Why the wait? Things can’t settle down any more than they have.

The fishing is nothing short of top shelf at the moment and anyone with even the tiniest inclination to wet a line should take advantage of the present circumstances.

The weather can change as can tides and currents with the result being that one day the fish can be there and then, poof, the next day they are nowhere to be found.

Last Sunday’s Blue Waters Anglers Club Open Tournament was a resounding success with more than half the registered boats actually weighing in; a number well in excess of what is usually expected.

Not surprisingly, the dominant species was yellowfin tuna with large numbers of them being weighed in across the various boat classes. Most boats had opted to chum on the Banks for the tuna and hoped that the bait might also lure up some of the deeper dwelling gamefish that would be suitable for the “Other” category.

Trolling drew less support largely because the wahoo have gone off the boil of previous weeks and are now encountered less frequently than they were.

Rather surprisingly, the Overall High Point Boat did not come from the largest boat class but from the smallest. The Overall Winner was Blue Moon skippered by Jack Bridges. His crew amassed a total of 268.6 points from the boat’s five best fish in a haul of prime yellowfin tuna.

The High Point Angler was Scott Barnes with 164 points and the High Point Lady Angler was Tara Foster with 128.7 points. Both fished from Hakuna Matata.

In the A Class, the smaller boats, there were no entries for High Point Wahoo or the High Point Other species and it was Colin Jones’s nice 69.6-pound yellowfin that took the High Point Tuna honours.

The situation was a reversal of this in the B Class where both the High Point Tuna and Other awards drew no entries and the High Point Wahoo went to Leon Stines with a 26-pound specimen.

In the commercial boat class, Class C, the High Point Tuna was won by J. Soares with a 58.6-pound yellowfin tuna. Sue Bean took the prize for High Point Wahoo with a fine 31.7-pound wahoo. The High Point Other category went to D. Jones who had a 42.5-pound bonita.

The High Point Boat awards in the three classes went to New Excuse with Captain Niel Jones, Captain Leon Stines’s Sea Ninja in Class B and Captain Alan Bean, Jr’s Paradise One was the Class C winner.

The Runner-up in Class A was Captain Paulo Sousa’s boat, and in Class C, Captain Scott Barnes’s Hakuna Matata.

In addition to the fish that were recognised, there were also a variety of other species that failed to make the minimum weight requirement. These included blackfin tuna and barracuda, giving a fuller picture of the species actually pleasing on the offshore grounds.

No one is really putting in the effort yet but there have to be blue marlin prowling through the deep water. The sheer numbers of yellowfin tuna on and around the offshore Banks have got to be acting as a huge attractant for these top order predators.

Landlubbers have trouble fathoming it but a large blue can swallow a 30lb tuna with ease. And the mind boggles when a really hungry billfish decides to feed. Big fish soon, real soon.

Shifting attention inshore, big things are happening there too. Just lately, guide Ian Linnell has put some of his clients on some beautiful bonefish. Some of these go better than ten pounds and on fly gear or ultralight tackle they provide a whole different class of sport.

Those who are more interested in finding something for the kitchen will find hogfish mucking up the bottom on the flats and these too can be conned into taking a feather or lure.

Elsewhere inshore snappers and small jacks are also willing to please with the South Shore playing host to numerous palometa.

No end to the number of ways to come up with some Tight Lines!!!