WITH the cold snap at the weekend and then a dose of heavy weather through the week, anyone could be forgiven for thinking that the spring is a long way away. Certainly the fishing effort has ebbed to about as low as it goes. The commercial operators are concentrating on lobsters with a few continuing to bottom bounce for hinds, bonita and coneys.

While there are a few wahoo around, they are pretty much getting a free ride as trolling effort has slipped back to almost nothing. Fuel prices haven't helped matters but high seas and the suspicion that the fish may not please do little to encourage any effort.

In addition to the 'hoos that seem to spend the winter lurking about the drop-off, recent years have seen a population of school-sized yellowfin doing the same. The Banks are usually the best place to seek these out but they occasionally put in an appearance along other areas of Bermuda's Edge including off the East End.

For the most part, the best way of getting some tuna action is to locate the fish first. Provided that you are willing to burn the fuel this can be a good excuse for a troll for wahoo while keeping your eyes open for any signs of tuna activity. Once located, chumming while on the drift should get results. The caveats, of course, include pretty close to ideal conditions with a light breeze and a slow drift. Remember that you probably want to work deeper rather than shallower for yellowfin but once you have drifted out to about 160 fathoms, it is time to run back to the Edge. Try to get back into the slick that you made on your first drift. It should be readily visible in calm conditions. By concentrating the chum in a single area, you should be able to draw the school of tuna to you. The problem at this time of year is getting the ideal conditions.

Realistically, the best bet is to concentrate on getting some bottom fish for the table. Anchoring just inside Bermuda's Edge should allow you to work the bottom and by chumming you have a chance of luring a gamefish or two within range. Wahoo sometimes come to inspect proceedings and this can make for a happy occasion. If the current is not particularly strong and the bait is able to settle a bit, there is also the potential of getting some of the so-called "floating fish" up. This could include amberjack, horse-eye bonita (Almaco jack) and may be even the odd yellowtail snapper. Best of all, if the robins put in an appearance, the odds on getting either a surface feeding game fish or a trophy amber or bonita start really looking good.

With things looking so dark and negativity in the forefronts of most people's minds, it sure seems that any improvement is a long way away. This despite the noticeably longer days with darkness coming almost an hour later than it did just over a month ago. Is it really the depth of winter with no end in sight? The fact of the matter is that it really isn't. Spring comes early to Bermuda for a variety of reasons, some of which are less than obvious. Truth to tell, so far, this winter has been on the mild side, something which has been reflected in the lack of snow up north and warmer than usual weather.

While the Gulf Stream is credited by most people as the reason that we are kept reasonably warm throughout the winter, it really doesn't. Inasmuch as, apart from the very occasional eddy, it doesn't come anywhere near here. What it does do is serve as a temperature buffer or barrier between us and the mainland of North America. So when a cold front that is literally freezing comes off the East Coast, it has to move over the Gulf Stream before it can get to us. Moving over a warm body of water, and water holds a lot of heat, moderates the cold, resulting in less severe weather making it here.

It would also be wrong to discount the heat value of the water between us and the Gulf Stream. The Sargasso Sea in which Bermuda is found is largely defined by temperature. While not really warm at around 65?F (18?C), it isn't exactly cold either and this can help to warm up cold air passing over it.

It is claimed that Bermuda has the most northerly coral reefs in the world. This has to be linked to the water temperature. Most corals cannot live at temperatures below 61?F (16?C), at least, not for extended periods. Even brief exposure to low temperatures can prove fatal to corals which are really live, breathing animals and not rocks that somehow miraculously grow! What the presence of corals tells us is that the sea water temperature must be pretty much above that fatal temperature and, indeed, it is. The temperatures reported in the media as the sea water temperature tend to be a bit on the cool side as they are taken from inshore waters that are more affected by local conditions such as rain runoff or a sudden lack of solar input.

The vast mass of the ocean makes up for changes in heat loss or gain making it a rather steady environment. It is the movement of this mass that first influences local temperatures and provides the stability that enables the corals and other creatures to survive throughout the year. The next step is, as the days grow longer, more solar influx starts to warm things up and then, as the world tilts on its orbit around the sun, the strength of the sun increases bringing even more heat energy into the sea.

Think about it. Although the waters of the very far north Atlantic do warm up in the summertime, you probably don't fancy a dip overboard. In fact, many Bermudians feel that the 24th May is too early to venture into the briny at which point the local sea temperature is already warmer than it ever gets up off New Jersey or New York's popular beaches.

It probably hasn't really been studied too closely but there seems to be some correlation between a mild winter and an early summer. If the water doesn't get as cold some years as it does in others then it is likely to warm up a bit more quickly when conditions come right. So, a mild winter means that we can look forward to a shorter wait before we can once again go offshore in search of Tight lines!!!