To what do we owe the honour of this unexpected, and undesirable, attention from Mother Nature at the height of our summer? It seems way too soon.

While there are no hard and fast rules, back in 1987, Emily (another fifth-named storm) had the good grace to wait until the latter part of September and even the monster Fabian waited until the resumption of school was upon us! Sadly, the timing is not something that we have any choice or say in.

So, once again faced with putting faith in the history-inspired construction that has successfully weathered many storms and the resilience of the people, the island once again awaits Ernesto and the eventual return to normalcy.

On a hopefully positive note, the passage of a major tropical system usually cools off the waters surrounding the island, and while this is a discouragement for future storms it might also speed up changes offshore. Normally, the onset of September sees naturally cooling processes which contribute to effecting offshore fish movements southward and usually coincides with some of best fishing action to be had. The adage that “moving fish are hungry fish” often translates into a good wahoo run and plenty of action from other migratory pelagic species as well.

Not that the recent fishing has been anything to sneeze at. Although billfish effort has been fairly minimal, there has been plenty to please anglers. On at least two occasions recently, Captain Alan Card’s Challenger has managed to catch and release two blue marlin on a single trip along with a nice variety of wahoo and tuna rounding out the day’s haul. It is hard to think that the clients were anything but overjoyed.

Although the wahoo have not yet been present in really large numbers, there have been enough to justify trollers putting in the effort. Most of the fish caught have been of summer average size, but there have been a few odd larger fish. Most fishermen will be waiting for this to suddenly change and for large numbers of wahoo of all sizes to populate the island’s drop-offs. In the meantime, barracudas will continue to take baits meant for more desirable species, much to many an angler’s disgust.

Tuna have been pleasing chummers, as has a wide variety of smaller game. While often ignored, this type of action is well suited to the use of surface poppers and other artificial lures, which can be presented using spinning tackle. If the truth be told, hardly any local anglers ever use such gear in the manner it was designed for, preferring to toss out a bait and then leave it for a fish to take.

In any case, it will be a week or so before we can see how things pan out and the local fishing resumes.

Elsewhere, a big East Coast tournament withstood the passage of Hurricane Debby through the Atlantic region and saw some rather notable successes. Considered by most to be the big-money tournament of big-money tournaments with a total purse of more than $8 million, this is the Ocean City White Marlin Open tournament. Now some 50 years old and attracting over 250 boats each year, this tournament grabs the angling world’s attention when it is fished during early August each year.

Having already fished the Bermuda Blast this year and then placing third in the Bermuda Big Game Classic, Captain Michael Tickle’s Waste Knot went on to win this big tournament with a 77.5-pound white marlin caught by angler Ven Poole. This fish won almost $3.7 million! Spare a thought for the second-placed white marlin at 76 pounds, which earned about $1.7 million.

As might be expected with such a large tournament, there are awards for fish of various sizes and species. The largest blue marlin category was won by a nice 897.5-pounder earning about a half million, closely followed by an 894-pounder with a third-placed fish at 789.5 pounds. The tightness of the competition is highlighted by the quality of the billfish and the margins between the first and second-placed fish. These attributes along with the massive amount of money at stake ensures that this event draws worldwide interest.

Not surprisingly, the forecast weather has forced a postponement of the Bermuda Anglers Club Annual Junior Tournament. It is now slated for August 25 with the weigh-in still to take place at Spanish Point Boat Club. As a consequence, the prize presentation will also be shifted to August 31 at the same venue.

Showing plenty of concern for the weather and any ramifications that it may have, the organisers made a proactive decision to move the tournament by announcing this change midweek. This made it possible for all would-be participants to make whatever arrangements they found necessary. Considering that there were already well in excess of 100 juniors signed up, this was a wise move, eliminating any confusion that might have arisen and doing their utmost to prevent any disappointments. All things being equal, next week these juniors will be able to partake of some refreshed Tight Lines!!!