Fishing in general and angling in particular is rapidly fading from the limelight as days shorten and locals' mindset shifts into winter mode.

Happily, there are a few die-hards who continue to take advantage of any day that is even close to fishable and provide updates on the state of play out on the briny.

Surprisingly, not all of these are commercial fishermen who need to earn a living ¿ some just do it for fun, if you can call it that in the rain and wind.

As is consistent with this time of the year, the weather forecast for the weekend ahead won't have people running around securing bait and fuel for an expedition offshore.

The start of what is generally accepted as the "holiday season" will undoubtedly have a major negative effect on the offshore scene as would-be anglers concentrate more on decorating their craft for the boat parade rather than venturing out in search of fish.

The other alternative is to secure the boat and put it into "mothballs" for the next five or six months.

Commercial operators are still plying their trade albeit with the areas of concentration being lobsters and bottom-dwelling species.

While there are still enough wahoo around to justify putting in some trolling time, most of the commercial fishermen are still sitting on a stockpile that goes back to October and earlier this month when the numbers of wahoo were nothing short of fantastic with double figures the daily norm.

Drifting across the Banks and working the bottom for whatever chooses to bite can, after a long day, be well worthwhile, especially at today's prices. Coneys continue to please as they have in years past.

There are enough red hinds to keep the interest and scattered spurts of action from the "floating fish" provide sufficient variety to keep customers happy. While productive, this type of fishing may be more akin to hard work than the casual angler wishes to put in, but it does offer a near enough sure-fire way of guaranteeing some proceeds from a day out.

Tuna are still pretty thin on the ground and there isn't any apparent reason for this.

It seems that they have merely chosen to bypass this venue. Certainly the offshore temperature is warm enough for yellowfins and, in any case, they have often spent a winter here.

The obvious thing is that they have to arrive here first and that just doesn't seem to have happened. Actually, thinking back, they weren't all that numerous during the summer months which is the usual time that they are most prevalent.

This may somehow be inter-related with the billfish on the basis that lots of tuna should attract lots of marlin or, conversely, lots of billfish will deter tuna from showing up where they will quickly be turned into a big blue's dinner. Who knows?

What we do know is that should a school or two of Allisons show up, the word will probably spread like wild fire. Certainly the commercial fishermen recognise that there is a ready market just waiting to be sated.

When conditions are right it is often possible to really load up on yellowfin and with the market ready and raring, there is some quick money to be made.

There will be a bit of lag time before such an influx becomes common knowledge but, if it happens, there should be some opportunities for the weekenders.

The blackfin population which seems to be resident year round doesn't figure much in the overall proceedings. The bottom line is hardly anyone is really interested in catching a blackfin tuna. For most palates, the flesh is a little too dark and this hardly justifies the effort that might have to be put in for them.

Add to this the fact that the tides or currents around the Banks and Edge are erratic and unreliable and the whole chumming operation looks a bit dodgy. Far better to ensure success with some other species.

Inshore trolling or trolling over the shallower reef areas can prove to be a lot of light tackle fun and a productive diversion. Small lures and feather jigs often entice strikes from mackerel and jack species, notably amberjack and bonita (Almaco jack).

Daisy chains work well and the old idea of rigging a silver spoon a foot or so in front of the hook-bearing feather has its adherents as well.

The theory here is that the lure looks like a fish chasing the "spoonfish", so a predator decides to make it a threesome by latching on to the lure. It has been around a long time and is used with success in freshwater fishing as well.

Every so often, things really come up trumps when a rockfish comes driving off the bottom to nail one of the trolled offerings.

Actually catching the rockfish is a bit of a challenge because the line is usually lighter than ideal and they call rockfish that for a reason ¿ they are pretty handy at hanging out in the rocks!

If, and when, this happens usually the best course of action is to reverse the boat until it is directly over the fish.

Then it is a matter of dragging the fish out of the rocks to the surface before the line is chafed away.

Having it straight up and down minimises the exposure to rocky surfaces but while this does work, the odds are definitely in the fish's favour.

Although they may not look it, those same shallow reefs are also home to other fish.

Yellowtail snappers, porgies, coneys and barbers can all be had in the time-honoured manner using either hand line or rod and reel. The emphasis on sport is severely reduced but the prospect of fresh fillets is an incentive.

Another option for a rather less than comfortable day but one which is too good to waste.

Just to round out the recent update on the 10th Annual IGFA Offshore World Championship tournament, the final tally put the team representing the World Championship Billfish Release Tournament on top after the four-day event had run its course.

The winning team which amassed a total of 4,200 points was 1,200 points more than second-place finishers who represented the Presidential Challenge ¿ Guatemala.

The team representing the winners of the Bermuda International Light Tackle Tournament managed an 11th place finish while the 2003 Rolex/IGFA Offshore World Championship team of Bobby Rego, George Sowers, Jr., John Domanic and Danny Fox had to make do with a 29th place finish. Some days the fish just don't cooperate.

Soon, the cold fronts will start passing on a more regular basis and the weather, while not necessarily pleasant, will at least be more predictable.

Mastering the art of reading the conditions is what can make the difference between staying home or sneaking out to score some Tight lines!!!