The calm seas have dragged out plenty of anglers who would normally shun the heat that August brings

Happily, for most, there have been some rewards as the wahoo fishing is showing plenty of signs of picking up which augurs well for the awaited autumnal run.

And it is not just the wahoo that are providing action. Yellowfin tuna and dolphin have also been contributing to some rather nice mixed bags of fish that have been caught recently.

The bulk of the action seems to be coming off the Banks but, arguably, that is because that is where the effort is going.

Reports of “green” water on the Southwest Edge have obviously deterred anglers from putting in much time there, but hopefully that will be a short-lived phenomenon as conditions are subject to change and that does represent some of the most productive bottom around this island.

As predicted, last Sunday the Bermuda Anglers Club Junior Tournament weigh-in was well attended. Of the 140 children signed up to participate, over 80 actually came to the weigh-in at the Flagpole with a huge variety of fish including some of the smaller ones’ entries which were still alive in buckets of water.

The 6-and-under group had their say as well. In the Boy’s division, Dayce Woodley had a 1lb 7oz Chub on handline which he caught from shore; Jack Fullerton used a rod and reel to catch a 1lb 3oz grunt also from shore.

In the inshore section, Thomas Kriendler won with a 2lb porgy on handline with the rod and reel category going to Charles Mitchell who had a 3lb chub.

The Girl’s proved just as adept at catching fish as the lads. Edith Watson won the shore handline category with a live 2oz grunt while the rod and reel section was taken by Grace Akle with a 9oz bream.

In the inshore section, Inara Todd had a 2lb 7oz chub on handline while Neve Mellor won with a two-pound triggerfish on rod and reel.

In the 7-to-10 years category Shore division the winners were Kimurry Bailey with a handline-caught 12.6oz bream and Kwhai Mendouncea with a rod and reel caught 3.8oz whitewater snapper.

In the Inshore Division, the handline category went to Philando Hill with a 14oz silk snapper on handline while Nathan Nelmes used a rod and reel to catch his winning 1lb 14oz triggerfish. In the Girl’s Inshore division, the only entrant was on handline with Tori Hayward winning with a 2lb 8oz triggerfish.

Still within the same age category the offshore section saw Isaac Todd win the handline section with a 1lb 13oz red hind and Andrew Stegman used a rod and reel to catch a 29-pound yellowfin tuna. The Girl’s Offshore Division was won by a rod and reel-caught 3.5lb yellowtail snapper caught by Somers Stevenson.

In the 11 to 16-year-old group the Boy’s winner with handline from shore was Dari Coddington with a 1lb 12oz jack with the Girl’s award for the same category going to Tyray Parris with a 2lb 3oz bream.

There was also a shoreline girl’s entry on rod and reel that won; this was Christianna Warren’s 10oz bream. In the Inshore Division, the Boy’s handline winner was Malachi Hayward’s 3lb bonefish and, on rod and reel, Enrique Minks’s 4lb jack. The Girl’s Inshore winner on rod and reel was Jessica Mello with a 1lb silk snapper.

There were only two entries in the Offshore Division: David Barnes with a 47lb rockfish caught on rod and reel and, in the Girl’s, Rose Paulos’s 2.5lb coney also caught on rod and reel.

There were also a number of special awards: the first entrant to sign up was 14-year-old Khamanie Pitt-Nesbitt.

First to weigh in was 11-year-old Sivaja Perinchief with a 14.3oz triggerfish. The youngest competitor was one-year-old Kez Hayward who had a 12oz grunt.

The last to weigh in and winner of the best sportsman award, largely because he received a hook through his finger which required a trip to the hospital was Philando Hill.

The School prize went to the PE Department of Saltus.

BAC is to be commended for doing this island-wide initiative to grow the sport of angling and to alert the island’s youth to conservation and our dependency on our marine environment.

At all levels, there is something to be learnt and the younger children can be involved the better. This was a productive, yet fun, way of getting these important messages across. Hopefully, it will continue to be an annual event that benefits everyone.

With the summer now coming to an end; with school beckoning and the final summer public holiday a mere week away, the last of the large scale tournaments is at hand.

The Royal Gazette Wahoo tournament, now a time-honoured late season event, is slated for September 8 and it is time to put off the procrastination and to get an entry form in.

Failing to enter on time can mean missing out on making some wahoo fishing very productive Tight Lines!!!