Summer is unequivocally here — the inshore waters will be hectic as many will be taking their first dip overboard and the raft-ups approach awesome. Picnicking and boating is the name of the game this weekend and fishing tends to take a bit of a backseat as the holiday festivities and family responsibilities are dragged front and centre.

As the excitement starts to subside, attention will again shift to the offshore which has continued to be as sporty as one could imagine. Part of the problem is that some days things are good enough to justify a return trip to the deep water and the latter may prove disappointing. It is almost that you have to go if you don’t want to miss out. Slow days resulting in a very limited number of strikes can be followed by hauls of a dozen or more.

Almost proving the power of the press: shearwaters were mentioned last weekend, these have now shown up on the Banks along with other species all of which are constantly hunting for the schools of bait which seem to magically appear from nowhere and, equally as magically, disappear for days at a time.

There is no doubt that there are tuna on the Banks, both blackfin and the more sought-after yellowfin. Many of the fish are schools sized in the 15lb to 25lb range but some considerably larger individuals can be seen roiling on the surface from time to time. Strong tides may be helping to confuse the issue but these will eventually settle down and, hopefully, that will make the fish a bit more receptive to traditional chumming.

There is small game to be had: mackerel, Almaco jacks and the odd barracuda. The latter will increase in numbers as the summer progresses and variety should improve as well as rainbow runners become more common.

The deep water is already producing marlin bites. Captain Kevin Winter’s Playmate, boated a blue in the 400lb range last week after the fish got tail-wrapped and went done and died. That was number three for the season and it won’t be long before the boats that devote themselves to the pursuit of billfish start racking up the numbers as they concentrate their efforts on these species.

Last Sunday, the Bermuda Fishing Clubs Annual Tournament enjoyed a calm, sunny day that made for wonderful fishing conditions but, once again, the fish pretty much decided to take the day off. Although the competition was stiff, everyone agreed that getting a bite was hard work; whether the modus operandi was chumming at anchor, drifting or trolling.

This tournament is unlike any of the others fished during the year because it is based on the aggregate points scored on the recognized line tests by the clubs’ anglers. So, while a single fish may win some accolades, it is more the common effort that wins the awards.

With the fishing being very slow, it was somewhat surprising that the fish brought to the weighstation included blackfin tuna, yellowfin tuna, wahoo, dolphin and Almaco jack. When the weights were converted to points using the factor system, which favours lighter tackle, the honours were well spread.

The 8lb test and 12lb test classes were won by the Bermuda Anglers Club; Sea Horse Anglers Club won the 16lb test class and Blue Waters Anglers Club won the 20lb test class. The overall winning team was Sea Horse Anglers Club with a total of 789 points scored from their two boats that weighed in. These were Playmate, with 303 points, and Captain Peter Rans’s Overproof, with 486 points. The High Point Angler award went to Wayne Correia whose 32.2lb wahoo on 16lb test provided a good deal of the points that made Sea Horse the top team.

Next weekend sees the first of the major tournaments, the Bacardi Fishing tournament. This is one of the Island’s most popular summertime events and usually draws large numbers of participants as well as a crowd at the weigh-in which, this year, will be at Dockyard.

Unlike most tournaments, this one does not recognise line tests with the winners simply being the largest fish although the usual rules of angling do apply. There are only three fish categories: wahoo, tuna and “other”. “Other” excludes billfish and sharks, so is pretty much limited to the larger jack species such as amberjack and bonita, and maybe dolphin.

The main criterion is the size of the boat involved with the professionals in a category of their own. With such a degree of flexibility there is little surprise that this is so popular with amateurs who may only fish once or twice a year. All it takes to get in on the action is to get the entry form in on time and then to head offshore and come up with some Tight Lines!