With Tropical Storm Isaac churning its way across the Caribbean in the general direction of the United States and another tropical depression forming in the mid-Atlantic, the time has come to be aware that the hurricane season is an element of the here and now. Blissful ignorance needs to give way to carefully analyzed caution tempered with the remainder of the fishing season. Now is that time.The serious onset of the “tropical season” partly explains the departure of most of the foreign fleet: insurance companies are not enamoured of multi-million dollar boats being exposed to hurricanes in locations that are remote, isolated and short on truly safe harbours. Once on the East Coast, there are plenty of rivers and estuaries, not to mention barrier islands that allow a skipper to take his boat far enough inland to escape the worst of a storm. There are also options for running north or south of the storm’s predicted track which, thanks to the National Hurricane Center, is usually pretty accurate.For those of us who live here, the options are considerably less. Visitors often enquire as to our evacuation plans. This generally elicits a smile from locals who know that their drill here is to close the shutters, top up the tub and make sure that the radio has new batteries.Boats are left on their moorings until the weather forecast takes on a markedly grim look, then the boat haulers have more business than they can handle. Prudence would have more people haul their craft out at the end of August, but with a good portion of the angling season still ahead of us, most wait until more dire circumstances present themselves.One of the main reasons for staying afloat include the Royal Gazette Wahoo Tournament, this year scheduled for the September 9 with the deadline for entries starting to loom. It would be nice to think that the fish will pay heed to this deadline because, quite honestly, the offshore situation is not what one needs for a successful tournament. While there are a few wahoo around, the Banks are not teeming with them, nor have the frigate mackerel shown up yet.Probably the most encouraging sign is that there are good numbers of robins showing up on Argus Bank and, hopefully, this will also be the case on Challenger within a few days.It is usually juvenile mackerel that we associate with the autumnal wahoo run but there have been times when we have had one but not the other. Should numbers of wahoo happen to migrate through the area, probably any sort of bait, provided that there is enough of it, will keep them in the locale for a while. A lack of bait will likely have them move on in search of greener pastures, so to speak.The yellowfin have also been less than we would normally expect but the presence of numbers of robins will likely get their attention and maybe promote some increase in activity.The heat that comes with August is enough to dissuade both the anglers and the fish with the former more likely to give proceedings a miss. The fish have to eat and so will be more active early and late in the day. With the moon waxing toward full this week, they may start to feed during the night, further reducing their likelihood to be active during the heat of the day.As an aside, the coming moon should see another burst of billfish activity. As experience suggests, the majority of the marlin will be smaller fish in the 100 to 250-pound range with conventional knowledge figuring most of them to be males. The females (generally fish over 350 pounds - even though there must be some small ones) probably spawn in June and July and then maybe move on. Don’t expect this information to be gospel of any sort; there have been some big fish caught as late as October and they really do go pretty much wherever and whenever they want. The thinking comes from the number of smaller blues caught over the years by boats fishing for wahoo with traditional trolling gear. The tackle is that bit lighter and is normally enough to catch a 250-pound blue marlin. Something larger quickly becomes a rather different proposition. There may not be a lot of wahoo or tuna willing to take trolls at the moment but who knows?On a more positive note, last weekend saw one of the more progressive angling efforts as the Bermuda Anglers Club (BAC) held their Junior Tournament. The event invited children aged from toddler to teens to fish and to enter their catches in a competition that was intended to involve a segment of the population that is otherwise largely ignored by the local fishing community.This was not always the case: Flybridge Tackle did a sterling job for years, actually decades, but since it ended there has been precious little to encourage youngsters in the sport or to promote conservation and the sustainable use of our natural resources. To be honest, even the angling clubs have little in the way of formal programmes to ensure the continuation of the sport and their own long-term survival.So, it is really great to have Bermuda Anglers step into the breach and provide the Island with an event aimed straight at the younger set. It even had a conservation undercurrent that saw lots of the younger children bring their catches in buckets so that they could be weighed and then released back to the wild.The tournament drew in excess of 150 participants with something like two-thirds of them turning up at the weigh station even though the weather was less than ideal. A total of 66 weighed in fish of one description or another, as the entrants utilised a variety of gear including rod and reels, and handlines from boats and various points along the shore in pursuit of just about anything that would bite..Some of the fish caught from boats were pretty impressive in their own right. There were three wahoo, ranging from 27 to 54 pounds and a yellowfin tuna that tip the scale at 70 pounds.Catches included other game fish including bonefish, bonita, snappers and pompano (palometa) as well as a virtual aquarium of other reef species.Certainly it seemed that a good time was had by all, if the smiles were anything to judge by. It is to be hoped that BAC will continue to hold this event. It encourages responsible participation in a sport that is really for all ages despite the fact that most of the publicity it receives tends to focus on middle-aged men. It is really nice and refreshing to see something positive happening in the community. Well done, BAC, for promoting the entire concept of Tight lines!!!