This is a great weekend! It is, doubtless, the epitome of summer in Bermuda. It seems to be the one occasion where a festive mood prevails and everyone has some social avocation with which to be involved. And now that the big game is over, the barbecues and picnics done, the recovery process has started for some and there is still a day or so that can be directed toward piscatorial pursuits.For many, this will consist of working over the deeper reef areas in the hope of securing some fresh fish. Hinds are not as common as they used to be but there are still enough of them around to make it likely that you will manage to get a few. Coneys and barbers will make up the bulk of the catch but these too provide a nice white meat fillet and are worth bottom bouncing for.Working the midwater with chum is likely to attract large schools of yellowtails; almost all of which will be undersized, from a legal standpoint. While this isn’t of much help today, it augurs really well for the next few years as those fish continue to grow.Amberjack and bonitas are also available in good numbers and there are some really trophy specimens to be had.They will take cut bait and anchovies without too much fuss, but for the really nice ones, a live bait works a treat. Wahoo are always around but do take a bit of a break during the warmest months. Trolling for them can be counter-productive as it burns fuel and most of the summertime wahoo are small fish between ten and twenty pounds.Larger fish will take up position around chum lines but often prove to be rather cagey and are hard to hook. Again, live baits often make the difference but just getting these can sometimes be a mission unto itself. Despite no longer being the target of large numbers of floating gin palaces, there are more than enough billfish offshore.This past week, both Capt. Kevin Winter’s Playmate and Capt. Alan Card’s Challenger caught and released blues estimated at over 1,000 pounds. Not only does this enhance the Island’s reputation as a big fish hotspot but the release philosophy also keeps Bermuda in the forefront of angler’s minds.A grander, well, that’s a lot of fish by any standard and not really of much value to anyone beyond the sport. So release makes lots of sense. Even if the angler desires a mount of his conquest.Nowadays you don’t need the dead fish to have a mount of the appropriate size made up. Then again, who has a wall to take a fish something like fourteen or fifteen feet long!Although there is nothing wrong with eating marlin – a lot of people do – the local market doesn’t have much taste for it.Part of the problem is that the proper icing down of something that weighs several hundred pounds and has just come out of warm water (so it is also pretty warm) is almost impossible for most boats.Another part of the problem has to do with marketing. In our part of the world, we are bombarded with the “no marlin on the menu” campaign and the overall view of sports fishermen is that all billfish should be released, regardless of size unless it is for a record or in a tournament.Elsewhere in the world, marlin is often on the menu. It is even sold in fishmongers in the UK where it commands quite a price.In third world countires or places verging on such a description, billfish often make up a significant portion of the protein available for local consumption. To put things in perspective, you don’t have to travel too far from home to see such.Caribbean islands like Cuba and St. Lucia and Barbados all display marlin in their fish markets and it is consumed by the local populace. Farther afield places like the Philippines do a bit of a reverse: blue marlin is often on the menu even though the actual product is swordfish. It is just that the name has more of an exotic ring to it.Bermudians have learned that marlin flesh does make for good chum but a little goes a long way and just the number of fish already killed this year has probably met the requirements of most anglers who utilise such bait.And that is where the next little problem crops up. Marlin as bait is nothing short of top shelf but that is when tuna are the target. There is no doubt but tuna really do like marlin meat.It is a bit like catnip to cats; they seem to be addicted to it, even though it is pretty close to impossible to imagine where they develop a taste for it before coming across it in a chum line.Now, it would help if there were any yellowfin tuna around to eat the bait. For whatever reason, things are really slow this year. Some highly experienced fishermen, both commercial and sport, are likening the fishing this season to some of the very slow years experienced in the mid-to-late 1970’s.There was a period back then when Allisons were very thin on the ground and this is notable when looking through some of the tournament pictures of the day.There are photos of the winning teams in the ILTT with nothing but jacks and blackfin tuna hanging up. There might have been a few yellowfins around but, for the most part, they were conspicuous by their absence.It may be kind of scary, but it is time to keep an eye out for the entry forms for the season’s swansong in the form of the Royal Gazette Wahoo Tournament. It may all seem a long way off but time does have a knack when it comes to moving along and making everyone seem like procrastinators.Bermuda Billfish Release Challenge is a new event that is intended to offer local boats a chance to enjoy the thrills and spills that the big money billfish circuit brings. Details are available, most easily obtained from the tackle shop.So, high summer and the fishing isn’t what it might be. But that doesn’t mean that it isn’t worth pursuing. Calm conditions and bright sunny days cry out for a sojourn on the briny and there will be a few fish willing to provide a tug or two on a line.Just remember that even though the angling is not the fast-paced action that it might be, there are still some denizens of the deep lurking out there, waiting to enthral you with Tight lines!!!