Well, there won’t be much fishing of any description here this weekend as the Island does its best to shy away from Sandy’s attention.The last thing we need here is a blow; it is late enough in the angling season to put a complete end to the year’s sporting effort and the lobster fishermen will have to be shifting their traps into safer waters just on the off-chance that the storm’s swells cause havoc on the surrounding shelf area.The predicted combination of swells and the likelihood of rainy weather is enough to keep the weekenders home yet again. Perhaps the most productive thing for them to do this weekend is to carve up their pumpkins for Wednesday’s Halloween festivities.Indeed, there are those who use that date as a sure indicator that the year is all but over and that the long winter is upon us. Not everyone thinks that way but there are enough to ensure that there will be very little sports fishing from now on until the spring.Those who are true die-hards and who keep their boats on the mooring just waiting for a good day should know that trolling is producing a few wahoo but with little reliability.There are reports of a few nice wahoo being caught at the east end but these could very well have come from a one-off encounter with a small school of larger fish in the 50-60 pound range. Most other wahoo catches seem to be made up of fish in the 15-30 pound bracket. Not to be sneered at but not exactly what it takes to cover the cost of fuel for either the amateur or commercial operator.Factor in species desirability and it is hard to compete with bottom fishing. Apart from the ever-popular grouper species, yellowtail snapper and bonita will please with the former posing an option for those equipped and willing to chum over the deeper reef areas. Finding a suitable tide can be a problem but that may not be insurmountable if there is a school of snappers in the vicinity. Just because they won’t rise up into the slick doesn’t mean that they won’t take regular bottom rigs; in fact, this can be the best method for catching them. You probably don’t need a whole lot either. After all, if they are anything like the size we expect here, it will only take a half dozen or so to make the trip worthwhile.Serious offshore chumming is pretty much done for the year although that is not necessarily a given.Bermuda has always been home to schools of yellowfin tuna, a species classified as a tropical tuna. Despite that, they have often pleased on the Banks, in particular, right on in up to December. As long as the currents around the Banks were workable, the fish could be chummed and some decent sport could be had. In more recent years the marketability of the species has made it of interest to the commercial fishermen although right now it is the lobster that has taken precedence.The yellowfin tuna enjoys a wide range including both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; but, in reality, not all that much is known about its life history.The main spawning area is thought to be in the Gulf of Guinea off Africa even though some authorities say that they spawn throughout their range. Certainly, there is a concentration of juveniles off Africa where the purse seine fishery puts a severe dent into the tuna population.The species has always been a favourite here and most sport fishing history books credit the yellowfin, or Allison as it was then known, with putting Bermuda on the map.Chumming for tuna in the 40 to 60 pound range with light tackle was once deemed the most exciting sport and certainly there were plenty of fish in that size range here. Best of all, they seemed willing to play their part. Larger fish have been caught fairly regularly; but, just how large does the yellowfin tuna get?Bermuda currently holds five records of various types with the largest fish in the 60-70-pound range. That is probably a result of that species being the target of the local light tackle fishery. Having said that, 200 pounds seems to be the magic number with the largest fish ever caught here just about making that weight.Other locations, spread around, include South Africa, Australia and Hawaii as areas to produce large yellowfin tuna. The Carolinas have also boasted some hauls of large fish but those locations probably work pretty much the same stocks that we do here, so the results would be expected to be similar.A look at the record books pretty firmly puts the biggest yellowfins into Mexican waters. While there may be some room for argument that these fish are more accessible to long-range anglers than at other locales, the size range is convincing. Add to that the fact that those particular waters are known for the abundance of bait and it isn’t too hard to figure out why the tuna there are so large.So, it should come as no surprise that the IGFA received an application late last month for a new 130-lb and all-tackle record based on a Mexican yellowfin tuna that weighed in at 427 pounds. This catch was made off Cabo San Lucas which is a well-known Mexican hotspot for several species.Now, here’s an interesting note: the longest yellowfin tuna in the record books is the 388lb 12 oz fish caught on 80-lb test back in 1977. This fish was measured at 231.78 centimetres. The present 130-lb and all-tackle record set in November, 2010 that weighed in at 405 pounds had a comparative length of 217.17 centimetres.With no details yet on the length of the new potential record, it may well be a fair observation that girth has more to do with size than mere length. Most of us reckon that when the yellow streamers (actually the second dorsal and anal fins) start to cure back and reach for the tail, then the fish is big! Another vision that dreams are made of!Anyway, for the next few months, we can put such thoughts out of our heads and concentrate on the diversions that will be competing for our attention. Politics aside, there are the holidays and domestic demands that will keep many a wannabe angler otherwise occupied. Suffice it to say that, for the next little while, there won’t be many of us getting any Tight lines!!