IT is starting to have that summertime look about it. Tourists with sunburns are commonplace and the days are calm, more often than not. The horizon has that hazy look about it and most of the sweaters have been put away. Plenty of oleanders in bloom and it is getting warmer. Just jump into your car if it has been left parked in the sun for an hour or two and you will realise that summer is not too far away.

Offshore the water temperature is inching upward and the whales have started to thin out as they continue their move northward to their happy feeding grounds. This should mean an upswing in fishing activity as the seasonal species' migration brings them within striking distance of the island.

Although there is still plenty of moaning about the lack of fish, some operators are starting to show results and it can only be a matter of time before the action swings into spring peak. The only problem is that although this is to be welcomed, it is invariably short-lived and hard to keep track of.

There have been a couple of reports of wahoo in the double figures but to offset any optimism, 15 boats combed Argus Bank on Sunday with little in the way of results. Fair dues, fishing is a time and place thing ? you just have to be in the right place at the right time! Part of the problem with the spring wahoo run is that it is usually concentrated, rapidly moving and can start anywhere. Given this, it might well have already started at one of the less fished areas of Bermuda's Edge and until some lucky fisherman encounters them, they will get a free ride. The run itself is usually over quickly with the fish dispersing all over the place. For this reason, the name of the game is finding the fish.

The essence of spring action is trolling. In the good old days this was super-exciting because about the heaviest gear trolled was a piece of 30-lb test. Now, while this was fine for wahoo and even most tuna, things could get a little out of hand if a large white marlin or small blue decided to put in an appearance. In any event, the action that could be had was pretty exciting even if the percentage of escapees was rather larger than desirable.

Now all that has changed. For various reasons, over the years, the tackle seems to have settled at a more standard 50-lb test and there just aren't too many fish in the ocean that can't be bested by such gear. About the only positive aspect of this is that the fish are much more likely to end up in the fish box even though the sporting value of the exercise is sadly lessened and, for those who like to score points for competition, the numbers are pretty low.

So, early season trolling: the main target is wahoo but there are likely to be other species mixed in. Yellowfin and the odd blackfin tuna will inhale trolls and there may even be an errant dolphin or two about. Any major concentration of wahoo is likely to be carrying with it a selection of other species, so don't be surprised if a multiple strike involves a diverse cast of characters.

The funny thing about the blue water fishing here is that we really have very little to do with it. Being generous, we enjoy only a couple of hundred square miles of fishing area, much of which is seldom used except by those in pursuit of marlin. Traditional fishers stick pretty much to Bermuda's Edge and the drop-off around the Banks. This means that most of the ocean around here is left pretty much untouched and no one really knows what passes through when.

The fish at stake, the marlin, wahoo and various species of tuna, are true pelagic wanderers and move through the Atlantic Ocean on a seasonable basis that is fairly reliable. In this hemisphere, they move northward as the spring moves toward summer and then southward as the ocean starts to cool in the autumn. Some of the fish eventually encounter either the structure offered by this Island or by schools of bait that have taken up residence. These fish then hang around for a while and it is during this time that we take advantage of their presence and catch them, or at least try to. The question is how many millions of fish don't find the Banks or bait and just continue on their merry way. Let's face it, Bermuda is a pretty small target at the best of times and in the vastness of the ocean, it is probable that most of the fish that travel northward never actually come anywhere near us.

This also probably helps to account for the times that some fish seem to fail to show up in the numbers expected or at the level of quality that they usually do. Perhaps a younger school takes up residence on the Banks and so, the average fish is smaller than normal. Other times schools of large yellowfin show up and treat us to some real excitement, but that simply is not an annual occurrence. Like so many other influxes, it is occasional and we just have to be in a position to take advantage of it.

Our net effect is essentially how many of anything we catch and, in real terms, tour impact is pretty small. While 20 or 30 wahoo may sound a lot it pales into insignificance when compared to the hundreds or even thousands of tonnes of fish caught by the heavyweight commercial fishing operations. Having said that, we do share in the global pool and, as such, have responsibilities to try and maintain healthy stocks. Hence, such things as minimum sizes and, the day will come, bag limits for recreational fishermen.

Looking ahead to next week Bermuda has two teams out to defend the island's honour in the 2006 IGFA/Rolex Tournament in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Their progress can be monitored through the IGFA website at www.igfa.org. Best of luck to them! For the rest of us, there can be no denying that the calendar says that it is time to go fishing. In just a few short weeks, we will be celebrating the start of summer and from there the time will fly. Somehow in between now and the end of the summer we aficionados will have to find a little time to slip out for some Tight lines!!!