It is that time of the year when angling gradually fades into obscurity to await a rebirth in the spring — and even the commercial fishery starts to slow down. Amateurs find it almost impossible to plan anything owing to the vagaries of the weather, and the lobster season usually diverts a lot of the commercial interest. There are, however, numbers of wahoo still waiting offshore and some yellowfin tuna often spend the winter here. The main problem is getting offshore to where these denizens are likely to be found, as only a few hearty souls put in any effort during the “off-season”.

Location can be a funny thing. While it should come as no surprise that Bermuda, as an isolated oceanic island, enjoys access to the pelagic wanderers that are the stuff of blue-water angling lore, there are so many species that are of great import to sportsmen living less than a thousand miles away which are virtually non-existent here.

Now, the crazy thing is that many of the species that are found here are also found in the offshore waters of these other locales. Take for instance, North Carolina, which seasonally enjoys good marlin and tuna fishing. Roughly just 600 miles to the west, anglers there also delight in many species that are unseen here.

The species in question are often featured prominently in magazines and on the fishing programmes on television.

Take, for instance, the cobia. A fine sporting fish, it enjoys a very wide range including the Atlantic, Caribbean, Indian Ocean and parts of the Pacific. Attaining a size in excess of 150 pounds and considered top-class table fare, along the East Coast anglers actively seek them out both from boats and from the shore in some places. Given its range, one might think that they could be caught here. While there have been a very few, two or three with one notable large specimen being caught off the Argus Tower site, this species pretty definitely bypasses Bermuda.

Next up is the kingfish. Here the nomenclature can get tricky. Down in Barbados and elsewhere in the West Indies, kingfish often refer to wahoo. Where the confusion originates is a bit of a question, although older writings sometimes refer to the wahoo as the queenfish.

Similar in appearance to wahoo, the kingfish is actually the king mackerel; hence the wahoo is a relation. The fish’s lifestyle is similar to the wahoo, although it prefers the waters along the continental shelf. A very popular game fish in the Carolinas southward through Florida, they do not venture out as far as Bermuda. The historical record here shows the capture of two small kingfish, also from the Argus Tower site some years ago. Persistent claims of having caught wahoo, with bent jaws from chewing on deep troll balls, suggest that on occasion the odd kingfish has been mixed in with a haul of wahoo is a possibility. But, again, no one locally is ever going to go kingfishing.

Another ever-popular sportfishing target along the East Coast is the bluefish. These are pugnacious fighters, armed with sharp teeth, which also make fairly good eating. They also occur in small schools and are aggressive feeders, an aspect that helps make them good game fish. Here comes the funny bit: they are actually found all over the world where they go by various names, but, for all that, they are not found here. Apparently two juveniles were once caught off Hinson’s Island, but that is the only local record of the species.

Striped bass are a another valued East Coast game fish; so valuable, in fact, that although they are native to the Atlantic coast of North America, they have been widely introduced all over the world — most notably to the Pacific coastline and, get this, into freshwater systems where they are in fact landlocked. In the normal scheme of things, they are like salmon and will venture into rivers, often quite far upstream, so totally existing in fresh water may not be too much of a stretch. A sought-after game fish that also is a desirable food fish, there are numerous restrictions relating to their taking, which vary from state to state. Again, a rather remarkable fish that has never ventured out the 600 miles or so to this island.

Which brings us to the other estuarine fish like the sea trout and red drum or redfish. Often featured on television and in the glossies, they are found along the coast from Virginia south to Mexico. The salt marshes and areas where the freshwater land runoff meets the sea are essential to their existence, as this is where they reproduce. Sadly, Bermuda has neither salt marshes nor a true estuary, which probably accounts for the lack of this species. The same lack of geographic features ensures that sea trout will not be found here, either.

Other fish such as the sailfish and tarpon are much more numerous in either inshore environments or along the continental shelf, and although both occur here in minuscule numbers, neither is common enough to attract directed attention. So, although this island is blessed with great wahoo fishing, a high standard of billfishing, especially for blue marlin, and a reliable school-tuna supply, it is also missing out on an entire contingent of other fish that are noted for their ability to delight anglers with Tight Lines!!!