Even the grizzled old salts have trouble remembering a year that seems so bereft of fish. While there are a few reports of wahoo and tuna being caught, most of the effort seems to be directed at bottom species and many commercial operators are really concentrating on lobsters. The overall scene does little to encourage the weekender to plan sorties afloat, involving not inconsiderable costs in terms of fuel and time.

The Banks remain the preferred spots for bottom fishing largely because it is possible to drift some distance before having to motor to reposition the boat. Along the Edge the driftable distance is quite short and a great deal of time is spent keeping the boat in a preferred draught. The near enough flat top of the Banks allows for a continuous exposure of the hooks and baits to the bottom fish as the boat moves according to the wind and tide.

Some observers have reported that the tides are extremely strong and they are not what is normally expected at this time of the year and it is suspected that this may have something to do with the generally slower than expected fishing.

Anglers bent on going fishing and catching something might want to consider some of the alternatives to blue water trolling or chumming. Obviously, if a wahoo is required then trolling is probably the best option but it might be a while before that requirement is fulfilled.

Chumming for tuna is hampered by the tidal conditions and what appears to be a general lack of the quarry. A few yellowfin have been caught by trollers and there have even been some dolphin added to the fish box but there are no guarantees.

Far better to consider working over some of the deeper reefs. Quite apart from the barbers and coneys just about everywhere on that sort of bottom there are other desirable species that may please. Yellowtail snappers are really a reef species and can be readily caught off the bottom. Porgies are encountered fairly regularly and while not particularly game they can be large and offer quality white meat, not to mention chowder potential.

Chumming over the deeper reefs can also make for concerted yellowtail action, if the currents allow the bait to flow in an orderly manner. Amberjack and bonitas will also follow a line of bait to depths where they can be caught in the same manner as tuna are caught offshore. Mackerel usually put in an appearance, the arrival of robins opens up additional potential and blackfin tuna have been known to occur in shallower waters than most people think. Even wahoo have been caught in as little as 15 fathoms. If you think about it, that sort of depth of water need not be too far from the start of the drop-off. While this doesn't have the appeal and potential for excitement that deep sea fishing holds, it can go a long way to justify the expenses involved.

Something a bit more positive comes from some of the lobster fishermen. Apparently they have caught some hamlets in their traps and, happily, the fish have been released back into the sea. As one must suspect, although the law requires the release of fish caught in lobster traps, there are some unscrupulous operators who collect any catches as a bonus or for bait if nothing else.

The good news comes from the sighting of this species from some of the deeper reef areas. It was pretty well known that there were still a few in areas like the Great Sound where juveniles have occasionally been caught but by the time protective legislation was put in place, they were commercially extinct and probably accurately classified as rare.

Sightings by divers locally are virtually unheard of but that isn't too surprising considering the tiny proportion of the total reef area that is visited by divers. The mere fact that they are turning up in commercial fishing gear is reassuring in that there are still some out there and maybe, just maybe, more than there were a few years ago.

Most casual anglers and probably just about everyone under the age of about 30 years have never even seen a hamlet. To make sure that everyone is on the same page the term "hamlet" as used here refers to the grass hamlet or, more properly, the Nassau grouper.

The species was found on reefs throughout the tropical western Atlantic and was a very important food fish in all those locations. In fact, they were once the backbone of the Bermuda commercial fishery back in the days when even a red hind was considered bordering on being a "trash" fish.

Fishing for this species has been banned in the United States and they are a protected species here in Bermuda. In much of the Caribbean they are known to be overfished and certain international organisations classify them as an endangered species.

In a way, the grouper's life history condemns them to heavy exploitation. They get the collective name from the fact that they school up or group in order to spawn. When they are in this mode they are heavily concentrated in a relatively small area and are exceedingly vulnerable to fish traps or even hook and line fishing. Once the sites of the spawning aggregations were known, fishermen took full advantage of them. Naturally catching them when they were breeding not only removed the adults from the sea but also meant that less were able to breed so that also contributed to the downfall of the population. It also did not help that they were a particularly delicious fish, favoured by many consumers throughout and beyond their natural range. After all, the ring of rockfish or grouper on a menu gets fish aficionados drooling.

In the 1990's there was an attempt to import some very small hamlets and to grow them out with the intention of ultimately releasing them to enhance the local population. This never really got off the ground because although the fingerlings were imported none of them ever survived long enough to allow Fisheries workers to release them at a size where they would have a reasonable chance of survival in the wild.

So, for the time being at least, anglers will have to make do with the lesser members of the grouper family like the red hind, coney and barber.

Black rockfish, a larger grouper species, can please as some of the commercial operators know but this is a specialised fishery which can prove frustrating to those who don't know all the ins and outs. Far better to stick a chunk of bait on a weighted hook, let it plummet into the depths and await the tug that makes for some tasty Tight lines!!!