BOY, how things have slackened off recently. The yellowfin have done a runner and left the bank to the blackfin and other smaller game; the marlins don't seem to want to play and it has been the wahoo that, uncharacteristically, have been providing much of the action this last week or so. Honourable mention should also be made of the bonitas that have been salvaging many an otherwise dismal day.

Wahoo catches using regular trolls have been fair with the odd boat actually managing to get into double figures. Most of this action has taken place down of Argus but there has been sufficient elsewhere to make trolling Challenger or the Edge viable options. Most of the fish are small with something like 15 pounds being the norm. Very occasionally, a larger fish pleases but don't get your expectations too high up.

There are just enough yellowfin being caught in the chum to prove that they have not gone extinct. For the most part the blackfin and rainbow runners dominate the chumslick and these species do at least afford anglers with some good light tackle action.

The warming water is setting the stage for the onset of barry activity and these will establish residency in the vicinity of most moorings and they will wreak havoc on any mackerel that happens to get hooked. They also tend to discourage the robins from putting in an appearance.

The latter is a shame because fishing a robin deep is proving to be a most successful tactic for big bonita and amberjack. Some really nice fish have been caught - Capt. Keith Winter's Playmate is making this sort of fishing a bit of a speciality - and there are probably some potential records to be had.

Just recently, the billfishing has left a lot to be desired. Things went very quiet last week and it was not until the weekend that there was any sign of improvement. The visiting boat Se7en released a decent fish on Saturday then reported missing a big fish. On Sunday, the same boat continued to enjoy good results, realising two fish. Although there has been some increase in the number of fish raised, the blues seem to lack aggression, often taking feeble swipes at baits or ignoring them completely. As anyone who knows anything about billfishing knows, this is totally out of character and may be a sign that the fish are spawning or have otherwise gone off feeding mode.

With the second annual Bermuda Big Game Classic starting today, all the participants are hopeful that the marlin activity will some back to the level that the inaugural event enjoyed last year.

This major event is a modified release tournament where points are scored for releases but fish bettering the 500-pound minimum weight are eligible for weighing in at a point per pound. So for many boats the strategy is to try to score a number of quick release to rack up the points and then to go looking for a keeper that can put the total score out of the reach of the competition. Easier said than done when the entire fleet has the same sort of mind set.

On a more positive note, there have been at least three separate reports, widely spaced out of monster-sized fish and there can be little doubt that some pretty severe effort is going to go into hooking up with one of these over the next three days.

Mixed in with the blues is a crop of rather sizeable white marlin and while these are eligible for the Classic, they won't be the target of choice. The same can be said of the relatively rare spearfish and, uncommon here, sailfish.

Elsewhere, fishing the channels should see some nice silk snappers (whitewaters) that will please. In the 12-14 fathom draught, there should still be some action from grey snappers but these are more likely to make mistakes at night. Chumming a bit deeper should start to produce yellowtails and these will often continue to bite into the night. Don't forget to use loads of ice if snapper fishing - it doesn't take them long to go off.

Despite questionable conditions for small boats, last Sunday saw the fishing of the Warrant Officer's and Sergeant's Mess tournament (better known and the Regiment Tournament). There were a total of nine boats entered in the tournament with two anglers electing to fish off the rocks. The catch that was weighed in consisted of 40 fish: eight amberjack, six bonitas, six blackfin tuna, five barracuda, four rainbow runner, three yellowfin tuna, two yellowtails, two sharks, two steelhead jacks, one bream and a lone wahoo.

Virtually all the fish caught were caught by Regiment personnel; meaning that those awards reserved for those in the Service will be well shared out. Eleven of the sixteen adults entering fish were Regiment personnel and there were two juniors as well.

The largest fish in the tournament was 48.5 pound amberjack caught by Capt. Herman Eve who also had a 43.5 pound amber to his credit. The largest yellowfin on 30-lb test was Jerome Robinson's 36 pound tuna. The largest blackfin weighed 25.25 pounds and was caught on 30-lb test line by Capt. Stephan Caton. The sole wahoo was caught on 20-lb test also by Capt. Caton and weighed in at a respectable 31.75 pounds. The largest fish caught on a handline was a 4.75 pound bonita caught by WO2 Darren Marsh. The shark prize was won by Capt. William White with a 72.5 pounder.

As mentioned last week, July 4th was the Blue Marlin World Cup. A total of 109 boats fished this event worldwide but only a handful of fish were caught. The early mark was set by a 584 pounder caught off Madeira. There were flurries of excitement emanating from such exotic places as Bom Bom Island, Africa but, as the story unfolded, even some of these fish failed to make the qualifying weight of 400 pounds. In the final analysis, as has often been the case, it fell to Hawaii to produce the winner where the boat marlin Magic earned a magical payday of over $200,000 with a 612 pound blue marlin from the Kona coast. That's some valuable Tight lines!!!