May signals the start of the season
Although the event has long been discontinued, variously for lack of organisation, increased fuel costs and other reasons, the recognised fishing season still starts on May 1 and concludes on November 30. Amazingly, even though there is no cast-in-stone reason for this, most fishing clubs find that their anglers do their fishing during this period. The real trick is to avoid being a late starter and to try and take advantage of the early and late summery months when there are plenty of game fish about. This contrasts with the high summer when it is too hot to go fishing and just about all there is to go for is marlin.
The first of the season’s tournaments is the Bermuda Fishing Clubs Annual Tournament and this is scheduled for the second Sunday in May, the 13th. The weigh-in is to take place at Spanish Point Boat Club and interested members of the public are welcome to see what the serious anglers have managed to come up with.
At the moment, despite some encouraging signs a little earlier, the fishing is a mite on the slow side. There are some wahoo around, as one should expect but these are not living up to their reputations either. A recent haul of five dressed out at 95 pounds, not too bad one might think until it is pointed out that one fish was in the 30-35 pound bracket. That makes the rest a really small average size.
The best description of current action is “hit and miss”. Obviously the “miss” bits are part of the angler’s hard luck stories but, unfortunately, some of the so-called “hits” have been rather paltry and everyone, even the professionals, are hoping that something starts to pick up and soon. A week or two of everyone making double figures would just about be in order.
A few boats have put in some chumming effort in the hope of locating some yellowfin tuna. So far, things have been disappointing with the tuna failing to put in an appearance. Most are blaming the tides (currents) around the Banks as being unstable and windward. Often the case this time of the year when most emphasis is on trolling for wahoo and other species that should be on the move.
The commercial fleet will pretty quickly swing into action, knowing that if there is a decent wahoo run then it won’t be long before the market is glutted. With the busy summer tourist season just around the corner, it really makes sense to make hay while the sun shines. In contrast, most weekenders take a bit of time to get their lives organised and many often miss the short spring run entirely.
So take advantage of the present time to get out and drag a line or two around the 30-50 fathom curve. Given that Mother Nature doesn’t have any surprises in store for us, the wahoo run should intensify with more consistent numbers and better overall quality. Mixed in with the schools of wahoo will be a few Allisons, the odd dolphin and a few white marlin. Every so often, the spring migration movement brings in schools of large yellowfin. Not the giants that occasionally please during the early autumn but nice fish in the 80-120-pound category that guarantee plenty of pull. Early season action also turns up oddities like sailfish, so trolling over the next few weeks can prove to be rather exciting.
On a related note, it appears that the Bahamas island of San Salvador has once again started to produce exceptional wahoo. Recent reports of fish in the 180-pound bracket have sent anglers there in search of new world records. A quick look at the current world line-test records reveals that many of the present records were set in a short period down off San Salvador. Fortunately for the light tackle records established years ago here in Bermuda, most of the boats going after these 100-pound plus ‘hoos concentrate on using heavier tackle than used to be the norm here. With the shift toward 50-lb and heavier line, wahoo angling in Bermuda has moved from sport fishing to commercial hauling. Effective but not a whole lot of fun, considering that a 50 or 60-pound wahoo is considered a really nice fish locally. The consistency with the really large wahoo, with enough fish clearing the hundred-pound mark to make them reasonably common, makes San Salvador a preferred spot to hunt trophy wahoo.
With the first blue of the year having already been caught and reports of a few “gotaways” and “mightabeens”, traversing the deep water between the Edge and the Banks is probably tantamount to inviting an assault by a blue marlin. There may be a few whites around but once the blues set in, they can come fast and furious. Also early season fish are often larger fish and anything over about 300 pounds is more than capable of dumping even a topped-up 50-lb rig. So if you are going to tempt the fates, go prepared and at least carry an appropriate length of leader on your favourite lure. That way you might stand some chance of getting it back if you happen to cross paths with a hungry blue.
There are still a few days left before the Southwest and other seasonally protected areas come into effect. With that in mind a sortie out there to try and get some robins up and have a shot at any large amberjack, bonita or rockfish that may be there is tempting indeed. The fact that trolling along the edge is permitted during the closed season leaves any travelling wahoo or tuna within the grasp of the angler but the more reef-dwelling species are just about to come in for blanket protection during the busy summer months. The bottom dwellers like coneys and hinds also enjoy a bit of a free ride, so maybe just now is a good time to stay close to home and have a good shot at some Tight lines!!!
