WOW, is it ever summer. Hot and humid with the seawater so warm that many species lose interest in the proceedings. This is not lost on many anglers who agree with the fish and take a back seat, preferring to wait for the improved fishing during September as things show some sign of cooling off.

Those who choose to stick with it will find that the calm seas and balmy breezes make for a fine day on the water but the fishing might leave something to be desired.

As always with fishing there are a few things that you can do to improve your chances of success. Not least of these is to be prepared for just about anything and a willingness to try for whatever opportunity presents itself. They may be fewer and farther between but they are there nonetheless.

The wahoo trolling has been slow even though a concerted effort will produce a few fish. Most are in the 15 to 30-pound range with a few larger fish being reported. Some nice 'hoos have been spotted in chumlines so they are obviously out there.

Dolphin have also been taken but until the season of chasing after floating stuff sets in in earnest next month, numbers will remain small.

Flotsam should also see an increase in the numbers of wahoo taken although these are almost always small fish.

At least one large (over 100 pounds) yellowfin has been taken by a boat that was concentrating on billfish. While there is no doubt that such is a great capture, it is often greeted with a measure of disappointment by anglers who really wanted a marlin.

The thing to note here is that tuna are school fish and where there is one there should be more.

One factor that probably has had some impact on the number of big tuna caught by boats trolling in the deep is the almost total reliance on artificial lures for billfish. While Yaps and Super Plungers are great for billfish, they are less effective on tuna and other species. The use of baits such as flying fish would probably see more wahoo and tuna take the bait but they might not be as effective in eliciting strikes from the giant marlin that are the flavour of the month.

With the hot month of August already virtually upon us, the doldrum-like calms can be expected and with them a real slow down to the yellowfin chumming.

Some decent tuna action will be possible but you will have to get to the bank either very early or stay late to get the most of whatever is on offer.

Recently, fish in the 60 to 80-pound range have been caught but the numbers have not been impressive. There also seem to be some smaller school-sized fish around but they apparently come and go, so actually aiming for them can be a bit of an iffy proposition.

Blackfin seem to prefer it a bit warmer than their larger cousins and some good light tackle sport can be had by anchoring up a bit shallower and scaling down the tackle to something more suited to the small game that will remain abundant on the tops of the Banks.

Rainbow runners, mackerel and various jacks will and going deeper may entice an amber or bonita to take the bait. Remember that while live robins are great for these species, they are not essential. Even a well-presented anchovy can do the trick and squid is also a good standby.

Nearer shore, both professionals and amateurs alike have been seeking out the schools of lane (whitewater) snappers that are so co-operative on warm summer nights. Readily available throughout the murky channel waters, this species does not attain any great size but is almost always willing to respond to a chumline.

Although amateurs are limited to 30 fish per boat per day there are other species that will please and provide a bit of action. There are a number of types of jack that will feed at night and the ubiquitous turbot can quickly take up space in a cooler or fish box.

While the latter can be a nuisance to clean, it does yield a nice firm white flesh and they can often be caught in quantity. Sharks can also liven up the proceedings and these can range from ten-pound puppies all the way up to 500 pounds or more of tiger.

The next four days will see the fishing of the 30th (that's a kind of a big number!) annual Bermuda Billfish Tournament organised by Sea Horse Anglers Club.

Considering the history of angling in Bermuda and the emphasis that was placed on light tackle angling, it is quite amazing that billfishing ever got off the ground let alone a tournament that has persisted for so long.

This is really a great credit to the organisers who have been able to hold things together for over a generation and actually continuing to improve the event each year.

There was the usual bunch of suspects present at last night's registration meeting and to anyone but an aficionado it would have seemed that everyone was suffering from delusions of grandeur.

The oil companies can take heart from the fact that the usual score or so of boats will be burning immense quantities of their products as they scour the sea not only for lots of release points but mainly for the big one that will earn them an entry in next year's big bucks World Cup.

Despite the fact that this tournament boasts one of the highest minimum weights in the world, each year has brought its share of surprises.

In the last 23 years, there have only been eight qualifying entries for the big fish award. One of these, one was a grander - 1,031 pounds - taken by Bill Kaas on Capt. Allen DeSilva's Mako 4. Four were over 600 pounds and three were between 500 and 600 pounds.

There have also been countless "onethatgotaway" stories and many really big fish have been raised. This year looks especially promising as the action has been fairly steady the last couple of weeks with large fish being seen off the East End and the South Shore in addition to the traditionally favoured grounds off the Banks.

Argus Bank, in particular, looks like a prime location because of the large numbers of skipjack tuna (oceanic bonito) that are present there. Rest assured that, given calm seas, no bit of ocean will be left untrolled as those with marlin mania seek out Tight lines!!!