DESPITE it being January, the last week or so has been anything but winter-like with some perfectly good days for an offshore excursion. The problem is that no one really anticipates such things and most of these good days go by without having had any advantage taken of them. Rest assured, winter will make its presence known sometime over the next few weeks and many an angler will long for days like those just gone by.

Even though the weather has been cooperative what fishing there has been has been pretty much what you would expect for this time of the year. Most of the effort is going into bottom-bouncing with hinds and coneys the primary targets. Other so-called "floating" species please as well and can add variety to the fish box. The real bonus from drift fishing is the amount of fuel that is not consumed.

There are a few wahoo around and trollers have managed to catch a couple or so on each trip. Some operators have tried chumming on the crown of the Bank with some success. This is probably the best alternative because as has been the case for most of the last year, there are no tuna in evidence and the top of the offshore banks is a good spot for "semi reef" species like yellowtail snapper and Bonitas. Robins often invade chum slicks and these make prime baits for larger bonitas and amberjack.

Something that most people do not associate with the winter but which is a reality is the level of shark activity. Boats chumming for yellowtails and bonitas report that sharks are taking more than their fair share of the catch, often mangling the fish to the point that they aren't much use to anybody. The crown of the Bank is a centre for this sort of activity and there are times when it is nigh on impossible to get a yellowtail to the surface without a shark collecting its "tax".

Sharks are usually thought to be tropical and the warmer the water the more likely they are to pose a threat. In actuality, there are all kinds of sharks some of which are more tropical than others. In fact, that most dreaded shark, the great white, is more a temperate shark than a tropical shark liking waters that are considerably cooler than those found in the equatorial region.

Tiger sharks are a tropical shark as is evidenced by their being most active during the hot summer months of July and August. While they may remain here through the winter, they keep a lower profile. There are other sharks that thrive in even cooler waters and some that remain far away from land masses. There are even some that only live in the deepest seas and which are rarely encountered by man. There is pretty much a shark for every environment and situation. While they don't really pose much danger to people locally, they can be a nuisance to angles and commercial fishermen. Some of the latter get their own back by catching the sharks and filleting them. They do make for a firm white meat that often passes for other fish; mako shark is often marketed as swordfish. So, caveat emptor!

There have been several reports of sightings of humpback whales which is a little odd. These leviathans are usually visitors to our waters in the early spring as they migrate to the feeding grounds off New England and Nova Scotia, Canada. Normally they spend the winter in the Caribbean where they have their babies before moving northward to the plankton-rich areas where they spend the summer gorging themselves on various tiny food items. Funny to think that something so large eats such little things!

In any event, most of this makes sense. The long periods of darkness during the winter mean that there is insufficient light in the higher latitudes to encourage the growth of phytoplankton (plant plankton) which, in turn, is the basis for the zooplankton (animal plankton). The net result is that there is a lot less plankton during the winter months. The Caribbean is not exactly super rich in such organisms at any time of the year but it is nice and warm. Remember that whales are warm-blooded mammals.

This north-south migration is pretty regular with April usually the best time to go whale-watching here in Bermuda. So the ones being seen here now are either really early birds that have found some pockets of warmer water to entice them northward or they are running late for their appointment with the Caribbean. For those who like to keep track of such things, humpbacks have been seen here in December before and migrating humpbacks have been recorded as early as February. Perhaps, if we are optimistic, this is a sign of an early spring.

The humpback whale also occurs in the Pacific Ocean and the Hawaiian Islands are a good place to go and view them. Their behaviour there is similar to that encountered here in Bermuda and there are regular migratory patterns as well. Back in the days when whaling was a major industry here and elsewhere, the humpback was one of the most sought-after because of the quality and quantity of oil that could be had from each whale. Their regular occurrence around Bermuda also made it possible to "fish" specifically for this species.

There are a number of other whales that occur here from time to time. Many are the smaller whales and there are a few oddities such as Cuvier's beaked whale that are regularly seen here, something which isn't all that likely elsewhere. Every so often, sperm whales put in an appearance and although these can be really big, it is the humpbacks that put on the main performance by jumping clear of the water and falling back in with an immense splash.

Whether the present sightings are the start of the main parade or just a pair of strays that have become slightly confused will remain to be seen. One thing certain, on winter days when the fishing is slow, the sight of the antics of these great marine mammals can be nothing short of awe-inspiring.

Just how long the rather spring-like weather will continue is anybody's guess. At the moment, the longer range forecast has the weekend looking decidedly unlikely to support any fishing effort at all. The real trick is to be able to take off at short notice and head offshore as and when the weather breaks. For most of us that means that the only fishing that we will be doing for the next eight to ten weeks will be thinking about Tight lines!!!