TIME moves inexorably along and there is no doubt that spring is well and truly here. Although the weather conditions have left something to be desired, there has been a marked upswing in fishing effort by the commercial fleet and this will prove to be the weekend warrior's best source of information as the season starts to shape up. This actually makes for a reasonably happy state of affairs, because while the professionals don't like giving up their hard-won knowledge, they realise that it will probably be a week or more before the amateur can put that intelligence to use.

Although there hasn't been anything too startling to report, it appears that there are enough wahoo around to justify a few hours' trolling. Most of the fish are of a low average size, but, having said that, they are not tiny either. There have been very occasional reports of larger fish but going offshore rigged for small to medium size fish probably makes sense. Any larger fish that might want your trolled offering will take it anyway, even if it is on the small side. The reverse, however, is not true.

It is funny how some of the old tactics continue to be among the best. While at first glance, these have little to do with trolling for billfish or other blue water predators, it is surprising that, in fact, the principle does hold, more often than not. Perhaps there is a level of consistency in the fish's psyche after all.

One of the most basic of these hook-ups is the 'ha, ha' rig. This goes by a variety of names and was originally developed for use in fresh water. It was so successful there that some trailblazer defied tradition and attempted the technique in the briny with quite considerable success.

The rig itself is quite simple. Generally it consists of a silver spoon or other attention getting lure fished ahead of a slightly larger lure. Both of these are unarmed; that is, hookless. Where the sting comes is that there is a third lure, often a feather lure, attached to the middle lure and fished about the same distance behind the middle lure that separates the first two. This is where the hook is.

The principle is this: the fish sees the first lure go by and then thinks that the second lure is in hot pursuit of a meal, maybe this puts some primeval idea into the fish's head because when the third rig shows up, apparently in pursuit of the second, it is often time to jump on the bandwagon and to have a go at that third offering.

Such rigs have long enjoyed success locally, most notably over the inner bottom and in the harbours and bays. Back in the days when boats only had the equivalent of trolling speed such rigs were often set out on the trip to the Edge and they accounted for more small amberjack and bonitas than you can imagine. Mackerel and even barracuda also fell victim to this time-honoured trick.

Moving on to the offshore, the principle continues to work. Look at many of the combination rigs put together by various skippers. Many of them embody the idea of something chasing something else. In fact, there is a bit of a corollary to all this. Did you ever notice that if a wahoo or 'cuda steals something off a daisy chain, it is almost invariably the last one. In places such as the Canadian Maritimes where trolling with daisy chains is the primary way of catching giant tuna, the hook is only ever put into the final bait or lure and that is the only one the tuna, all half-ton of it, goes for! This can all be taken one step further as well. When we go looking for a bif blue we pull a variety of lures which leave bubble trails and otherwise disrupt the sea behind the boat. Can you really believe that a fish that weighs several hundred pounds is actually interested in eating what is tantamount to a peanut even when there are plenty of much larger natural prey around. One of the best known examples was 'Choy's Monster'; an 1,800-plus pound blue marlin caught off Hawaii. The massive fish was caught on a rather small artificial lure and when it was weighed it was revealed that just moments before attacking the lure big marlin had swallowed a large yellowfin tuna. This made it fairly apparent that the fish wasn't exactly hungry. Surely this is just additional evidence that fish strike at lures, etc. out of the force of habit or something based on other visual cues. The fact that no one really knows the real inside outs of fish psychology and even the most successful fishermen work on a 'best chance' basis is what really makes angling the sport that it is.

No sense even thinking about planning an expedition over the next couple of weekends. Although there is a long weekend, the Good Friday holiday will keep 99% of boaters home and going fishing on Easter Sunday is unlikely to do much for anyone in the popularity stakes. The fish could be going wild but will do so in relative safety.

What this does mean is that there are only two weekends left for fishing in April; then it is May and the season has commenced whether you are ready or not! If you are still procrastinating, you really may want to have another think. The 24th comes fast and furious and before you know it the harbour will be resembling a forest as the Newport boats take over all the prime berths. Hard on the heels of their departures will be the influx of foreign sport fishing boats and the marlin season will have gotten underway in the most serious fashion. With the number of billfish events scheduled for the month, July will seem to be all but non-existent. August gets mixed reviews and then everyone will be waiting to see if the wahoo show up, thus bringing the season to an end.

How can the season be dispensed with so handily, you might well ask. The fact of the matter there are, at most, 20 weekends open to the amateur. Some of these will be lost to weather, others to mechanical difficulties and still others to personal commitments that come up all so soon and unexpectedly. Depending on the type of angling that you wish to do there are certain seasonal limits that play a role as well. For instance, you won't go seriously looking for a blue until early June and that is only if the wahoo have given up being cooperative.

At the moment, your priority should be getting the boat ready so that when everything comes right and the fish start to please you will be suitably positioned to grab your share of the Tight lines!!