This is the time of year when fishing gets to be a real challenge. And it is not about the usual: weather, fish abundance, selection of strategy, place to go. Nothing so exotic! The weather may co-operate on occasion but that will not be the real source of the problem.

More than just a few have had to strip off angling paraphernalia in favour of holiday lights, fat Santas, snowmen, a host of elves and other things quite unimaginable in a fishing context.

The Boat Parade does indeed remove a number of contenders from the weekend fishing pool, not only for those boats taking part but for the number that will be tied up as viewing platforms for spectators. And no matter how calm and nice tomorrow is, there will be the matter of converting the previous night’s showpiece or sightseeing craft back into a mean, lean fishing machine. So, not much chance this weekend.

As might be expected, the commercial fishery is less of an indicator as to the offshore situation than usual at this juncture. Lobsters occupy the bulk of their interest, reducing fuel expenditures, time spent and providing a rather lucrative product. The few who continue to fish are very much in the minority and this means that there is a lack of coverage of the offshore area.

There is very little trolling being done and virtually no chumming. The awkward tides that often dominate the winter scene make the latter an unlikely technique and the apparent absence of any quantities of tuna provide little justification for even attempting the effort.

Some of those in the commercial fishery that remain in the pursuit of finfish are limiting the bulk of their effort to drift-fishing over the Banks, with the object being pretty much anything that bites. Conies and barbers are the normal fare to be had there; not particularly much, size-wise, but abundant enough to make the effort worthwhile.

The desired target species in recent years has been the red hind. Although nowhere near as numerous as they were in the days when they were considered so inferior to the rockfish and groupers that abounded in the fishery that they were unceremoniously dumped overboard, they are now the nearest thing to a grouper that most people see.

In hindsight, this was a frightful waste: there are still a few old-timers around who can tell you of times when the entire course from the Bank back to the Edge was marked out by live floating hinds that had been tossed overboard to await their fate. As is still the case, when a grouper is brought up quickly from depth — be it in a pot or on a hook and line — the gas in the swim bladder expands the organ like a balloon, making it impossible for the fish to dive down to depth again.

There has always been debate as to whether or not the seasonally protected areas, originally the “hind grounds” did any good. Certainly in recent memory, the quality and quantity of hinds coming off the Banks has been diminishing and it has been the so-called “floating fish”, such as ambers and bonitos, which have comprised much of the total landings.

Part of the problem has been the nature of the reproduction of the fish. Although the hinds, like other members of the grouper family, gather in areas to spawn, things are not all that simple. These spawning aggregations occur in very specific locations that are not all that large. That the fish arrive there in groups is what provides their collective name: “grouper”. Once the timing and locations of the aggregations were learnt, the fishermen were able to inflict serious damage on the population that was concentrated in a small area. Not surprisingly, this was the case just about everywhere in the world with the results pretty much the same as has been seen here.

In other regions, the entire scale of the situation is considerably larger, so there are more fish as a result of more and larger aggregation sites, far greater numbers of fish to begin with and, in some cases, less efficient means of harvesting the fish. In many jurisdictions, there are laws protecting the spawning fish, but, in most cases, it is a case of too little, too late.

In any case, what happens, in simple terms, is that the aggregation leads to behaviour that has the females releasing all their eggs in the presence of the males, who are releasing all their milt, and the swirls and currents caused by so many fish bring the two together and the now-fertilised eggs are left to drift in the sea, eventually to settle out and continue their development into larvae and eventually into fish.

This is where Nature takes a bit of a risk. By having a planktonic, or drifting, stage during the reproductive process, there is a risk that some or even most of the eggs are swept out to sea, where there is no suitable habitat for them to settle out. Obviously, in some years all the eggs settle somewhere in a suitable habitat and some time later there are plenty of young hinds around.

Happily, that must have been the case just a few years ago. Although the catches on the Banks are by no means spectacular, there are some smaller fish being caught. Small fish simply cannot be more than a few years old. Similarly, divers report seeing numbers of juvenile hinds on the inshore reefs, so that, too, provides indication that there will be an increase in the number of mature hinds available to the fishery. Whether or not this is sustainable in the long run will always be a question, but, for the next few years at least, it is encouraging.

The rest of the hinds being caught pretty well fit the term “average”, ranging from 2lbs-4lbs. Every so often, a larger fish will be caught, but do be aware that there is plenty of boasting of 8lb, 10lb and 12lb hinds. Do not trust descriptions or estimates; trust scales. Even a 4lb hind that has puffed up with its swim bladder, making it look larger than life, provides a basis for deluded estimates. Realistically, a six-pounder is a pretty large specimen. Anything over 10lb is newsworthy. In any case, should bottom-bouncing prove to be the fishing of choice, remember that there are minimum size limitations (14in) and a maximum number (ten) that may be legally taken by an amateur.

One thing about it, though, working the bottom just about anywhere around the Island should produce some combination of white-meat bottom fish, mostly of the grouper or snapper families. With the preponderance of turkey and ham at this time of the year, that may be the reason to head offshore in search of even just a few Tight Lines!!!