WHILE it may have been slow to arrive, summer is here and the fish are doing just what they are expected to do. There is still some traditional trolling around and the chumming is starting to settle down to the usual grab bag of summer small game punctuated by heft sharks and the occasional trophy fish. It probably won’t be too much longer before the barriers set up court and terrorise the mackerel and robins. Then you will know that it is high summer! Despite the cooler than usual water temperatures, the blue marlin bite is starting to liven right up. There are plenty of reports of action with boats like Capt. Allen DeSilva’s DeMako going one for two — releasing a fish estimated at 450 pounds. Other boats also report action from fish in the middleweight to heavyweight classes. That is the real joy of the early Bermuda blue marlin season; the fish tend to be large. This is probably due to some pattern that has the females arriving on the spawning grounds in advance of the smaller males.The first serious attention-getter came on Tuesday when the visiting American boat, Big Game<$>, hooked and caught a large blue that, after some difficulty getting the fish into the boat, had measurements that put the fish well over the 1,000 pound mark. There was a high speed dash to the weigh-in that revealed that the fish came in at an even 1,000 pounds. On the less rosy side of things, there was considerable propeller damage to the fish which, on the one hand, disqualified it from any record or competition entry and, on the other, probably lost it quite a few pounds. Given the latter, there can be no doubt that intact the fish was truly a grander.

This augurs well for the collection of billfish tournaments that make up the month of July. The World Cup, Bermuda Blast, Bermuda Triangle, Big Game Classic and Bermuda Billfish events all follow rapidly on the heels of each other and, by present appearances, the offshore scene is really promising. As more foreign boats arrive and total effort increases there will be lots more reports on just how good the deep water scene is. You can also expect a number of local boats to start concentrating on marlin and it has already been established that they are competitive with even the so-called best in the business.

Shifting the focus to light tackle, the Bermuda Anglers Club International Light Tackle Tournament (ILTT) is in full swing with six teams vying for top honours.

After the first day, the team Two and a Half Women was in the lead with a narrow margin over the Goombay Hookers. Angler Cindy Mitchell led the way with an inaugural 2,230 points. Catches varied but were predominantly mixed bags of tuna, rainbow runner and various jack species.

On Day Two, David Ross DeSilva racked up 2,486 points to put him in the High Rod position with a total of 3,652 points. The visiting Goombay Hookers moved into the team lead with 6,462 points, ahead of but by no means well clear of the other contenders. Just 250 points separated first and second slots; so there is plenty of potential for a close finish.

The real excitement of such a four-day event stems from the fact that the tournament can be won or lost on the last day, even with only a few hours remaining. Until the final weigh-in is over, there is always some doubt as to just who is going to triumph.

The species of choice for this event is the yellowfin tuna. These allow the anglers to subdue fish likely to weigh more than double or treble the line rating in order to accumulate points. As a rough rule of thumb, something over three times the line test amounts to about 1,000 points. As the size mounts, so do the points increase exponentially. This helps to account for the popularity of the 12-lb test class with school-sized yellowfin often coming in the 35-45 pound range.

Not as large as the yellowfin but good for accumulating points nonetheless are blackfin tuna. At times they can be more numerous than the Allisons and they weigh enough to score reasonably well on light line. Other species that can shift the balance are the Almaco jack (bonita) and, for want of a better name, steelhead jack. The latter is not known for its quality as table fare but it does give a good account of itself and are often nothing short of abundant.

Also often scoring significant points are the unsung species like Almaco jacks and the occasional bumper-sized rainbow runner. Both are recognised game fish and can score points in the ILTT. They become especially valuable in years when the fishing is not as fast as it might be and when the tuna are in short supply. There have been a few tournaments that these so-called lesser species made all the difference between win and place.

The wahoo fishing continues to be nothing short of top class. The size of the fish remains good with the summer stock “lizards” just starting to creep into the landings. Most of the fish are in good condition and have been giving a good account of them on anything even approaching sporting tackle. The site of the action has been spread out but most boats are preferring to put their effort into the Banks. Although this might be that area of choice, do not discount the Edge as wahoo have been taken fairly consistently just about everywhere with the East End also having enjoyed a good run. Do expect the wahoo to ease off over the next couple of weeks and make chumming for small game, tuna and potential live baits the better option.

Judging by reports there are enough yellowfin around the Banks to make life interesting. It seems that they just have not settled down in any particular area and, as such, it is hard to really work the schools over. One boat did manage 20 one day but this was the exception. As things calm down and the doldrums set in, their movements will be far more predictable and it should be possible to virtually guarantee getting Allisons up in the chum slick.

Looking just ahead is the next popular tournament that invites participation from all standards of angler. The Bermuda Regiment tournament, as it is commonly referred to, is slated for June 24 and entry forms and rules are now widely available at gas stations, tackle shops and elsewhere. The really fun thing about this particular event is that there are all sorts of awards and this makes it possible for even rank amateurs to finish up in the winner’s circle. Species, line classes and even hand lines all make it possible to get the most of any Tight lines!!!