Holiday over, boat set back to rights with barbeques, etc. removed and the fishing gear replaced on board. Now is the time to get serious about the angling and to try and make the most of the months ahead.

For those who remain in doubt that the season has commenced, the clincher should be the first blue marlin of the season was caught over the holiday weekend when Capt. Brian Lines' Margin Call brought a blue estimated at about 380 pounds alongside. An excellent beginning to what promises to be a good season.

Actually, if you look back over the years, the first blue is generally caught by the end of May and the fish is often just about in the 400-pound bracket. The recent capture would seem to fit in quite well with what appears to be an established trend.

To be fair, the marlin effort has been limited with the principal quarry wahoo and tuna, both of which enjoy fine markets at the moment for the commercial fishermen.

The wahoo have been varied with some really trophy fish being caught. There have been several wahoo in the better than 100-pound category and, perhaps surprisingly, the East End seems to be the Mecca for this class of fish.

Way less surprisingly has been the number of small fish, often too small to even break the rubber bands on the deep trolls. These fish mostly clear the ten pound mark but not by more than a few pounds. The saving grace seems to be the number of mid-weight to large fish (35-70 pounds) that tend to give a day's haul a respectable average weight. There are lots of stories of boats catching two or three fish with an average weight of 40-pounds plus with one of the fish going 70; one around 35 and a small one at 15 pounds.

Traditional trolling is the means of choice for making inroads into the wahoo population which is starting to spread out over the entire local area, making it a bit harder to concentrate the effort on a single hot spot. One suspects that fast trolling will get some results and by allowing you to cover the water quickly offers the option of reverting to regular trolling once some fish have been located.

There are some yellowfin tuna out there with the Banks being the venue of choice. Some have been caught while trolling and there have been some rather nice specimens in the 60-70-pound range. Inveterate chummers offer more lacklustre reports as the tidal/current conditions have been less than favourable. Despite the dismal circumstances some success has been had and now that May is nearly over things should settle down as we move into peak chumming season during June. Increased effort, particularly by amateurs keen on saving on fuel, will locate the fish and it won't be too long before certain locations on the Bank resemble City Hall car park on a weekday.

On an interesting note, one commercial fisherman reported an unlikely catch on a deep troll. This is something that doesn't cross most trollers' minds but can and does happen sometimes in the most spectacular fashion. On this particular occasion, the rod went off as per expected and the fish hurtled skyward, something very few wahoo do on today's heavier gear. An observant skipper noticed that the fish had a pointy nose, not a bill and so took the proper precautions when the fish was brought to the boat. Sure enough, it turned out to be a small mako (small as in 10-15 pounds) which he then released. Care is called for because makos sport some pretty awesome dentures and they make quite liberal use of them.

What is interesting is the size of the fish. Most makos around here are larger, close to 100 pounds with the odd one going significantly higher, like 600 pounds plus! The time of year isn't particularly unlikely as there have been many years that have seen hooked wahoo torn to shreds by what could only have been a high speed shark. Do not doubt the high speed, the mako can move just about as fast as a marlin, can jump like one and is far more temperamental. You can literally be staring at a rig in the spread only to see nothing hit it but the corresponding rod keel over and start to scream. Makos are superb apex predators; well camouflaged by their blue dorsal side and able to come streaking out of nowhere to dispatch the prey in lightning speed.

Looking towards the commoner species, there is plenty of small game out there with more seemingly appearing on a daily basis. Rainbow runners, jacks and robins can usually be lured to the transom while blackfin tend to hold their distance and wait for the bait to get back to them. As the water continues to warm up, they will be more numerous and serious light tackle anglers will start gearing up to catch them on 8-lb and 12-lb tackle and even on spinning gear. Top water plugs like Mirrolure® or Rapala® make a fuss when retrieved and many species from rainbow to yellowfin tuna will hit them relentlessly. The amazing thing is that despite the treble hooks, they often fail to be snagged or get hook in such a manner that it quickly pulls out. Definitely not what the designer really wants to hear about.

Another use of such plugs is to slow troll them. They do get results and are often worth a try on a really slow day. Perhaps it is something in their wobbly side-to-side swimming motion that gets a fish's attention. In any case, if you want to make such fishing IGFA legal then you are going to have to replace the treble hooks with singles. In case this sounds self-defeating, it isn't and the single hooks are usually stronger and less prone to bending that the rather light trebles that the lures come with. It's worth giving it a try.

Notes for the weekend: The Bermuda Fishing Clubs will attempt to hold their annual tournament (BFCAT) on Sunday as will Sandys Boat Club. It may be possible to effect late entries into either or both events. Interested anglers should contact their respective clubs in the case of the former event or Sandys Boat Club in the case of the latter.

The first big event of the season is slated for next week Sunday, June 6, when the Bacardi Tournament organisers will make every effort to fish this popular event. As always it will be the weather that will have the final say but at this juncture, it is probably not unreasonable to expect some decent conditions. The fishing scene is improving and even though certain species are excluded from the event, there should be enough wahoo and tuna around to make life not just interesting but also really competitive. With the situation improving and the weather settling, there should be ample opportunities for everyone to indulge in some Tight lines!!!