The parade of bright, warm and sunny “Bermudaful” days has definitely started and with it has come the return to summer pastimes. The commercial and charter fishing operators have been getting into the swing of things with some notable successes and with the result that much of the local market has already become saturated with wahoo.

While that poses a conundrum for the commercial boat, it can be viewed as a real opportunity for the weekender, and even the charter operators sees this as a drawing card for customers. There are not too many places or times anywhere in the sportfishing world that can pretty much guarantee some action from a species that is sleek, strong and every bit a desirable game fish.

Trolling is the tactic of choice, with the downriggers proving to be the real advantage. Darker colours may have a slight advantage, but just about any properly rigged bait will get strikes. Be prepared for multiple strikes, even if it is a single fish that steals one bait, only to turn back and have a crack at another. For this reason, it pays to check your baits regularly, especially after a cutaway. The one you see may not be the only one; so be warned.

There have been some yellowfin tuna around and some have even taken trolled baits. Although most have been concentrating on the wahoo bite, there is probably some value in setting a naturally rigged bait to run a long way back from an outrigger. It is often this sort of “afterthought” that elicits a bite from a marauding tuna. Wahoo will take them as well, but, well, maybe, it is the idea of the bait being a bit of a straggler that gets the tuna’s attention.

With the weatherman suggesting a bit of chop on the water this week, this may be an indication that the wahoo fishing will be close to its best. Thus far, there have been some great catches, with the fish really showing some quality. And, for some reason, a bit of wave action often livens up the fish and the number of strikes increases. Suggestions as to the reasons for this range from the rougher conditions making it harder for the fish to see the hooks in the baits (unlikely, given that a fish that can easily move at 40mph can give a bait trolled at eight knots a pretty good lookover) to the possibility of a relationship between changes in barometric pressure affecting fish activity. In any case, there is the distinct possibility that the trolling may be red hot over the next few days.

It is not only wahoo that should be expected. It is already established that there are blue marlin out there and that should mean that there are some white marlin around as well. Unlike the larger variety, whites often run with schools of wahoo and other fish that tend to favour the edge of the drop-off. For this reason, many are hooked on baits intended for wahoo that are fished along the 30 to 50-fathom curve.

Working the deep water will still be a bit hit-and-miss, as the big blues are continuing to arrive in the region. This coincides nicely with the expected arrival of several of the big North American sportfishing boats over the next week or so. Once these visitors start putting in directed effort, it will become readily apparent how abundant the blues are. For most local boats, they will be more of a surprise hook-up because the emphasis will continue to be on the wahoo and tuna.

Tomorrow should welcome the first of the inter-club tournaments, with the Bermuda Fishing Clubs Annual Tournament slated to take place. In this event, each recognised angling club are allowed to enter three teams of up to four anglers each.

Although the emphasis is on light-tackle fishing, there is a quirk to this event that is not found in any other. The line-class awards are for the total number of points scored on any one of the recognised line classes. So, rather than individual fish winning the various categories, each line class will have the club scoring the most points in that line class declared the winner. The exceptions are for the overall high point fish and the high point boat.

There is also a mechanism for scoring points by releasing tuna and billfish so that a successful team may not actually bring many fish to the dock, which helps conservation while keeping alive the competitive nature of the tournament.

The weigh-in will take place at Spanish Point Boat Club after the cessation of fishing at 3pm. Members of the public are welcome.

The rest of the focus of the boating fraternity will be on the coming weekend, when summer celebrations become the norm. Expect heavy boat traffic in the Great Sound, in and around the islands and off the more sheltered beaches.

This is the time of year when it pays to exhibit a bit of courtesy and, even if it does get on your “last nerve”, to err on the side of safety. With all the picnickers, swimmers and party people, these are not areas for any sort of fishing. Put bluntly, any attempt to do so is likely to end up with a very wrong sort of Tight Lines!!!