THE passage of a storm last weekend slowed things up a bit but the weather settled down quite quickly and those who ventured offshore reaped some rewards. Unfortunately, it is still too early in the season to get an accurate reading on where the fish are and what constitutes the best techniques because of the limited amount of fishing effort. Expect this to change rapidly over the next few weeks as the weather continues to ease up and more boats come off slip and swing back into action.

There are still a good number of wahoo around. Capt. Keith Winters' Playmate went one for three on a half-day trip, losing one fish right at the boat. Sizewise, the wahoo were in the 25-pound range. Curiously, Playmate also caught a young mako shark that was also about 25 pounds. This miniature stick of dynamite had had the added misfortune of getting hooked on a longline somewhere because the hook and a piece of leader were still in the fish's mouth.

The fishing was apparently a bit slow on the Banks, at least for the bottom species. Yellowfin tuna continue to be available and it is likely that the action will pick up shortly as the tides around the Banks stabilise.

The emphasis will also shift from the commercial target species to the more sporting species like tuna and wahoo. There will also be an increasing amount of charter effort and this usually serves as a pretty good indicator for the weekender. At least that is something to look forward to.

Meanwhile, we think that we have it hard! Although at times it might not seem like it, anglers in Bermuda are almost virtually unregulated.

Certainly in comparison to most of the rest of the world.

Unlike many places in the world, no licence is required to fish in Bermuda, by either residents or non-residents. Just about everyone is familiar with the requirements for a fresh water fishing licence that allows anglers to fish for trout, salmon, muskellunge or any other species confined to inland waters. For years, even the cartoons had game wardens chasing poachers and so on.

Any visitor to the USA or Canada, particularly in rural areas, will have seen signs in gas stations and tackle/gun shops saying 'Fishing Licences Sold Here'.

In most instances, the licences are available for a full year, semi-annual, monthly and even weekly. State or provincial residents pay one rate while the out-of state licence fee is usually a bit higher. About the only plus side is that in most places at least a portion of the hunting and fishing licence fees are earmarked for conservation or improvement of stocks.

Fishing on Canada's Great Lakes also requires that everyone be in possession of a valid licence. Charterboats there have the facility to issue one-day permits for visitors. These entail a fair bit of documentation and, naturally, a fee payable to the Receiver General.

While fresh water licences have long been required, in recent years, an increasing number of states have enacted legislation requiring anglers to have salt water fishing licences as well. Florida has a considerable body of fishing legislation and requires salt water licences for both state residents and those from out of state.

Costa Rica requires that visiting anglers obtain a licence to fish although in some cases this is arranged through the charter operator. Similar circumstances apply elsewhere in the world as well. So, it looks like salt water fishing licences have gone from being exceptional to all but standard in most places.

As an added vexation, the federal National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) in the USA has recently brought into effect a new requirement for an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Angling Permit. This permit that refers to the boat is required of any recreational angler who might catch one of the elected highly migratory species. The species included under this umbrella are swordfish, marlin, sailfish, tunas and sharks. Given such a wide selection and the manner in which many of these species often invade nearshore waters makes it likely that a great number of salt water anglers are going to have to take out such a licence. This, in addition to any state licence that may be required.

Even if it is your intention to fish for, say snook or tarpon in Florida or Georgia, the odd shark may take your line. Similarly a trip out to the wrecks for amberjack could well lead to a tuna taking the bait instead. So, you had better have this special licence, just in case.

By the way, the licence costs $22 with little or none of it going to enhancement of the marine resources being regulated.

To add additional insult to injury, there is a requirement to report any marlin, swordfish or sailfish to the governments within 24 hours. This is because there is a limit on the number of marlin that may be landed and NMFS needs to keep score. Happily anglers who land marlin in tournaments have the luxury of having the tournament organisers having to do the reporting.

Most jurisdictions also have restrictions on the number of fish that may be taken or killed. In places like Costa Rica or Mexico where the value of sport fishing has been recognised as an industry, it is generally illegal to kill marlin or sailfish. The release of other species such as roosterfish, tarpon and snook is also widely encouraged with many operators refusing to kill one on behalf of their charters. This is not the case with recognised food species such as dolphin and wahoo. The former of which is so numerous at those locations as to support a commercial fishery in their own right.

The so-called Bermuda fishing licence is not a licence to fish but a licence to sell fish. Whether or not some changes to the present situation are warranted is widely open to discussion. There is no doubt that some recreational anglers who happen to be good at catching fish catch more than they can use. These are then put on the black market or bartered with friends and co-workers, or in the unhappiest of circumstances simply used as chum or otherwise wasted.

It is a frequent complaint of commercial fishermen that it is difficult to sell fish during the summer simply because the recreational fishers are catching enough for themselves and their families and friends even without actually selling their catches. For this reason and to prevent wastage, perhaps some thought could be given to fairly liberal limits on the numbers of certain species that may be caught.

Of course, education frequently succeeds where legislation fails. A good example of this is the high percentage of billfish that are released. Not so many years ago just about every marlin was boated and brought ashore, for picture-taking if nothing else. Today that is the exception and that brought about without any legal requirement to do so.

It is hard to compare the Bermuda situation with that of the USA because, dependent on state law, recreational anglers may be allowed to sell their catches. There is a real grey area as to where recreational becomes commercial and is usually linked to boat size or possession of a special permit. Generally, the commercial operator has a far higher limit on the number of fish that he can take but that doesnt stop Joe Smith from selling the one bluefin tuna that he is allowed for big bucks.

One thing that does affect local anglers is a number of limitations on the minimum size of sport fish such as swordfish, yellowfin tuna, big eye tuna, bluefin tuna and white and blue marlins. There are also a few bag limits in place for whitewater snappers and red hinds. All told, though, there are not the myriad rules and regulations that anglers in most other jurisdictions have to put up with. With luck, it will stay that way but anglers will have to do their part and not give the resource managers a reason to control their Tight lines!!!