It is all out there for the taking.

There are still wahoo taking trolls although they are taking to hanging around chum lines. Plenty of tuna on and around the Banks presumably enjoying the schools of bait that are so obvious.

There are also enough dolphin (dorado or mahimahi) around to provide a diversion and slipping into the deeper water is to invite a billfish to the party.

This might be explained by the recent cooler than normal temperatures and relatively slow start to the season. It may also mean that many of the fish are still arriving on the Banks and on portions of Bermuda’s Edge and, as such, are still on the move and therefore still in feeding mode.

In the news recently was a feature that highlighted one of the major East Coast fishing tournaments that carried a multi-million-dollar purse. The nub of the matter was that what appeared to be the winning fish, a 619-pound blue marlin, was disqualified because some other denizen of the deep had taken a bite out of it.

The International Game Fish Association, which is the world governing body for sport fishing has it stated quite clearly in the angling rules that “Mutilation to the fish, prior to landing or boating the catch” will disqualify a fish.

The rule goes on to state that scratches or injuries caused by the leader or line, or old healed injuries will not disqualify a fish.

The essential rationale behind this was to ensure that any record fish caught was not handicapped by other animals or by the boat.

The reason for this is that some more nefarious skippers would use the boat’s propellers to injure the fish thus depriving it of some of its ability to fight and make it easier to catch. As is the case in almost everything, there is always someone looking for a way to circumvent the rules.

For the team that caught this particular fish it must have been heartbreaking, especially as the wound seemed so insignificant but big tournaments have to be consistent in applying the accepted rules especially when there are huge amounts of money involved.

Fish mutilating fish is actually much more commonplace than most people think. Naturally, the first culprit that comes to mind are sharks, all kinds of sharks. The main contenders are the things of nightmares, great whites, makos and tigers; but rest assured, there are lots of others that will indulge.

Notably bull sharks have a nasty reputation in some areas. Down in the Virgin Islands, it is difficult to catch an intact yellowfin because the bull sharks insist on taking their share.

Similarly, here, when the small wahoo run in the early part of the year it is not uncommon to retrieve part of a hooked one shredded before it can be lifted into the boat. Probably a shark is responsible but don’t discount a wahoo taking a chunk out of another wahoo that has had the misfortune to get hooked.

Small tunas will even try to swallow other small tuna whole as they are being reeled in to the boat – imagine a small blackfin trying to swallow something as big as itself – talk about eyes being bigger than their stomachs!

But one of this should come as a surprise. Any potential prey – and in the ocean everything is something else’s prey – in obvious difficulties like being hooked and hampered by a line instantly become much easier to catch than an unimpeded one.

Why do live baits work so well? Here, in Bermuda, this is usually a live robin or maybe a mackerel or juvenile tuna. Generally, a relatively small fish is what is used.

There are places in the world where it will be a fish in the five-to-ten-pound bracket or even larger, depending on the game being sought. It really is a fish eat fish world out there.

While most sport fisherman concentrate on the blue water game species, mention should be made of some of the rather good reef fishing to be had at the moment.

Over the deeper reef areas there are a number of fishermen who are doing rather well with the hinds and coneys. Numbers are good and the average sizes seem to be considerably larger than usual. Something to think about if working the Edge turns slow and something is needed for the kitchen.

Seemingly, for a change, the weather outlook for this weekend is more fortuitous than it has been in recent weeks and with the key festivities over for a while, hopefully many more anglers will be making their way offshore to take advantage of what should be good fishing.

What tournaments there are this weekend are intra-club events that normally attract little attention beyond the members themselves.

This will all change as the approach of July and the big billfish tournaments drawing sport fishing boats from the East Coast and beyond now that berths have opened up at the various marinas.

Enjoy this period of calm before the real onset of the summer’s most frenzied Tight Lines!!!