Well, it is all over but for the crying, some might say. Without a doubt, the passage of Leslie put a serious dent into the amateur fishing effort with many deciding that discretion was the better part of valour and boat would be in a far better place sitting up on concrete blocks in some yard than bouncing all over creation while attached to a mooring.So, less boats, no major tournaments left this year and; saddest of all, not a whole lot of fish. Toss in the high cost of fuel, the need to actually make a few repairs around the house before the real onset of winter and fishing pretty much goes out of people’s minds.What is a bit strange is that the “frigate” mackerel (actually juvenile mackerel but, then again, that is not the proper name either ...) that were nothing short of abundant on the inner bottom simply have not made their way out onto the Edge or the Banks. What live-baiting success there has been has come from using robins; which while excellent baits in their own right are not what experienced anglers expect to be using at this time of the year, especially not for wahoo.The other aspect of this situation is that the fish themselves, in the shape of scores of wahoo, actually expect to have a major feed on mackerel as they work their way south (presumably) on their annual migration. Although it is a bit of a “chicken and egg” question, the explanation is probably that schools of migrating wahoo pass through the local area and, while doing so, encounter the concentration of small mackerel that usually grace us with their presence at this time of the year.Such an abundant food source will cause the travelling fish to linger a while and they will be joined by other schools of migrating fish, giving the angler the impression that this is really a happening place. If the bait is not here or is scarcer than usual, those same schools will move on, leaving relatively small numbers on the offshore grounds to coincide with the efforts of local angers and fishermen. Thus there are some good days when boats can manage double figures often followed by “blanks” or other poor days. This does indeed give new meaning to timing.And that is the case at the moment. Some nice wahoo are being caught and there have been some yellowfin tuna mixed in but numbers are not what we would like to see at this time of the year. This can be rather devastating for some of the commercial operators who look forward to the autumnal run of wahoo as the opportunity to cash in on their availability and to build up a reserve of frozen local wahoo to take them through the winter months. When this doesn’t happen, then they are dependent largely on the lobster season and the present state of the economy doesn’t exactly provide the ideal climate for marketing what is generally considered a luxury item.Optimists will point out that this would all still happen but as the days slip by, grow shorter and the onset of winter becomes more real, even they will acknowledge that this has not been one of the better years for fishing. There may yet be a chance to salvage something but that will remain to be seen.For those who follow such things, the new American legislation to ban the importation and sale of billfish in the United States has made it to the President’s desk and will shortly become law. This will bring a great deal of satisfaction to conservation groups such as The Billfish Foundation and to a good many anglers who would rather see the world’s marlin stocks reserved for their exclusive use.Of course, this legislation applies only to the USA but some countries have a habit of following their suit on just about everything, even if it is of no real benefit to them. Can you see the sale of marlin flesh being made illegal here? It is not as if it is the choicest morsel or “catch of the day” on local menus. About the only marlin that gets sold here is some used for chum or hook bait. Most commercial fishermen, as distinguished from anglers, who catch and kill a marlin or retain one that comes up dead, save the fish for bait. Marlin meat has even been used for the bait in the lobster traps but any trade in it has tended to be barter rather than sale. Thus such a regulation would have precious little value here.The same sort of thinking might be applied to the “Blue Halo” concept. Right now the move to apply this form of protection to some of the rich waters surrounding Australia has caused a raising of concern among anglers and angling organisations. Not only would anglers be limited to where they could fish but this would also have an effect on commercial fisheries. Commerce is also hurt when a fishing ban extends to those who at as charter boat operators or guides and those businesses that supply the needs of anglers and fishermen. The “trickledown” value of such ancillary industries can be enormous, particularly in areas where there isn’t much else in the way of employment. Whether or not this will come to pass in Australia is the subject of considerable lobbying and it will be interesting to see what the final outcome will be.In the Bermuda context such a law would have mixed results. On the laudable side of things a great portion of the Bermuda Exclusive Economic Zone would be closed to fishing. Although some might argue that local fishermen might suffer, in fact they would not because most of the established industry takes place on the reef platform and the Banks. It would have some impact on the development of any real offshore fishery and that would have some effect on the few who are looking into alternative methods of making a living out of the sea.The one fishery that does make use of the great open blue briny is the offshore billfish sport fishery. Recent years have seen the great battlewagons travelling to points unknown and seldom worked by anyone. Certain of these locales would be protected by the proposed ruling and would limit the areas that were hitherto treated as virgin territory by some of the globetrotting boats that come here in search of the ultimate blue marlin. So, although only a small aspect of the Bermuda fishery would actually be affected by such a move, is it necessary or; more importantly, would it actually accomplish something other than depriving a tiny minority of some Tight lines!!!