YOU might find it hard to credit, given the usual hot and humid days ashore, but things are showing a distinct cooling trend. There have been quite a few rather pleasant days ? something most people would never associate with August.

A glance at the United States east coast shows that the heat wave there has given way to cooling and the overall weather pattern is moving into a more autumnal phase.

That same effect is being felt locally as well. The offshore sea water temperature has not just topped out but has actually start to drop. In fact, it is now marginal for the formation of tropical activity, so maybe that will happily keep the tropical storms and hurricanes away from us.

The fact that cold fronts are starting to influence the local weather may have something to do with the expected influx of wahoo and tuna. The theory is that migratory species move northward with warming temperatures in the spring often reaching the rich feeding grounds that are to found off New England and even Nova Scotia. It may come as a surprise that charter boats run out of places like Massachusetts to the deep water canyons and other features that lure tuna and even marlin.

Who would believe that the blue marlin record for the state of Massachusetts is in excess of 700 pounds? How about a 92-pound wahoo record and a 187-pound Allison? Those so-called migratory fish really do get around! Not to mention the fact that the more northern anglers get a very short summer season but they seem to do quite well, all things considered.

In the lower latitudes, we hope to take advantage of the movements of the fish both coming and going. There is also the prospect that schools of flying fish or squid will provide the fish with enough of a reason to spend the majority of the summer months in the vicinity of the Banks so that we can have yellowfin tuna pretty much on demand should be choose to go chumming. Sadly, it doesn't always work out that way.

As soon as the cold fronts start to sweep through the area and the days show signs of shortening, the fish take the not so subtle hint and start to head for warmer climes. For most this is to reverse the migration and to head south. The hope is that with a long trip ahead of them, they will start to feed and as they swing through the local area, we can have a good crack at them.

Other contributing factors are supposed to be a prevalence of juvenile baits in the local area; preferably "frigate" mackerel or small blackfin tuna. When these are abundant, they give the fish a reason to stop and stay a while. It all goes a bit wrong when the correct circumstances fail to come together and then the September fishing can go from being the year's best to the year's worst almost instantly.

With interest in billfishing starting to fade fast, more and more professional and casual anglers are turning their attentions away from the deep water and concentrating on the drop-offs and other spots likely to be home to some fish that will either enhance the pay cheque or the deep freezer. It would be nice to have some promising information to share with the angling public.

To be blunt, at present the fishing is deathly slow with no one really showing any notable results. Naturally enough, everyone is going out in the hope of locating a marked physical change or a school of wahoo or tuna that offers exploitation potential. A very few have had occasion decent catches but these have been the exception. Thus far, the overall pickings have been slim and each passing week raises the fear that 2006 might be one of the "off" years. At the moment the jury is still out but the hopes continue to run high. The next few weeks will tell the tale.

This Sunday, rain, blow or shine, sees the Flybridge Junior Tournament. This long-running event has a rich legacy of producing the next generation of competition anglers. A quick look at the present crop of Bermuda IGFA-certified observers will identify a number who got their start fishing this particular event. Bobby Rego and his firm have done more than any other organisation to promote angling to the younger set and they certainly deserve the fullest credit for these efforts.

Now, just because some of the participants are limited to fishing from shore or the various bays and sounds does not preclude the possibility of some amazing catches. People would be surprised to learn just how many large, and often game, species come into inshore waters particularly during the summer months. Sharks come to mind immediately but so should rockfish, gwelly amberjack and bonita. All of these are very real possibilities, so don't be too surprised at what may come to the Flagpole weigh station on Sunday afternoon.

Juniors also need to be aware of the regulations relating to fishing. Parrotfish, for instance, are a prohibited species and although they are largely vegetarian, they will occasionally take a bit of cut bait or squid. Don't confuse these species with the wrasse family which includes such wonders as slippery dicks! Many of the grouper species referred to as rockfish and hamlets that are likely to be encountered in inshore waters are also protected by law. Most casual anglers should be aware that many of the grouper species are protected and can not be legally landed. The commoner species like coney, barber and red hind are legitimate, provided that are not undersized.

There are also minimum size requirements for hogfish, snappers of several varieties and there is a limit on the number of white water (lane) snappers that can be caught by amateurs. While everyone appreciates that the youth may not be familiar with the rules, this does not mean that they can act in blissful ignorance of the law. Additional information may be had from Flybridge Tackle, who are always happy to advise on fishy matters or from the Government Environmental Protection Department.

Those who are looking to get offshore will find that there are still some marlin out there that will provide a measure of distraction should everything else come up dry. If you do go out on the roam, keep an eye out for flotsam. Unfortunately, the lack of heavy weather down off the Bahamas and Florida has meant that there is also less of this junk around too but it is generally pretty successful at attracting school dolphin or young wahoo. In the absence of anything else, even these smaller fish can provide some rather welcome Tight lines!!!