So, just what is going on? Things are so unseasonable that there are signs almost everywhere that things are topsy-turvy. Plants that generally flower in the spring are doing so at the moment. It is hotter and more humid than is normal for this time of year and it seems that nature is confusing us all and playing havoc with the fishing.

Sadly, it is becoming apparent to many that this year’s autumnal wahoo run is simply not going to materialise. While it is not impossible as to be so late as yet to come, the disappointment is intense. Many commercial operators depend on the run, which they use to stockpile supplies of wahoo in deep freezers for sale over the winter months. The “winter months” is an euphemism for when the weather precludes any real deep sea fishing, leaving fishermen with their lobster traps and other inshore options.

Sport fishermen also give up on the pursuit of their avocation once October rolls around because merely making plans for the weekend is enough to ensure that the weather conspires to prevent such. But even they like to give the wahoo run a shot, especially when the use of live baits can provide for such exciting action. This year the baits are there in number but the expected main predatory species is not.

Not only have the “frigate mackerel,” actually juvenile mackerel or little tunny, been commonplace but there are also numbers of juvenile blackfin tuna that also make excellent live baits. These generally show after the little mackerel and escape the onslaught of the main body of transient wahoo.

What is interesting, in so many ways, is that the Atlantic is having weather so unseasonable that it is hard to predict. Who would have thought that it would be this warm now that it is October? How many sunny, calm days were there in September?

How has the Caribbean not been terrorised by tropical activity for the last six weeks when there is usually a steady stream of systems moving westward off the coast of North Africa? What is going on and, more importantly, how is it affecting the movement and natural migration patterns of various species including wahoo? Might this very different weather have somehow influenced the normal movements of the schools of fish that have been migrating north and south with the seasons.

It will remain to be seen just how this is going to play out and what, if any, long term effects are to be felt. Basically, can a normal spring and summer next year be expected or are we all in for more of the same, or worse?

In the meantime, things must be taken in stride. The offshore fishing is still respectable with enough wahoo around to justify trolling. The issue here is with the copious amounts of seaweed that can turn trolling into a nightmare. Certain rigs are better than others at escaping the weed, but the deep trolls are always snagging large amounts. Fortunately, it seems to be the lead balls that catch most of the weed as it comes down the wire. The positive here is that the bait usually travels more or less weed free.

Some boats have been lucky enough to catch some dolphinfish, increasingly called mahimahi. In many places, the mats of seaweed are associated with the presence of this species but here one seems unrelated to the other. Flotsam of most any sort, even an old piece of rope, found here often harbours schools of dolphin and smaller wahoo. The locating of such an item can prove to be a real bonanza for the troller as the fish associated with such an object are usually keen to please and will take most any offerings.

Yellowfin tuna are less likely to be encountered offshore at present although there are plenty of blackfins around. It is likely that there isn’t much effort put in for this species as they are considered second class table fare, tend to be on the small side and are really a light tackle pursuit. The paucity of anglers using such and no real attraction for the commercial operator pretty much ensures that the blackfin will largely be ignored.

Hearkening back to last week’s mention of barracuda, it should be mentioned that the species most think of as barracuda is in fact more correctly termed the great barracuda. There is a much smaller species that frequents the inshore waters and is often caught by shore anglers, particularly those fishing at night. This is the lesser barracuda, better known as sennet. Never very large, the sennet is likely to be about a foot long and weigh a pound or less. Probably because of their limited range and size, they are not generally associated with ciguatera and have been considered a good eating fish.

The lack of size keeps the sennet from being recognised as a game fish although they can give a good account of themselves on ultralight tackle. Relatively small numbers have also kept them from being a target for commercial fishermen and few anglers ever consider them a potential source of Tight Lines!!!