All kudos to the organisers of last week's Royal Gazette Wahoo Tournament. This reborn event was fished in bright sunshine and ever-improving conditions, justifying the brave call to leave the tournament on "go" despite a lead up that consisted of lightning, thunder and generally uncomfortable conditions.

One suspects that they wouldn't be getting away with any such thing this weekend as the northward progress of Hurricane Igor has anglers scrambling to secure extra lines on their boats or physically taking them out of the water and placing them in relative safety on dry land. Who said that the 2010 angling season wasn't over? It sure has that look about it now.

Added to getting lucky with the weather was the happy circumstance that the fish were willing to please with good reports having been consistent through the previous week or so. Obviously tactics would vary from boat to boat, based on experience and location but if the fish were generally in pleasing mode, then the outcome was pretty much ensured.

There were a total of 54 wahoo brought to the weigh station at Dockyard. These arrived on the 17 boats that elected to come to the weigh-in. As always, there are lots of questions relating to how many boats are expected and why do only so many show up?

Amongst the answers to this unfathomable question is the possibility that although forty-odd boats may have entered, some might not have actually gone out for one reason or another. Others may have gone but remained fishless during the duration of the tournament. Still others may look at what they have at the end of the day and decided that it makes more sense to head back to the mooring and start cleaning up than to waste time going to a weigh-in with a fish that is probably going to be too small anyway.

Whether the number of fish weighed in was an accurate reflection of the actual numbers of fish caught is unknown. Of the boats that attended the weigh-in, there was plenty of talk of missed strikes and ones that got away. Many skippers blamed their losses on the use of light line and while that may have been a factor for some, there are plenty of other reasons for lost fish.

In fact, back in the day when light tackle was king there were plenty of wahoo and other species caught on light line and, to be totally fair, 30-lb test isn't exactly "light". With the exception of a bruiser blue marlin or a full-size yellowfin, there shouldn't really be any fish in the local area that cannot be subdued on 30-lb test line.

Perhaps that accounts for the fact that the majority (30 out of 54) of the fish weighed in were caught on that line class. The next most popular line class was 16-lb test (10 entries), then 12-lb test (eight entries) with the once-popular, but now often ignored, 20-lb test class figuring only in six entries.

The actual class of the fish was pretty good, despite there being no giants among the winners. There were 12 fish in the 10-20 pound range; 21 in the 20 to 30-pound bracket, 11 were between 30 and 40 pounds while eight were over 40 pounds and there was a lone fish that bettered the 50-pound mark. Having noted that, it should also be said that there were several fish that weren't more than a few ounces shy of the half century mark.

The overall winning fish, a 50.1 pounder, was caught by a junior angler, Paige Allen, on 12-lb test whilst fishing aboard the boat Phuket. That brings a lot of good things together: a great youth accomplishment on real light tackle aboard a truly amateur boat. All in all, the sort of fairy tale outcome that warms the hearts of tournament organisers and makes for good copy.

The Heaviest on 12-lb test award was won by often successful Kathryn Garcia who caught a 39.7 pound wahoo while fishing aboard Andrew Card's Reel Action. The Heaviest on 16-lb test category was won by Thomas Whited (another junior) with a 43.5 pound fish.

In the 20-lb test class, the winner was Bill Bailey with a 49.4 pound wahoo with another veteran, Ronnie Stervinou taking the Heaviest Wahoo on 30-lb test with a 49 pounder.

Due to the tournament rules limiting anglers to a single prize, the High Point Junior Angler became young Jacob Estis who had a 21.5 pound wahoo caught on 12-lb test.

The High Point Boat was Brian Mello's Tantrum which amassed 3,479 points from nine wahoo.

Most of the boats fishing on the weekend relied on live baits and although most went out with robins in mind, there was a surprise appearance in some locations of "frigate" mackerel. Once the present blow is over, there will be plenty of effort put into tracking down the frigates and then try to maximise their potential in exploiting the wahoo to the fullest.

Another species that a fair number of boats encountered as they combed the ocean for a suitable wahoo was the dolphin. There were a rather surprising number caught with some of them weighing as much as 20 pounds. Although not eligible for this particular event a few were weighed for club competitions or out of general interest as the spectators liked a bit of colour or variety. A barracuda-chewed wahoo also garnered some interest from the crowd on hand to enjoy the proceedings.

Not too much to look forward to now; a blustery and maybe even scary next couple of days and then a slow return to normalcy. The likelihood is that most of the amateurs will call it quits and the rods will go back into the cupboard for another winter to await the onset of spring next April or May. The commercial fleet will regroup and resume their activities as soon as the weather and sea conditions relent to the point that it is safe to do so.

The present prognosis is for a fair to good wahoo run which will allow them to stockpile a supply that will last into the winter when fishable conditions become a bit of a rarity.

That is when the lobster business really comes into its own, being closer to home and often accessible when the banks and other preferred fishing holes are not.

One hopes that you have taken all the necessary precautions and have battened down the hatches and are ready to ride out whatever Igor has in store for us. Over the last four hundred years, the Island has seen its fair share of blows and, if there is one thing for certain, the last thing you'll have this weekend are Tight lines!!