Towering cumulous clouds, heat squalls, calm, hot days and bright blue skies all characterise high summer and peak fishing season.

The high-tech fishing machines cutting snow white swaths through the channels and harbours all speak to this not being simply fishing season, but marlin season.

The real start to what will inevitably become known as marlin week got off to a bumper start when a boat fishing off Cape Verde boated a 1254-pounder. The fish was caught on 100lb test line which meant that it would not qualify as a potential record in the 80lb class, and it was shy of the all-tackle world record. Still, many saw it as a bit of an omen.

With the Blue Marlin World Cup taking place a mere day later, this seemed to bode well — perhaps the giants had decided to start biting. With 160 boats combing the world’s deep blue briny for the fish that would win gold and glory, surely Bermuda would be in with a chance to claim the glory for yet another year.

As the day wore on, fishing concluded in the Western Pacific and Indian Oceans with no qualifiers being taken. As the world turned, the Atlantic Ocean came into play and eventually the word got out that a fish had been caught off Madeira. Between the internet, cell phones and other communication devices, it was quickly learnt that 652lbs was the fish to beat.

Here in Bermuda 203 anglers on 37 boats were participating in the Bermuda Blast Tournament, the first leg of the Triple Crown, with most also competing in the World Cup. The bite was on, no doubt about that.

Hook-ups were called in and reports of fish lost and fish released but no keepers.

One local boat even managed a double hook-up but lost the larger fish. As the day wore on, tensions grew taut until the end time came and went and all eyes turned westward toward Hawaii.

Perhaps surprisingly, the silence continued and as the clock ticked past midnight, Florida angler Anthony Johnson’s 652lb Madeira capture prevailed.

The catch had been made off the aptly named Pesca Grossa with skippers Duart Nuno Goncalves and Gerard “Frothy” De Silva. The latter has a Bermuda connection and had made his name fishing off Trinidad and Tobago before the lure of the big one drew him to the island of Madeira.

He must have picked it right; this year’s payout is believed to be $656,000, so perhaps you will consider entering next year.

With that out of the equation, the competition here in the Bermuda Blast heightened. With two days left to fish the hook-ups, losses and releases continued.

What was really notable on the final day was the number of fish that were hooked far exceeded the number released, thus adding minimally to the original two-day tally. When all was said and done, there were 51 marlin caught and released, 39 blues and a dozen whites.

Leading the fleet with 2,200 points was Captain Brent Johnston’s Irish Ayes. Second place went to Sea Striker, skippered by R Adrian Holler with 1,700 points. Individual honours went to Brooks Smith on Uno Mas as the High Point Angler, Elaine Jones was High Point Lady Angler on Mama Who, and Samantha Schlandweller on The Boomer was High Point Junior.

Things continue today and tomorrow, even as the conditions become more challenging, as the Triple Crown’s premier event, the Bermuda Big Game Classic sees close to 50 teams competing for honours. Live scoring updates for this tournament may be found on the tournament website at www.bermudabiggameclassic.com.

Traditional angling also continues with the Banks being the preferred spot for tunas of both the blackfin and yellowfin varieties. Chumming is the time-honoured tactic although fishing a live-bait or rigged flying fish from a kite seems to get the attention of the larger specimens.

There are plenty of wahoo around but the warm water and maybe, little is known, they move into spawning mode, so it is harder to elicit a strike from them. Trolling gets results but might entail a lot of dragging for just a few strikes. Working deeper along the drop-off offers shots at tuna as well as wahoo and there is every likelihood that a billfish will come slashing its way through the spread.

Over the deeper reef areas, schools of yellowtail snapper should be willing to please. The last couple of years have seen large numbers of juveniles coming up in clouds when fishermen chummed for robins. They certainly cannot all have disappeared so there must be a reasonable crop of them out there somewhere.

If this does turn out to be the object of the exercise, remember to take lots of ice along. Yellowtails spoil quickly and it is hot out there with plenty of opportunities for some red hot Tight Lines!