WHILE we might not get the extreme cold temperatures that our neighbours to the north and east do, such weather does translate itself into blustery winds that frequently buffet the Island through until April makes itself felt in the Americas. Just recently, we have been on the receiving end of such high winds and although there has been some moderating, the long-range outlook for this weekend is not one to inspire local anglers. Perhaps next weekend or mid-week if one has the luxury of being able to take off on a whim.

There have been some rather good days during the last week and a fair few boats have taken advantage of the recent calm conditions. This has led to an upsurge in trolling effort and the boats working offshore have noted that the pelagic fish that they are catching are full of bait species that are a bit out of the ordinary. The good news is that they are catching something and, apart from the fairly consistent wahoo, some tuna have made their way into the mix.

Back in the day, as they say, the spring used to be defined by having the tuna and mackerel that were caught just about bursting with a shrimp-like red organism. It was thought that this animal plankton stayed quite deep and moved up toward the surface during the hours of darkness where it became prey for predatory species such as wahoo and tuna. In fact, this was so firmly believed that many anglers started using red feathers and lures to try and "match the hatch".

That expression come from freshwater fly fishermen who use a wide variety of flies and then, depending on which species of actual fly (insect) were hatching out over the stream, would select the artificial which most closely resembled that species. The logic behind this was that the fish were more likely to be feeding on that species than any other and the object of the exercise was to con the fish into taking a well-presented fly. The fact that the lure closely resembled the prevalent fly species should increase the chances of the fish making a mistake.

To return to the present situation, there are apparently large schools of bait showing up on depth sounders and this would fit in with the old observation that there would be sufficient "mini-shrimp" to allow the fish to gorge themselves. It would also be coincidental with the passage of some whales because the mighty humpbacks are filter feeders and this shrimp-like material often called "krill" (mistakenly but in the right ballpark) would qualify as a zooplankton.

There is a second common baitfish that is still unidentified but which resembles the California anchovy. Whatever it is it boasts a mouth along the lines of a hog-mouth fry and is somewhat larger. It is often difficult to decipher the make-up of such schools of bait. There will be many who will remember, seasons ago, that there were some huge yellowfin tuna off the back side of Argus that would crash through surface schools of bait. Some samples of the bait were taken and after some months, it was thought that they were schools of larval barbers. Not impossible but definitely not the sort of baitfish that people would associate with hundred-pound Allisons. This was also not likely to be a common occurrence but it was certainly welcomed by anglers who had plenty of action from the large tuna and from the blue marlin that lurked in the general vicinity.

It may prove difficult to identify this "new" bait species as most of the specimens taken from fish guts are pretty well decomposed. Most pelagic species have pretty powerful digestive systems and, even after a fish has been boated and died, the digestive juices continue to do their work on any stomach contents. The other thing is that there are plenty of possible species to choose from because there are a lot of bait species that, due to the depth they inhabit or the hours that they keep go sight unseen to most anglers.

Overall, not too many boats are putting in a lot of trolling effort. The main focus by the commercial fleet is on the better sellers: lobsters and bottom fish. The latter are best sought-after by drifting over the Banks and the usual crop of red hinds, coneys, barbers and bonitas makes up the bulk of the catch.

A few operators are still chumming over the deeper reef areas where the catch is pretty much the same with some turbots and yellowtails adding variety. Off the bottom it will be barbers, coneys, the occasional hind and maybe a few porgies. Getting the robins up opens up other options as even large amberjack and rockfish will take such live baits, often in surprisingly shallow water.

Right inshore, the sunny weather has brought out some shore fishers who have had some luck with a variety of species off bridges and docks. Sometimes bonitas or small ambers will please and there are the dominant inshore winter species the bream to provide a bit of action. Often despised and usually frowned upon, the bream does make for a firm white fillet. It is a relative of the porgy and while just about everyone has something disparaging to say, rest assured that, over the years, plenty of bream has found its way into fillet.

Looking ahead at what is planned for this season, the 6th Annual Bermuda Triangle Series (BTS), organised by Jimmy Loveland will be fished this year with the Bermuda leg is slated to be fished on July 6-7. There are some changes to the rules and a new pot, called the "Beast Masters" division is supposed to have been added which will address the 130-lb test issue.

This year the ever-popular Miami Boat Show will not only have loads of boats and nautical gear on display but it will also play host to the 6th annual Big Game Room. From tiny beginnings, this has now grown to include almost 100 boats that feature everything from fishing tackle to fishing destinations, angling art with lots of hands-on demonstrations. This has become the meeting place for the "Who's who" in sport fishing and welcomes anglers from all over the world. This year's dates are February 12-16 at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Florida. Given that most of us will not be fishing here, at least, for the next couple of months this may provide a suitable distraction and outlet for our seemingly endless capacity to tell and re-tell stories about past Tight lines!!!