It looks like Bermuda has had whatever treats it is going to get this year, and the trick is to find enough in the way of fish over the next six months to justify even keeping a boat overboard.

It is a bit of a conundrum that the official angling season in Bermuda was always marketed as May through November. Modern day fishers will be acutely aware that the end of October would be a far more realistic end date.

In fact, there are plenty of anglers who look to stick their boat into mothballs after the last major tournament in September and leave it that way until May.

The rationale in the old days leaves something to be desired, although some interesting things can be gleaned from a bit of historical research.

First off, most of the old books, as in 1910-1920s, list bluefin tuna as a regularly occurring species, primarily during the winter months. The trick seems to lie in that there is a lot of mention of them being here, and being seen on a regular basis, but absolutely nothing relating to the catching of any beyond a few reels that were stripped by some sea monster.

Working on the available evidence, most of which relates to what is now the off-season, absolves most blue marlin of guilt and leaves the bluefin or maybe even large bigeye tuna as the likely culprits.

To put things into perspective, prior to the Second World War, bluefin tuna were of little commercial interest and limited sporting attention. Part of this stemmed from the fact that the available fishing gear really wasn’t up to really large fish.

Factor in the fact that even today most preferred bluefin grounds tend to be relatively shallow water, making it possible to chase after a bluefin in order to finally subdue it. Jump back to close to 100 years ago, which is the period that we are talking about here, and remember that the water around Bermuda is deep, so even the thought of capturing a bluefin with the gear available in those days would be a very good trick indeed.

The short version is that bluefin were far more numerous and probably passed through local waters on a regular basis where they were seen, but not caught, by local fishermen.

This would probably have been in the winter time, which brings us to a long-forgotten factor, and that is that Bermuda was a winter destination for many wealthy people from North America.

So, in the list of things to do would be fishing, and the feeling would have been probably April to November, or December, would be the fishing season that would seem attractive to such visitors.

January through March was recognised by just about everybody as no good for much more than taking tea in the parlour, reading newly arrived newspapers from New York or Boston, and otherwise enjoying a 20 or 30 degree temperature advantage.

Although the offshore scene was not a viable option, it appears that the inshore waters may have remained fairly lively. Evidence to support this include two Bermuda records for bonefish that were set in December and February, albeit 63 and 65 years ago. It is hard to conceive of any modern-day anglers going to work the flats or inshore bays for bonefish during those months.

More recently, however, November and May have also provided local records, suggesting that there may be some potential for shoulder season activity.

Leaping ahead to today, the present offshore scene is hardly worth the effort. While the wahoo remain in the vicinity throughout the year, and there are some nice ones, it is hard to justify the trip on the off chance of catching a couple. A trip mainly aimed at working the bottom on the Banks can be the excuse of an hour or so on the drag, which might prove profitable if one is lucky.

In the somewhat likely non-occurrence of a strike, then it should be possible to fill a bucket or two of coneys with the odd hind providing a bit of variety.

Bonitas and ambers are thought to be at their best at this time of the year by many anglers, and it is also the time of the year when the gwelly usually starts to put in an appearance.

A commercially common species during the winter months, the gwelly is an odd fish that may offer some world-record potential in the future. As a relative of the omnipresent jack family, gwelly are reasonably good game fish, occur in enough places to be of interest to anglers, and may eventually be considered worthy of inclusion in the IGFA line class record listings.

Given their frequent seasonal occurrence, and the fact that they attain a good size here, makes them a welcome treat for those seeking Tight Lines!