Now that we have seriously moved into the holiday season there will probably be precious little sports fishing effort. Apart from the weather which does interesting things as it moves into its winter mode, there are simply too many distractions and required duties that allow the average working man the luxury of eight hours afloat on the weekend.

Most of the commercial fleet are concentrating on their lobster traps and the recent onset of cooler weather will probably prompt them to start moving their gear into shallower waters. Lobsters move between the reefs during the winter and the winter gales make keeping gear on or near the Edge a risky proposition.

There are some operators though who continue to fish through the winter months as the weather will allow and they do get results. Recent reports have it that there are some fish to be caught but the action isn't the fast pace that most weekend warriors demand when in search of angling action.

Perhaps the surprise is the amount of bait on the Banks. There are plenty of robins and loads of mackerel. The robins are easy to catch which suggests that there may be a lack of predators around and those who have used live baits are reporting that is indeed the case.

Ever so slightly away from the bait concentrations on the south-eastern sides of both banks, are schools of yellowfin tuna. They are numerous enough to become the target of interest for both die-hard chummers and trollers.

Chumming, when conditions are favourable, has enjoyed some success with the Allisons as have trollers carrying a variety of rigs in their spreads.

The fish are by no means giants. It is fairly apparent that they are schoolies since they all seem to be in the 15-25 pound range. Most scientific research suggests that these are fish that are around about a year old. There are a number of variables that affect fish age and growth with the most obvious one being food availability.

Common sense would suggest that a schooling fish would encounter the same amount of food as the rest of the school and that there would not be much variability in the size of the individuals. The present crop of tuna offshore seems to bear out that reasoning. Young fish, ideal for light and even ultra-light tackle techniques, should you wish to give it a go.

The more desirable offshore species, the wahoo, is proving a bit more elusive. Fishermen working the troll in recent days have had to make do with just a few strikes during the course of a day. The key, of course, is making those strikes count. For most amateurs, even a wahoo a day is respectable and even more so if it is a decent -sized one. The average at the moment is probably around 25 pounds but a few considerably larger ones have been caught.

There is a bit of an influx of seaweed offshore just now and while it can be a nuisance, collective wisdom suggests that it is what accounts for the presence of dolphin fish. Quite a few have been caught in the last few weeks and the average size has been in the 12 -15 pound range. For some reason, Bermuda rarely, if ever, sees the really large dolphin that are common in more tropical locations like Baja California, Mexico or Costa Rica. The mid-sized one that turn up here are no less highly regarded and the addition of even one to the fish box rates as success.

To paraphrase a literary landmark, the offshore scene is not the best of times, nor the worst of times, making it feasible to try one's luck out on the briny. Just don't set your expectations too high and be willing to quit if and when you get ahead. Now is not the time for a boatload.

More on fish that we don't get here - but we actually have had their presence. The first of these is the ladyfish. A small fish but one which enjoys the attentions of light tackle anglers in coastal waters. Most write-ups and photographs reveal it to be a silvery fish about a foot long; usually being caught where one would expect the bonefish to be the game fish target of choice.

Unlike bonefish, they are known to leap clear of the water and are often found near the surface where spinning lures get their attention. In certain places, like Florida they are sometimes used as live baits particularly in estuarine situations were tarpon or snook are the desired species.

The one definite ladyfish caught here was caught in a bait net haul taken in the Mill's Creek area about 40 years ago. At the time it made the front page of the newspaper and was a subject of interest for about a day. That particular fish was eventually preserved in the then Fisheries Division museum.

The Florida Museum of Natural History, which has a most useful website at www.flmnh. ufl.edu/fish, actually states that the ladyfish is found in the waters surrounding Bermuda. While, at first glance, most of us would refute this, they might know something that the rest of us don't. This is because virtually no one here has ever even seen one.

That something might relate to a life history that resembles that of the European and American eels. Those species apparently spawn in or near the Sargasso Sea where the larvae develop and then migrate to the locations that give them their names. The ladyfish might well do the same, hence the museum's inclusion of Bermuda as part of their range. Just for the record, the adult American eel has also been caught here.

The famous Miami Boat Show, THE place to be seen, will take place at the Miami Beach Convention Center from the 17th - 21st February 2011.

Apart from the over 200 exhibitors who will be represented at the show, there will again be the big game room that concentrates on fishing. There are bait rigging classes and demonstrations as well as a chance to chew the fat with some of the legendary names in the sport.

There will be plenty of manufacturers and the latest fishing gear and electronics on show and it is easily possible for any blue water buff to spend a day taking in what might or might not be. In any case, the event is big and anyone thinking of going should be making arrangements now. That said, when the winter wind is blowing and fishing isn't an option, the convention center might be just the place for some Tight lines!!!