IT may come as a bit of a surprise after the colder temperatures that dominated the early part of the week that things are actually warming up and that spring is in the air. The water temperature offshore is starting to inch its way upward and even on land, the loquat trees are heavy with fruit.

Another thing that points to the time of the year is the extreme tides that are being experienced. The normal tidal range in Bermuda is about a metre (a little over three feet). During late February or March, this range is often severely reduced, sometimes by almost as much as 50%. This effect is heightened when it coincides with a full moon. This is because the moon's gravitational force actually does exert an influence on the tides. So, the phase of the moon and its proximity to the earth contribute to the extent of the tides.

Another thing that exerts an effect on tides is the barometric pressure. Lower barometric pressure allows the tide to rise higher. Quite simply, air pressure helps to regulate the rise of the tide. High pressure means that the tide won't come up as far as it will during times of low pressure. Although this is a very minor effect, it is measurable and, every so often, all these forces combine just right to make for tidal extremes.

While there is no apparent effect of the tide on offshore fishing, it can have some major effects on the fishermen themselves and most especially the casual angler. Those little cuts through the reefs or between the rocks that are so convenient for saving time and fuel just may not exist during extreme low tides. This is usually communicated in the form of a bump, often with a rather wretched sound as the underwater gears strikes coral or rock. In happier circumstances the offending material may merely be sand but even so, you would not be the first person to find yourself hard aground waiting for the tide to come back in. So unless you really know what you are doing, this is a good time to remember the old adage that the best light to navigate by is daylight! Although unrelated to boating or angling, it might be useful to note that houses that use well water may also find that during the periods of extreme low tides that the well has simply gone dry. This is remedied when the tide comes back up again but, in the meantime, the situation may not be doing your pump any good.

The offshore action remains slow with a few wahoo being caught. As has been the case for the last six weeks' or so, the effort has been concentrated on the bottom where readily marketable species can be caught without incurring much in the way of fuel costs.

Now is also a good time to think about putting some effort into the "porgy holes" as it is an excellent time of the year for that species and some large blue-boned porgies can provide the basis for some great chowder. The fillets aren't bad either! Chumming over the porgy holes and using a water glass can be a lot of fun. You would be surprised to see what lives down there. Coneys and barbers are generally plentiful even though only a few might bite, you will see red hinds, as well even though it can take a while to figure out which fish are which. Looking through 70 feet of water really changes the fishes' appearance and you can't discern much colour down there, either.

Porgies are readily visible when they come cruising along the sand investigating the source of any bait that you may have dispersed there. At that time a baited hook on a line should be all you need to have Mr. Porgy winging his way to the surface.

A weighted net bag on a line is a good way to get the chum down there. Try using a tin of cat food for chum. It is cheap and cheerful and works wonders. Just make sure that you don't leave it to litter the bottom.

Even though this type of fishing is ideally suited to a handline, rod and reel works just as well. If some of the chum is drifted off the back of the boat, other species including yellowtail snapper, amberjack and bonita often show up as well. A light spinning rod can provide some exciting light tackle action with some tasty results.

The "big money" tournament season gets underway in just a couple of weeks' time with the 27th Bacardi Rum Billfish Tournament taking place at Port Lucaya in the Bahamas. Although this tournament has never been noted for producing large numbers of billfish, whether white marlin, blue marlin, or sailfish for that matter, there have been a few notable exceptions. What usually gets everyone's attention is the amount of prize and Calcutta money that a rather lacklustre fish can win. In some years a small white marlin or even a sailfish has been known to win an angler thousands, so even if the fishing isn't at its best, there might well be other compensations.

Even though the Bahamas are a thousand or so miles to our south things are still a mite on the cool side and the blue marlin tend to keep a low profile. But you have to start sometime and many of the Florida-based tournament circuit boats use this as an opportunity for a shakedown cruise.

It isn't until April and May that things really swing into action with virtual non-stop billfish tournaments throughout the Bahamas. It generally isn't until late May or early June that the local billfish aficionados start to carry the heavy gear and actually start concentrating on the blue marlin.

Having said all that, it is worth remembering that blue marlin have been caught during every month of the year here. So, any blue caught here in February was either well off its route or had taken to hanging around for some other reason. It is, of course, also possible that there was a patch of warmer water that was large enough to allow the fish to remain in the local area at a time when it probably would have been elsewhere.

On the happier note that spring is on the way, it is time to look for signs of fishy activity. Schools of jacks have been seen in the harbours and bays as early as mid-March and offshore runs of wahoo have often happened at around the same time. For this reason, most commercial operators spend February slipping their craft and getting ready for the season. Although it could well be getting close, no one knows for sure when it will be time for Tight lines!!!