IT would be a mistake to dismiss the Bermuda’s winter as a time that game fishing is non-existent. It is also a popular misconception that the game fish species all depart local waters in search of warmer climes. On the basis of this belief, the potential for sport fishing is virtually totally ignored by most anglers and it is only the commercial operators who actually get to see the offshore picture.While it is true that certain species prefer warmer waters and, often, bait species occurring greater quantities in more tropical waters, there are a few factors that need to be taken into consideration.

First off, although it is winter that does not mean that the sea temperature needs to bear some semblance to the Arctic Sea. In fact, the offshore water temperature virtually never drops below 18|0xb0|C (64.4|0xb0|F) and is often considerably warmer.

Just to provide a bit of a guideline, Bermuda is often cited as the northernmost site of Atlantic coral reef growth. While experts might point out various exceptions in other oceans, the ultimate limitation for corals is defined by the water temperature. Plainly put, corals start to die when the temperature drops below 16|0xb0|C (61|0xb0|F). So, the mere fact that this Island has been blessed with live coral reefs on the platform (that area that is shallower than the 15-30 fathoms that quickly give way to the drop-off into the abyss) is evidence enough that the sea temperature remains within the tolerance of corals. It should also be pointed out that it is the most robust of Atlantic coral species that make Bermuda home.

Before raising the claim that the weather reports sometimes show lower temperatures is put down to the fact that the sampling areas are inshore, often in bodies of water that receive little circulation and which are subject to shifts in temperature. When looking at the mass of water that cover the reef areas, not to mention the surrounding ocean, there has to be a massive amount of heat input or heat loss to change the temperature. As such the open sea shows relatively small changes and usually takes a while to be affected by short-lived changes in the weather.

What this means is that the offshore temperature almost always stays within the temperature range favoured by species such as yellowfin tuna and wahoo. Blackfin tuna which are actually a warmer water species than the Allison have long called Bermuda home and can be caught year round. Similarly, it has long been known that yellowfin can be chummed during January and February, provided that the weather allows you to get offshore.

Wahoo are known to be a tropical species but their range is considerably farther north and south than most people think. While some of this range expansion is indeed seasonal and sometimes variable dependent on just how warm a summer is in an area like the continental shelf off New England, the wahoo does actually get that far north.

Marlin are a bit more finicky but the white marlin is often associated with cooler water than you might think. Places like Virginia and North Carolina often experience a run of white marlin in the early spring and both those locations have been known to support good winter/spring fishing for yellowfin tuna.

The main problem there is the same one that Bermuda has; the lack of reliability of the weather. Passage of cold fronts result in high winds and the seas respond to this by becoming choppy and plain uncomfortable. In some cases, such as a winter gale, the offshore sea conditions are downright dangerous.

Blue marlin, rainbow runner and oceanic bonito (skipjack tuna) are probably the species that most prefer warmer water. But it should be remembered that it is not just what temperature that affects the movements of these fish. The availability of food is also a major factor. In the case of large predators, the quarry is usually a reasonably large fish such as the skipjack and the fish will move on to find concentrations of such bait. It is unlikely that large fish will leave an area where numbers of tuna or other bait are encountered.

Although the facts remain sketchy, there is plenty of data that indicate that one of the largest of fish, the bluefin tuna, also travel through water cooler than they are usually associated with. Bluefin tuna do travel through the local area and many believe that they are at their most numerous during the winter months. The net effect of this is that they get a pretty free ride as a result of the reduced effort and concentration on the more saleable bottom species.

Whatever the reasons and conditions, local anglers can benefit from an offshore scene that is remarkably good at the moment. There are plenty of wahoo about and several boats have made it into double figures over the Christmas/New Year period. Best of all, many of the fish are really respectable specimens, many of them bettering the 50-pound mark.

There are also quite a few winter tuna around. Some of these yellowfins are in the close to a 100-pound mark and while finding ideal conditions is a bit more difficult than just getting out there, some of these fish will fall to trolls.

Another species worth keeping an eye on is the lowly mackerel. Sometime between the winter and the spring oceanic conditions bring about a bloom or burst of zooplankton that resemble tiny shrimp. While not krill, strictly speaking, there are enough of these little critters to almost totally grab the tuna’s and mackerel’s attention. When gutting a mackerel it is not unusual to find its guts bursting with this orangey-red bait. At such times it helps to try to “match the hatch” by using red and red/white combinations.

Most of these mini-crustaceans live deep and the fish usually disappear from the surface in order to concentrate on this rich source of food. Not surprisingly, when the mackerel and other smaller species are concentrating on the plankton, the predatory species will also be in the area. Expect the yellowfin and blackfin tunas to be somewhere near the concentrations of bait.

So, with most anglers having totally dismissed the possibilities of any action for the next few months, the truth is that it is possible to indulge in some unseasonal angling that can pay off quite handsomely with Tight lines!!!