The family-oriented holidays are behind us now and the weather has suddenly taken on that summertime glow with hot, hazy days and mostly calm conditions. Forgiving the odd shower or too; which actually are part of the summer scenario, the offshore conditions are just about as optimal as they are going to get.

The Marion-Bermuda sailboat race will keep much of the visiting billfish fleet at bay for a few more days but a bunch is expected to arrive in time for the season’s first major event, the Bermuda Billfish Blast which incorporates the worldwide Blue Marlin World Cup on July 4.

In the meantime, there are opportunities to indulge in the more traditional forms of offshore angling, most of which are the ones that put Bermuda on the angling map in the first place.

With wind-driven seas and what we call tides finally settling down, chumming becomes a realistic option and that should provide a rather wide variety of action.

Although the light tackle enthusiasts and those in search of points for club competitions like to concentrate on the yellowfin tuna, plenty of good fun can be had with the smaller but no less tough blackfin. These are consistently found both on the Banks and all around Bermuda’s Edge, often invading chum lines set somewhat shallower (20-26 fathoms) with yellowtail snappers or other small game the intended target.

Another species that is strictly considered small game, but which is found pretty much around the world in tropical and sub-tropical waters is the rainbow runner. Definitely rated as a game fish, this rather unique species is a member of the jack family and is also related to the amberjack.

Variously rated for food quality; depending on who you talk to where, the species is active, takes most baits and a wide variety of artificial lures, and puts up a great battle for something that does not reach much more than 30lbs. Most of the world line test records are held in the Pacific although there are a few that come from Bermuda, Mexico and the United States Gulf and Atlantic coasts.

The Bermuda records for rainbow runner range from 2lbs to 25lbs and there are anecdotal stories of larger fish that were caught but cut up or eaten before they were weighed. Suffice it to say that large rainbows have been caught on live robins, completely inhaling the bait.

Again, this is another species that is plentiful here, willing to please and may, on occasion, be just large enough to claim a world line class.

An indication that Bermuda is not the only place where light tackle can be employed to catch records that may take a while to break comes recently from the Kingdom of Tonga where Guy Jacobsen has set a new world record on 4lb test for wahoo with a 60lb specimen. This is a fairly large wahoo by any standard and not something easy to catch by any means, let alone on a gossamer thread.

Some locals may think that this can easily be bettered here, but it might prove to be more of a challenge than it seems. By the way, Mr Jacobsen seems to have a way with wahoo on light tackle; he also holds the 2lb and 6lb line class IGFA world records, all from Tonga.

An assault on the women’s records might seem easier with the 2lb class presently vacant and the 4lb class held by a 21lb 9oz fish. The 6lb line class women’s record is 46lb 4oz. None of these are as easy as they sound, but Bermuda is definitely a place that offers an opportunity to break such records.

Regular trolling will continue to produce wahoo but with the water starting to really heat up, strikes will become less frequent and with the summer progressing the average size will probably drop down to the mid-teens.

Yellowfin may take the odd trolled offering but, around the banks, chumming for yellowfin is pretty much the normal method of doing business. Mackerel and even rainbow runners will take small rigs and there may be some small oceanic bonito around.

All have the potential to become live baits, although most anglers prefer to use robins, if they can get them. Large predators don’t seem to care what is on offer, it is merely a case of time and place.

If the lure of the deep is more than you can handle, go prepared. Without any doubt there are some big blue marlin out there. Captain Brooks Rans’ Mattanza had a fish in the 600lb bracket earlier and all those foreign boats do come here for a reason.

The early season seems to provide larger fish, possibly because they are thought to spawn somewhere in the local area during July. Where the big females are, so are the males going to be and either can make for Tight Lines!