for! The forecast is for the sort of seas that encourage amateurs, the days are long and there is no doubt among the cognoscenti that the season is into full swing.

Do not be in any doubt that there are fish out there. Thus far, it is the inconsistency of results, along with the rather blustery weather, that has kept even the commercial operators from fully exploiting the offshore situation. Just because things have not been blatantly apparent does not mean that they are not occurring.

The wahoo are the mainstay and, therefore, the principal target of most anglers at this time of the year. This is a strategy well worth staying with because, despite the inconsistency for individual boats, the overall picture is nothing short of excellent. Boats have managed to catch 20-plus in a single day and, although very few have been able to replicate this feat on consecutive days, other boats have enjoyed similar results.

Capt Craigin Curtis’s Reel Addiction took a party bunch out last Saturday to brave the grouchy conditions all the way down to Argus and they were rewarded with five nice wahoo, to about 50lbs, and a solo dolphin. There were a number of missed strikes, including a couple that had all the hallmarks of something larger than what had already been boated.

Take into account that last Saturday may have been the windiest day of last weekend. It was a mite “grouchy” out there and most boats stayed ashore. A day or two previously, Capt Alan Card’s Challenger had caught something like 20 wahoo. To prove the inconsistent nature of the offshore scene, Challenger caught only one the next day with another boat collecting the same number. This gives new meaning to “on again, off again”.

But, as always, there are exceptions to the rule. This time, it is Capt James Robinson’s Wound Up. This successful craft has landed a total of 83 wahoo in just three days. It does seem that there is some knack, or maybe just magic, to picking those days. Certainly, the locations varied almost as much as they could. On the Friday, this was the boat that managed the 20 on Challenger Bank. On Monday, Bermuda’s Edge offered up 11, Challenger just a singleton and then Argus paid off with another 24! Skipping a day led to Wound Up going back to work the Edge on Wednesday and coming up with 27!

What is equally remarkable is the quality of these schooling fish. Of course, the question could be: is it the school or are there schools? Depending on how they actually move, does a huge school move into the area and then break up into smaller groups to pursue the bait, or are all the wahoo we see part of a whole host of fish spread out over many square miles?

In any event, whether it is a large group or a consolidation of many smaller groups, the fish seem to have been feeding really well. They are in excellent condition and fully capable of putting up a good fight on suitable tackle. The average size has to be close to 40lbs, with some fish going considerably larger. Some in the 70 and 80lb bracket have been caught and there have been very few reports of anything resembling “lizards”, which is the disparaging epithet applied to fish less than 20lbs. As a result of this quality, the larger hauls have accounted, literally, for thousands of pounds of fresh prime wahoo hitting the market all at once.

Market conditions sometimes force commercial operators to start looking for alternative species, but that should not deter the weekender from seeking his share of the bounty. This may not require going miles offshore because, as results have shown, just working the Edge can be productive and, truth to tell, anything more than a couple of wahoo is more than most occasional fishermen can store. After all, 40 or 50lbs of fish is a mighty supply. With such abundance, after securing something for the freezer, many sportsmen will be looking to achieve their catches on lighter lines.

With that in mind, there is some evidence that there are yellowfin tuna out there in some numbers. Although not readily taking trolled baits, but occasionally doing so, expect the odd tuna or dolphin to be on the end of a strike. Billfish, of both the white and blue varieties are very real possibilities, particularly if the rigs are left out while traversing the deep.

One boat that found acceptable chumming conditions, absent for the past week or so, managed to catch five yellowfin tuna, ranging up to about 50lbs. Working a bit shallower should produce blackfin tuna and smaller game such as rainbow runner and mackerel. It is still a bit early for barracuda to pose a nuisance, although there will be robins and jacks that offer live-bait alternatives.

Plenty of opportunities and to put things into perspective: the first of the big inter-club tournaments is set for next week and almost the whole of “boating Bermuda” will want to be on the water the weekend after. Then the month swiftly turns into June and, rather than wondering where the spring has gone, it is far better to take advantage of the fish on the move and to venture offshore for some Tight Lines!!!