If the forecast is anything to go by it looks like being another weekend best spent ashore. Winter fishing is pretty much a non-starter for weekenders — a calm day is necessary but it doesn’t help much if the seas have been mountainous for the previous three days.

It takes a while for things to settle down and reports indicate that the offshore tides are nothing short of awesome. These conditions have apparently moved much of the seaweed on, so that is something to be grateful for.

In between the passage of cold fronts and the remnants of the real nor-easters that have tormented the East Coast, there have been enough days to allow fishermen to service their lobster traps and for that very select few to try wetting a line for fin fish.

It would be nice to be able to say that a treasure trove of pelagic game fish has been located, or maybe even the mother lode of wahoo but such fairy tales usually remain precisely that, dreams or figments of the imagination. And this present scenario is little different.

Among the better catches made by trollers have been hauls of up to a half dozen wahoo. While this sounds great, it must be tempered with the fact that the number of boats working that particular piece of bottom is minimal so what shots there are going to be there will all come to the one or two boats trolling there. Try a typical summer’s day when there will be five or six boats intertwining their wakes over the same area with the usual outcome being one shot apiece.

So, six fish do not a run make, so don’t go dropping everything and taking time off work to grab a share of the action. Great for the single boat and nice that the average fish was about 30lbs but one reasonable day does not make up for the weeks that can be lost at this time of the year.

Perhaps a more positive sign is that there have been numbers of small blackfin tuna caught. This species, which is thought by many to be largely resident, is an important bait fish for the really large predators such as blue marlin. These small fish, not exactly juveniles but probably a year or so old, seem to be in good numbers and may well be indicative of better things to come.

In their own right, these can make a tasty treat. Although blackfin are often shunned in favour of some of the lighter meat tuna species, fish this size usually cook up a bit lighter and certainly less strong flavoured than their larger relatives. Some cooks like to use such tuna in casseroles or for making fishcakes.

Although fishing for tuna usually means chumming, tuna like this are often taken by trolling with multiple strikes belying their tendency to travel in schools. Artificial lures often work well and daisy chain or spreader combinations also get the attention of tunas of this size and type.

Bermuda’s Edge is actually the preferred venue for blackfin. While there have been plenty of trophy blackfin taken off the Banks, the closer drop-off is the most consistent producer of this species. In fact, reef anglers have encountered them fairly regularly and there are some apocryphal stories of schools of small blackfin along the North Shore and even into Harrington Sound. While mackerel, aka little tunny, are common inshore invaders, tuna are believed to prefer open water. So, while nothing is impossible, catching any real tuna species so close to land is highly unlikely.

Returning out to the real briny, another encouragement are the few yellowfin tuna that have been caught. Most have been school-sized but there was at least one that bettered the 60lb mark. Yellowfin are frequently caught all year around here but after the dearth of this species last year, seeing some so early has to be a good sign. Again the fish are being caught on the troll suggesting that they are on the move.

Fish on the move usually have some correlation with bait on the move. The ideal situation is for the bait species to set up in local waters and for the travelling predators to eventually locate them and to remain in the local area. While this process is probably ongoing at present, for the next little while anglers are going to have to stick to the time-honoured practice of dropping a line to the bottom and waiting for a coney, hind or barber to latch on. There are a few tactics that can improve the odds of success.

Circle hooks and multiples of them along with the toughest baits usually mean lots of chances to snag the nibblers. Maybe not the most exciting fishing but as near to a sure-fire method of ensuring some fresh fillet as anyone is going to get.

Looking ahead and being ready to take advantage of anything that might happen is a good strategy. There has been some red hot wahoo action down on the Banks during February’s gone by and it could happen again. That is where being like a Boy Scout and being prepared can be the key to Tight Lines!