Well, the flowers know that it is spring, the longtails, starlings and bluebirds all know that it is spring, even the humpback whales know that it is time to head north and the pelagic fish are just about to chime in with their contribution to the explosion of life that Mother Nature bursts forth every year. Don’t you think that it might be time to get into fishing mode?

Not that you have missed a whole lot just yet. Oh, all winter long, there were flurries of activity and some notable catches but with effort at a seasonal low, the bottom line has been a period of quiet. All that is about to be shattered, and while the exact timing is uncertain it cannot be too far away.

In the good old days, the Bermuda Fishing Information Bureau maintained that the best fishing to be had here was from May through November. While many may disagree with the end point of that period, virtually everyone agreed that the start was indeed correct. And that is only a week away.

The on again, off again weather of the last couple of weeks have restricted fishing effort with the normal proceeds of an excursion generally being a few yellowfin tuna and wahoo with some of the latter being absolute trophy fish, clocking in at more than 100lb. And along with these usual species expected to please early season trollers, there have been a few catches that have raised eyebrows.

And one of these also gave rise to some other thoughts. Last week, Captain Russell Young’s Sea Wolfe had a very interesting encounter with a fish that took an outrigger bait intended for wahoo and proceeded to do a great job of tangling all the other lines before being boated. The culprit turned out to be a juvenile mako shark. Although the fish only weighed a few pounds it was as feisty and temperamental as its parentage might suggest and, after some brief photos and some careful handling, the fish was returned to the water.

What makes this especially interesting is the fact that makos give birth to live young rather than laying eggs and it appears that the young are usually just about that size when they are first born. This suggests two things: one, the fish was probably only a week or two old so it is highly likely that mama cannot be too far away; and, second, makos give birth to multiple young, so there should be a few more that size cruising around.

While mako sharks are by no means unknown locally, they have generally been few in number. At least, that is, in terms of being caught. A number of fisherman have observed that the early spring wahoo run often results in hooked wahoo being shredded into ribbons, a job that is thought to be the work of mako sharks. The assumption is, of course, that it is a fairly large shark doing the business but, given the dentition of the mako just about anything that could get its mouth around the tail end of a small wahoo would be capable of doing the job. So maybe those shreddings are the results of smaller sharks and that might tie in with the presence of younger ones. This phenomenon usually takes place in May when the spring wahoo run takes place. And that should be at hand.

Anglers and fishermen are both looking forward to this run at the moment. The spring run, when it is recognised, is a short-lived event with the fish moving around the Banks and Bermuda’s Edge with alacrity, before spreading out over the local area. The fish are generally small but can be quite numerous, taking over from the larger specimens that have been predominant during the winter and very early spring months.

In fact, it can be of such short duration that it can go unnoticed. This most often happens when the weather suddenly turns sour for a few days leaving the fishing fleet with having to scour the surrounding bottom to locate any concentrations of fish, all the while those same fish are finishing circumnavigating the platform and then starting to spread out. If the main schools can be located before they break up, there can be some incredibly fast action to be had.

And if that wasn’t enough, May will see a greater influx of yellowfin tuna, some of which have already arrived on the offshore grounds. These cruise the local areas for a few weeks before settling down primarily around the Banks where they provide the chumming action that is so popular here.

With that in mind, the Bermuda Game Fishing Association has now released the 2026 Tournament Schedule and this should allow even the most casual anglers to start to plan their strategies for their very own Tight Lines!!!