Well, there may be old wives’ tales that deals with March’s relationship to lions and lambs, but some of the days this past week have been absolutely ideal for offshore fishing; with one small caveat, the lack of fish.

It just isn’t happening yet. Boats going out and doing the trolling thing are managing to catch a few wahoo and, although the average size is quite rewarding, the numbers have a good way to go to justify most weekenders’ time and fuel. Chumming has turned up a few tuna, but the commercial operators are pretty much sticking to the tedious but profitable working of the bottom and trying to wring the last few weeks out of the lobster season.

Whether the dearth of fish this winter is a hangover from the absolutely dire situation that characterised last year, or merely a minor delay in the start of what should be an entirely new season, this new season has every sign that it will be similar to normal years.

Having said that, what is a “normal” year? Well, most years have shown a pattern to which anglers and tournament organisers have become accustomed. This pattern was also the basis for much of the angling-related tourism efforts.

The season regularly kicked off with a wahoo run. This spring run, generally considered to be minor as compared with the autumnal major run, was touted as taking place in early May. If the truth be known, the actual run has occurred as early as late February, quite often in March and fairly reliably in April. Some of this would carry over to the better weather conditions available in May; hence the concentration on that aspect of the event.

Also linked to the spring was the movement inshore of grey snapper and bonefish. While the former really do show something of a migratory pattern between the reef areas and the inshore waters, the latter are actually present all year round on the flats and grassy areas. Years ago, when they were a preferred target species, the winter months were enough to discourage anglers from even trying to wet a line in wind and rain, so again the focus on late April and May because the conditions usually markedly improved.

As the weather and sea settled down and the summer progressed, so did the conditions become more amenable to chumming. The prevalence of yellowfin tuna, little tunny (mackerel), blackfin tuna and the occasional skipjack tuna made such angling a reliable method and it was this that, in large part, built Bermuda’s name as a light-tackle destination.

Things such as barracuda, robins and lesser jack species would round out enough action to satisfy most anglers and guarantee happy charters. Reef fishing was a bit of a euphemism for when it might be a little too rough to make it to the Banks or the Edge, but a little closer to home would allow anglers to experience something very similar to the real thing.

It was acknowledged that billfish were most often encountered during July and August, but with the chumming being the dominant form of fishing, it was many years before there was any focus on these.

Late summer was recognised as a slow period: the heat was enough to discourage casual anglers as well as the fish. But this gave way to the autumnal wahoo run and the often coincidental arrival of “frigate” mackerel. This gala would draw the angling year to a glorious conclusion before the weather again became a significant factor.

So where do we stand right now? Quite obviously, the spring wahoo run has not yet commenced, although it could at any time. This will bear close scrutiny because it is often very short-lived and, if it coincides with a bout of poor weather, it can slide by unnoticed.

One promising sign is an increase in the number of mackerel offshore. Although they are considerably larger than the so-called “frigate” mackerel, these can be used as live baits and are probably one of the mainstays in the wahoo’s diet.

While working the offshore is the simplest way of ascertaining the abundance of fish out there, it should be remembered that mackerel often invade inshore waters at this time of the year, as they are likely to accompany schools of jacks. You will know when these have arrived because there will be a resounding clap of thunder and the water along a shoreline will turn into a turmoil of snow as hundreds of jacks, maybe more, devastate some bed of bait. The giveaway is frequently the characteristic driving wakes of the mackerel that follow the main body of jacks and indulge themselves in the feeding frenzy wrought by the large school. Basically, when there are lots of mackerel around, some come inshore.

They probably originate out in the deeper ocean waters somewhere and it is the overflow, as it were, that comes into the harbours and bays. Their inshore presence strongly suggests that there are good numbers offshore.

Something else worth watching for at this time of the year, particularly on those really calm days, are signs of bait inshore.

Although they can be very subtle, there are clues such as a heron staying at a single location on the rocky shoreline as if waiting for something, which it probably is; or something such as the high tide that will lead to a bed of fry or anchovy moving in.

The early spring is a good time to stockpile some bait, which will be required in a short while for some of the summertime Tight Lines!!!