Wow, another unlikely come from behind win in the Bermuda Big Game Classic.Everything came up trumps for Fa-La-Me when Capt. Rob Moore slowly but determinedly surely came from behind to scoot past Bree, the leader and well experienced boat, results-wise, in these tournaments. In the final analysis, Fa-La-Me racked up 1,900 points and took the Classic 300 points ahead of Bree and local boat Over Budget back in third on 1,400 points.Not quite as dramatic as the finish in the Blast but nonetheless further evidence that these tournaments remain open until the last dying moments when anything can markedly alter the outcome.Going into the final day after having endured a rather grouchy second day, the fleet was hard-pressed to find any cooperative fish. The bite definitely took off on the final day, making any fish an added bonus for the boats that had already enjoyed some success.Probably the most remarkable thing was the fact that during the three days not one boat had a fish to weigh. The qualifying weight of 500 pounds is high, true, but Bermuda produces lots of larger fish and one would have thought that with 39 boats combing the ocean, someone would have come up with a fish that could adorn the gallows at Barr's Bay. It was not to be.There was many a comment on the radio that a 501-pounder would have worked well for many boats but even scrounging up a white to add to the points total proved to be a challenge. Almost as expected, the white/blue balance was restored with the number of blues surpassing the number of whitesMany of the boats went to extremes such as working the East End, an area usually ignored by locals but one that had shown some potential earlier. There was plenty of bait down off the East End and with it sufficient tuna to make one think that there had to be a marlin or two lurking around.Well, they probably were but not on the days that they were really wanted. After the tournament, several bots continued to work the area and this time they got results. Capt. Patrick Kannan's Waste Knot had a close encounter with a grander with a fish that ended up tipping the scales at 911 pounds, a bit shy of the magic number but nonetheless a fish to be proud of.It must be remembered, especially by those who do not spend endless hours searching the ocean for big fish that there is precious little difference between a 900 and a thousand pound fish. An inch or two on the girth or a few inches on the length can make a huge difference and, let's be honest; a 900-pound fish is pretty huge when it comes alongside the boat. But so does a grander and who is to tell, with the hyperbole that so often accompanies descriptions of the “huge” fish, most especially those that get away. A fine catch indeed and likely to ensure that boats will continue to probe areas down that way or even, dare we say, down north where local boats would not even consider.And just to prove to those who think the East End is a bit of a wasteland, a couple of other boats working down there, naturally after the tournament, reported releasing fish in the 700-pound bracket. Make no bones about it, there are plenty of large fish in Bermuda waters and there is a reason that they are so large; they haven't been caught yet.It takes something to start off as an infinitesimally small larvae and then to escape predators, anglers and sheer bad luck to attain the size that makes you the queen of the ocean. For the uninitiated, all large marlin, certainly those over 300 pounds are females. Probably one of the positive notes in all the business of the world's fisheries is that the roe, or eggs, carried by a large female can number into the millions which increases the likelihood that the species will continue to survive into the next generation.With the Island's oldest billfish tournament having kicked off on Thursday, the 30-boat strong fleet has again gone out to challenge the competitors and to try to crack the nut that had fully 30 percent of the Classic's boats trying to locate a fish willing to get involved. Those who subscribe to the lunar theory will be arguing that the dark moon will mean less bites but who is to say for sure?And things did liven up later on the first day of the tournament. Three fish were boated, all of which exceeded the 500-pound minimum weight.Capt. James Robinson's Wound Up led the way with a 619 pound blue ahead of Never Enough, skippered by Capt. Cory Gillespie that weighed a 548-lb fish. Capt. Peter Olander's Queen of Hearts stayed in touch with a 527 pounder, because the additional weight ahead of the 500 points awarded for a released blue marlin can make all the difference at the end of the competition.Georgie Girl and Mama Who led the first day standings with 1,000 points each from releases with the former having the edge based on time.In addition to a blue marlin release Waste Knot had a 54.3 pound wahoo to lead that category while a 25.5 pound dolphin caught on Singularis was the fish to beat in that category.The weigh-in at Barr's Bay this afternoon should draw some attention because it is hard to even think that this event will go off without an eligible fish being landed. Certainly the monies up for grabs will have all the boats scrounging all sorts of hidey holes in the event of turning up a weighable fish.Those less than enamoured of billfish will realise that now is prime time for snappers, ambers and bonitas. There are enough tuna round to make a chumming expedition productive and wahoo, while not at peak, are common enough to justify a bit of trolling effort with a decent chance of a positive return.Those interested in catching something to eat might want to avoid the heat of the day by working the channel for some Lane or white water snappers. Never very large, each fish yields two nice pieces of fillet and once they start biting it is usually really easy to catch the daily bag limit. Best of all, one need not wander to far abroad to find these fish, channel areas like off the oil docks or just outside the ship channel are good spots.If it is evening, you can also expect to have to tangle with some tiger sharks (which can be massive) that disappear during daylight hours but which seem to be everywhere once it goes dark. Never considered much of a sport here, there are those who consider shark or “monster” fishing an art all on its own. Certainly, anyone trying for a light tackle record could do a lot worse than try the channels after dark.Well, another day or so and the billfish season will have come to an end; or will it? The tournaments may be all said and done but no one tells the fish and it actually gets better as we move into August with the best numbers usually coming in early September. The fish may be smaller then but they are more numerous and even a 200-pound male is likely to be as feisty as you could wish for when it comes to providing some Tight lines!!!