WELL, that was a healthy dose of winter this past mid-week. It is probably the shape of things to come and more than enough to put the idea of going fishing out of most people's heads ¿ and not just for the present. Once people go into winter mode, the rods and reels start to collect dust from lack of use.

One thing is that if, like many people, you have no intention of going fishing until the spring, now is the time to make sure that the gear is packed away in good fashion. A proper clean-up, followed by lubrication and rust protection, then careful storage can make their reappearance a less stressful time. The really proactive people (and there are not many!) take advantage of this time of the year to either strip down their reels or replace worn drags, washers and make other repairs themselves or take them into the professionals. While it might seem a bit silly, sometimes it can take a while to get correct replacement parts from overseas and five months or so is often not as far off as it seems.

Those of us who try to make time for fishing no matter what season it is will probably have a lot of down time to look forward to. The next month or so is hectic with alternative activities and, now that it seems that the winter is settling into North America, opportunities for offshore speculation will be few and far between.

The heavy weather from the northeast has probably increased the amount of seaweed offshore. There was plenty of it out there last week and it does tend to come in with the easterlies. Here in Bermuda, it is something of a mixed blessing. In most places an influx of the floating brown stuff is greeted with great joy because weed lines harbour wahoo, dolphin and other species of game fish. Here we often find great mats of the weed but seldom is anything of interest associated with it. Then the breeze comes up, causes rough seas and spreads the weed all over the place in clumps that are almost tailor-made for snagging trolls. What a nuisance! Outriggers suffer the worst from floating weed and there are only a few things that you can do to cut down on having to almost continually clearing "grass" off the rigs. There are some relatively "weedless" lures that run quite free of the stuff. Simple skirts with a hook are effective lures but skip over the surface, missing a lot of the seaweed. Certain heavier lures like the MoldCraft® chuggers will collect the seaweed, become really heavy and then "pop" clear of the water, shaking the weed off at the same time.

Deep trolls collect huge quantities of seaweed but most of this is caught on the wire and runs down to the lead ball. The good news is that the bait or lure then runs quite cleanly behind the weight. It can be tricky getting it the desired distance behind the boat without collecting any weed but once the wire is paid out; you should get a fair amount of trolling time which will allow for a strike.

Anglers who took advantage of the fair weather at the weekend were rewarded with some wahoo activity. South Shore, being close to home, is a choice spot and there seem to be enough fish there to justify putting in some trolling effort. Most of the wahoo are of average size but there are some larger fish around. Numbers are way down from the autumnal run highs in the 'teens but any amateur really only needs one or two fish to justify the effort.

The weed influx has been linked to the presence of a number of dolphin offshore. While a few have been taken trolling, it is all a bit hit and miss. One thing that can be turned to advantage is, if you are lucky enough to hook up with a dolphin, to bring it to the boat but leave it in the water. If there is another one with it or if, happily, it is part of a larger school, the others will stay around and usually prove quite willing to take almost any offering. A spinning rod with just about any sort of lure can come in handy but even just stripping off a few yards of line as if you were chum fishing will usually get a bite. This can turn a single strike into a fish box full of dolphin, but you do have to be lucky.

With the emphasis on fish for the table, many anglers concentrate on bottom fishing and a bit of chumming. Right now there are quite a few reports of some really nice yellowtail snappers being taken quite close to land. Once out in reef country, yellowtails are a distinct possibility and this is a good time of year to set your sights on them. Nice, firm white fillets ¿ isn't that what is on the agenda?

Another easily caught species which is far from a game fish is the barber. Working the bottom over the deeper reefs or just inside of Bermuda's Edge is a sure way of catching this species. They almost always weigh almost exactly one pound. They are called barbers because they can "trim" the bait right down to the hook. The more correct common name is Creole fish and they are a member of the grouper family.

Try using four or five hooks on the drop line. To give you a real advantage, try using suitably sized circle hooks, these usually hook the fish without you having to "fire". A dozen or so should provide four pounds of prime fillet.

Those thinking about a quick away match might want to consider the first leg of the 2007/2008 Bahamas Wahoo Championship. This is to be fished next week just into December at the Port Lucaya Marina on Grand Bahama Island. Bermuda-based crews have had previous excellent results in this event and are often in demand. There are three legs overall with the next two being fished at other Bahamian venues during February and March. Most of the fish are of a nice class with competitors needing something in the 70-90-pound range to make the winner's circle. Additional information can be had from the official website on the internet at www.bahamaswahoo.com or by e-mailing bahamaswahoohotmail.com.

Only the real die-hards put anything into competitive fishing at this time of the year and most of the angling clubs close their contests out at the end of November. A couple of clubs have tried to put together late season events but overall response to such has been, at best, poor. So, it is every man for himself. There will be some absolutely gorgeous days that beg for an outing in the boat abut there won't be too many of us in a position to drop everything and go in search of Tight lines!!!