With the spring well advanced and the height of summer not all that far away, the trolling still remains productive. Maybe not the fast action that the early runs can bring with them, but certainly some respectable fishing is to be had.

It seems that sea conditions have not yet settled down to the point where chumming becomes almost de rigueur for anything other than billfish; so, many boats are continuing to put in some significant trolling effort. This has been rewarded with mixed bags of anything up to a dozen wahoo, a variety of tuna — both yellowfin and blackfin — and a surprising regularity of dolphinfish, aka mahi mahi.

A possible explanation for the rather delightful influx of mahi mahi — why the Hawaiian name has become common accepted for what was called a dolphin for centuries is a bit of a mystery — is the almost global phenomenon of the proliferation of Sargassum seaweed. Almost global in that it affects only the Atlantic Ocean, even though the root cause of its sudden, rapid expansion is as yet undetermined.

The logic here is because the dolphinfish, or mahi mahi, have been long associated with floating objects — be it flotsam, jetsam or naturally occurring material such as the floating brown seaweed that is Sargassum. It is this plant that gives its name to the Sargasso Sea, which is located somewhere to the east of Bermuda. It does move around, as it is essentially a gyre or oceanic circulation that tends to draw the water in. This motion helps keep the seaweed and whatever else in place, giving that area a notable concentration of the plant, which is what it is. Heavy winds and sea conditions can cause the weed to disperse, where it moves at the mercy of the other currents that drive the Atlantic Ocean.

Now, given that there is a lot of seaweed being spread out over the Atlantic and especially into the Caribbean, it is more likely that mahi mahi, a true pelagic, will encounter it and travel with it. As is evidenced by the amount of seaweed piling up on the south shore, there has been obviously a lot of it coming through this area and, quite possibly, bringing in more dolphinfish than usual.

For reference, many of the beaches in various locations in the Caribbean have been deeply covered in the seaweed as it washes up there. Historically, there has always been some around Bermuda. Back in the day, it was often collected by farmers from the beaches and used as fertiliser for agriculture.

A final bit of thought on this is almost a negation, but, while many other places welcome the arrival of floating mats of seaweed as they harbour mahi mahi and other game species, the mats generally found around Bermuda are seldom associated with such fish. Mostly the weed is cursed as it interferes with trolling and even now, there are many wondering just how difficult it is going to be to troll for billfish over the next couple of months.

While still not a focal point in local fishing, it will not be long until marlin move into the picture. With the Marion Bermuda sailing race set to take place in June this year, there likely will be few visiting boats until that event is over and berths open up. In the meantime, local boats will have first crack at the deep water. And therein lies more speculation. As has been obvious, some years are better than others and, while this season is so far an unknown, there are notes to be made of the action elsewhere. It has been excellent in the eastern Atlantic, with the few boats stationed in the Cape Verde Islands enjoying both high quality and good numbers of blue marlin. The case from the Bahamas along up to the Carolina coast seems to be similar, with the tournaments there having marked success early in the year.

Putting things into perspective, local boats have already caught some white marlin, a species that is generally never really numerous. In part, this is owing to the tendency for local boats to gear up for large blue marlin if they are going to spend any time at all in the deep water. Many of the lures and baits used are so big as to deter the smaller whites. As result, many of the white marlin strikes come on gear intended for wahoo, with the actual bites taking place along the drop-offs rather than away from the edges.

This weekend, organisers will try to get the Blue Waters Anglers Club Open Tournament off as the season’s second major event. The weather, as forecast, makes this look unlikely and the only silver lining to a postponement will be a further opportunity for anglers to make late entry into the competition. It is a sad fact of life that almost all angling anywhere in the world is largely dependent on the weather to ensure Tight Lines!!!