Happy New Year, as our Asian brothers would say. With the new moon on February 3, the lunisolar new year has started. The year ahead of us is 4708, somewhat older than the Roman 2011 which, in turn, is older than the Islamic year which is currently 1432.Funny how mankind has seen fit to confuse themselves with their diverse systems of counting (which they have done for centuries before most of us agreeing on base 10) and time-keeping.Before we go disparaging the Eastern view of things, it is worth remembering that a significant chunk of what we know about pelagic species has come as a result of their research and high seas fishing effort. In many Asian societies, the main source of protein comes from the sea or bodies of freshwater and consequently fish and other seafood is of paramount importance to them. Westerners treated the codfish in pretty much the same manner with salted dried cod becoming a staple throughout the Americas and Europe.As a result of growing demand, the Japanese and then later the Taiwanese and Chinese fishing fleets spread their effort farther and farther out onto the high seas and into oceans other than the one surrounding their homelands.Into the 1950’s and 1960’s international longline effort grew at a great rate and a scientific approach to it went a long way to maximising their catches. In hindsight this was probably not such a great thing but, if you go back, 20-odd years the belief that the sea’s bounty could not be exhausted was very real.On the plus side, we did learn a lot about the ranges of pelagic species, their migratory patterns and the sizes that they can attain. For instance, contrary to popular belief that has the black marlin as the largest of the billfish, the Japanese insist that the blue is the granddaddy of them all, topping out at about 2,500 pounds.There are probably not too many of those leviathans around given the fishing pressure that they have had to endure for decades, but one never knows for sure. There have been reports of fish that have been hooked off Hawaii that had experienced skippers and mates using the “tonner” word, so maybe one day a new record will be set. Certainly with more and more high performance sport fishing boats going to ever more exotic places in search of the ultimate fish, the marlin really don’t have anywhere to hide.Another large marlin at about 1700 pounds was caught off Portugal in the 1990’s, so it is probably a matter of time before the existing Atlantic blue marlin record of 1402 pounds (Brazil, 1992) is shattered. Happily, the IGFA separates the blue marlin into the Atlantic and Pacific varieties even though they are the same species. Although it is generally felt that the fish are bigger in the Pacific, the current Pacific blue marlin record is actually smaller than its Atlantic counterpart, coming in at 1376 pounds.While probably not home to monster fish, the Hemingway International Yacht Club of Cuba has issued an invitation to fish the 61st Ernest Hemingway International Marlin Tournament. This is scheduled to be fished from June 6 through June 11 this year. Surprising as it may seem, Cuba and the marina welcome Americans even though they have to go through hoops to get the American government’s approval to attend such an event. Another option to consider.Back to more mundane things inasmuch as billfish won’t figure in our fishing for at least another three months, there are some fish out there and when the weather has pleased as it has done on several occasions over the past week or so, local commercial boats have met with some success. Nice hauls of wahoo (six to eight) along with some school-sized yellowfin tuna have been taken, helping to keep the demand for fresh local fish stocked.One boat also caught an albacore in the 65-pound range. Not commonly caught here although they can be abundant in local waters. The reason being that they tend to stay at depth, only occasionally coming up to the layer that is worked by trollers. A splendid fish to catch, the albacore is the tuna that is marketed as “white meat” tuna. It is also easy to identify with extremely long pectoral fish which set it apart from all the other tuna species that are found in the Atlantic. The average size here is good, considerably larger than in other areas where they are regularly pursued by sportsmen.So, if a good weekend is predicted, then maybe it is worth considering a few hours afloat. The days are noticeably longer and the prospect of being able to come home in daylight is always inviting. Probably still a bit early to get into angling mode but there are a few die-hards who never give up hope of managing a day offshore. Good luck to them.The latest release of new world records by the International Game Fish Association (IGFA) includes several new line class records for Almaco jack, that which we call a bonita. These records come from the Pacific side of Costa Rica and have eliminated Bermuda from that section of the record book. The only Bermuda record left in that species category was the men’s 12-lb test record which stood at an even 53 pounds. The new Costa Rican men’s record on that line class is 67 lbs. 9 oz. This should be treated as challenge because there are some big bonitas here just not enough anglers willing to put in the specialised sort of effort that will set records. Something to shoot for, given the time and the inclination.Also worthy of note is that fact that the United States has laid claim to a great many of the new all-tackle length category records. A variation on catch and release, this is a form of record holding that is probably not going to find favour in too many places. After all, the logic is that if the fish is long enough to be record class, it can’t be too far shy of actually being a record. Not to mention the fact if the fish is prized for eating, then a big one is so much better than a small one.So, it is still winter but there are some positive signs. If the groundhog is to be believed; winter will be over in six weeks. Certainly we would expect an increase in the offshore water temperature and if March doesn’t turn into its usually blustery self, we may have some fine opportunities for Tight lines!!!