IN between the passage of winter gales and, despite the cooler temperatures, there are some absolutely glorious days that simply cry out for an expedition on the water. Last Sunday was just such an example as was Tuesday. Nearly flat calm, with just a gentle breeze and clear skies. What more could you want? Of course, you have to be in a position that you can make use of such days, but it does mean that it is possible to head offshore during the winter months. Bear in mind the fact that such weather windows are often short-lived and that the weather can deteriorate rapidly and turn a beautiful day into a bumpy, wet ride back. Still, a day on the water beats one in the office.There is little doubt that the emphasis this time of the year is on catching some “eating fish”. Not too many anglers pay much mind to game fishing and, the truth of the matter is that most of them stay home anyway. There are only a few hardy souls who head offshore any time the weather is even remotely considered fishable.

As might be expected, there are some wahoo around but it would be a mistake to plan to be putting in a whole lot of time trolling. This can prove costly in terms of fuel and there are no guarantees that the fish will please. Even worse is that nasty phenomenon where you get the strike and, two minutes into the battle the hook drops out. Actually, in this respect, the wahoo is a bit of a cool customer. Many of them often clamp down on the rigged bait and, rather than the hooking piercing their mouthparts, the fish hold the hook tightly gripped in their powerful jaws. This can often last for a while and there have been plenty of cases of the fish being boated only to have the hook drop out as the fish opens its mouth. Not surprisingly, some fish must open their mouths and lose the hooks at various points in the fight. This could account for that sudden sinking feeling when an otherwise tightly bent rod suddenly straightens up and the hooks come back intact.

The bottom line is that, at the moment, it is unlikely that the action is going to be anything other than sporadic and with such a limited number of shots, missed or dropped fish are to be avoided.

It is a far safer method to anchor up in something like 24 fathoms and to start a modest chum line. Concentrate on working the bottom and hope that the robins show up. A live robin will get the attention of any wahoo cruising in the area and if it chooses to go down, it should attract any ambers, bonitas or other predators living in or just above the reefs. Actually, a few oddities have been caught using live baits at this time of the year. Things like African pompano have pleased and there are enough sharks around to turn a live bait into a tug of war. Happily, the large tiger sharks that dominate the summer scene are keeping a lower than usual profile but even so, dusky sharks amongst others can put in an appearance.

Bottom bouncing along Bermuda’s Edge or over the deeper reefs can be surprisingly productive. Barbers are plentiful and there is much to be said for their consistency. It really does seem that they all come out of the same mould. They weigh just about a pound and in a bucket they look like peas in a pod. On the plus side, they do yield a nice, firm white fillet, due, no doubt, to their being in the same family as the groupers and rockfish.

If you want to concentrate on barbers, use something like five hooks of the circle variety. Don’t be afraid of going a bit smaller. The barbers do have a knack for trimming off the bait but the self-hooking circle hooks definitely shift the odds in the fisherman’s favour.

Don’t worry, if there are any hinds or coneys around the same techniques work. The best bait that you can get is octopus (scuttle). With the number of commercial men fishing lobsters at the moment and that species propensity for eating lobsters, there are sure to be some coming up in the traps. A word with a friendly fisherman should get you an octopus and one is more than enough to provide enough bait to let you fill the boat with bottom fish. Octopus is so tough that it takes a lot of nibbling to get it off the hook and fish will come back time and time again.

These same techniques work on the Banks where drifting is the preferred method of fishing. Two advantages: one, no fuel consumption and two, no having to haul up the anchor at the end of the day. While there will be few barbers there, there will be good numbers of coneys and probably enough hinds to make the trip worthwhile. School-sized and larger amberjack and bonitas should also please - you can’t beat fresh anchovy on a hook fished just above the bottom for these species. Also that way inclined are the lesser (bastard) amberjack and the gwelly. These two species are not recognised as game fish but they do give a really good account of themselves. Best of all they are worth tossing into the fish box. Way better than those slang dang (sand tilefish) or parrotfish (actually wrasse) that occasionally take a bottom rig.

Take heart, although it is the dead of winter, it will start warming up soon. If we are really lucky, there may be an early spring run of wahoo. The reasons behind this influx are unclear but it does happen about every third year, often catching the fleet unawares. Anglers should take a leaf out of the Boy Scouts’ book and “be prepared”.

The days are getting longer and the sun’s intensity is also on the increase. This sets into motion a series of complex and not fully understood oceanographic processes that eventually put us into spring and summer mode. Just over a thousand miles to our south, the Bahamas are gearing up for their first billfish tournaments. Remember that blue marlin can cover a thousand miles is pretty short order and they have been raised and caught here in April. That’s four weeks after the end of February. All too soon, it is high summer and before you know it we will be talking about the end of season wahoo tournament. Time does fly when you are having fun and never goes any faster than when you are enjoying some Tight lines!!!