The 28th Blue Marlin World Cup took place as always on July 4 in conditions that perhaps were not ideal but were certainly eminently fishable and as this coincided with the Bermuda Billfish Blast there was plenty of action to be covered.Worldwide, the World Cup’s entries had topped out at about 130 boats which were spread all over the globe. Somewhere the organisers were counting out something getting on for half a million dollars as the 2011 prize had been over $425,000!The Bermuda Blast had 38 boats entered with 225 anglers all ready to compete for the trophies, cash and prizes on offer, in addition to the vast majority of them, both local and visiting, also being entered in the World Cup.Things got off to a slow start but this gradually changed as the day wore on. Again, things were a bit surprising as the white marlin bites outnumbered the blues by close to two-to-one. This allowed for a fair amount of action and some quick scoring as most whites only take a few minutes to get to boat side and to effect a release. Still, at scoring 200 points per white, the tallies do click along.It wasn’t until Capt. Kyle Laine’s Bree got into a second blue marlin after earlier releasing a blue and a white that things really got competitive. It was late afternoon when after a bit of a marathon that lasted over 150 minutes that angler Paula Ringhaver released a blue that moved them into the lead with 1200 points. A great first day start.Capt. Allan Bean’s Paradise One had hooked up about noon with a fish that looked to be a keeper. With a 500-pound minimum weight there isn’t a whole lot of room for error and with no boated fish reported from anywhere east of Bermuda, it rather looked like a keeper could be a winner. The trip to the scale was a good first step with the fish weighing in at 556 pounds. Not a giant by any matter of means but certainly a contender and one that would move Paradise One right up behind Bree. Five other boats had each released a blue for the day’s efforts and the 56 points made a huge place difference.But as is so often the case, the situation can turn on a dime and the fates still had a hand to play out. The Fat Lady wasn’t singing just yet.Capt. Peter Olander sure played the Benny when his Queen of Hearts hooked up fairly late into the day. The actual battle, conducted by Glen Astwood, took over an hour and a half but the crew was victorious, boating a blue marlin estimated at 750 pounds. The official weigh-in turned out to be a bit more generous giving the fish a weight of 768 pounds.Then the waiting set in. With the Blue Marlin World Cup there are still hours of fishing left in hotspots like the Kona Coast in Hawaii and at another venues, any one of which could see a larger fish boated. Nervous times for all concerned, no doubt!When at last the word came through, there was nothing bigger landed to the west of the Island and the day was done. Glen Astwood’s big fish caught aboard the Queen of Hearts had given that boat the winner for the second time in five years no mean feat, considering the length and breadth of the competition! Huge congratulations to Capt. Olander and his crew, not to mention: don’t be spending the proceeds all in one place!This win is the seventh for Bermuda since the first local fish won the event in 1993. The competition actually dates back to 1985 but inasmuch as it started off with quite a limited group of competitors, it was some years before it expanded to include such places as Bermuda, Madeira and other exotic locales.In terms of the Bermuda Blast, things were by no means anywhere near over. Even though that particular catch moved Queen of Hearts (768 points) up into second place behind Bree (1200 points) and ahead of Paradise One (556 points), the Bermuda Billfish Blast still had two days to go and that can be a lot of fishing time.By the mid-point of the tournament on Thursday the lead had changed hands as Capt. Baxter Still’s Rum Bum mixed white and blue release for a total of 1400 points, ahead of Bree and Queen of Hearts. Putting things into perspective, there was just one blue marlin between first and second place and a blue would easily move the third place boat into second. Throw in three other boats on 700 points each and it wouldn’t take much to really shake up the standings.If last week did not provide enough billfish thrills and spills, get ready for another rollercoaster ride. This week sees the 12th annual Bermuda Big Game Classic taking place from July 5-11. This is the second leg of the Bermuda Triple Crown and it is probably the Island’s largest event of this kind. In the past entries have been around the half-century mark and, again, there is plenty to play for.The final event of the Triple Crown is the Sea Horse Anglers Club annual Billfish Tournament, Bermuda’s elder statesman when it comes to billfish tournaments. This year is the 39th such event and it will be fished from July 18-22. Although usually fielding a little smaller fleet due to foreign boats departing and locals having run out of vacation time, this tournament continues to produce quality angling, large fish and injects a level of uncertainty into the outcome of the Triple Crown.Despite the marlin getting most of the attention, there is still plenty of other fishing to be done. Some of it is in stranger than expected places. Bermuda’s southeast Edge is showing signs of fairly plentiful yellowfin tuna activity and the Banks are almost always home to enough to justify chumming. This time of year is seen by many light tackle anglers to be the prime season for both blackfin and yellowfin tuna with this year’s supply of amberjack and bonita really livening up affairs.Although frowned on by most veteran anglers, the barracuda are nothing short of plentiful and these can give a good account of themselves when hooked on an artificial tube lure from spinning gear. Anglers are supposed to remember the excitement generated by the fishing rather than the catching. Isn’t that actually the whole point behind Tight lines!!!