THIRD time lucky!

After two postponements, The Mid-Ocean News Wahoo Tournament will go ahead this Sunday, September 21.

And by now those fish must be hungry!

The emphasis has to be on trolling even though the tournament has been won by chummers on occasion. Live baiting will the strategy of choice but, in most cases, it won't be the angler's choice but rather that of the frigate mackerel that choose to show where and when they wish.

Where to go is also a hot question. The Banks have produced the bulk of the winning fish over the years but that is, in part, influenced by the fact that is where the pros tend to go. The East End has produced winners with regularity and down north and even South Shore have had their moments.

It is worth factoring into the equation that it is likely that the best numbers of wahoo will be had on the Banks. This makes for increased opportunities in that various line classes can be fished with a reasonable likelihood of an angler being able to make multiple entries, any one of which might be a winner in one of the categories.

The big fish could come from almost anywhere and live bait does bestow an advantage. At the moment, there is conflicting information as to the whereabouts of any frigate mackerel if, in fact, there are any about.

Anyone encountering these should have a real good shot at a potential winner. For this reason, it might be prudent to drag a daisy chain in among the other lines just in case the baits put in an appearance.

Aside from the frigates there is also a remote possibility that small blackfin tuna or juvenile oceanics might be caught on the daisy chain and these also make prime live baits.

In the absence of live baits, traditional trolls will be used by most competitors. Do not discount running a bait, preferably a rigged flying fish, way, way back on a rigger. The usual sea witch/garfish combos will dominate the deep trolls, but here again, sometimes naturals work well.

Finally, don't be afraid to pull small baits. The old adage about elephants eating peanuts is true and it is not uncommon for a big wahoo to inhale a small garfish rig in its entirety. The emphasis on light tackle makes small hooks and small baits quite practical and they can be productive.

High speed trolling with artificials may work. It will at least allow you to cover the water in the hope of locating the fish. Popular wisdom will, however, favour more time-honoured techniques. But don't be afraid to experiment, especially if the action is slow where you are.

The weigh-in stations are Ordinance Island, St. George's and Dockyard.

If anyone is in any doubt that the fish are on the move, look no farther than the Internet. There are a number of oceanographic sites that show maps of water temperatures and, following Hurricane Fabian, the local water temperature is now considerably cooler than it was and it is also cooler than much of the surrounding region.

In fact, on some of the better depictions, the path of the hurricane can be discerned clearly almost like a lighter colour river on a darker colour background. Try any one of the search engines with keywords like "ocean", "temperature" and "Atlantic" and this should guide you to one of the many sites that display colour satellite imagery of ocean temperatures. Really neat high tech stuff! It also goes to show that hurricanes are a mechanism by which Mother Nature removes the built up heat energy from the ocean and converts it into wind power, the likes of which most Bermudians have seen enough of.

From the fish's standpoint, this reduction in water temperature is the first hint that winter is on its way and various natural processes will ensure that the various migratory patterns start to kick in. This is good news for fishermen because fish on the move are likely to be hungry fish and therefore more willing to please.

As autumn starts to take hold, expect to catch some interesting mixed bags.

Although wahoo will likely dominate the proceedings, there should be plenty of yellowfin tuna and the occasional dolphin. Billfish, while not as abundant as they were a mere month ago, will also continue to be caught into October.

Barracuda will also take baits with ferocity but it is unlikely that too many of these will find their way into fish boxes given locals' disdain for this species.

There will also be plenty of small game about but most of these will get a free ride as anglers concentrate on the larger game species to the exclusion of anything that lacks live bait potential.

This is also the time of year that one of the rarer of local game fish is also caught. Almost every September sees at least one sailfish caught in local waters. Frequently this occurs during the wahoo tournament - probably because of the large amount of trolling effort that covers just about every inch of the drop-off.

People often ask why sailfish aren't prevalent in Bermuda waters. The answer is pretty straightforward. For the most part, sailfish are a continental shelf species. While they are capable of crossing the ocean and, indeed are found on both sides of the Atlantic (as well as the Pacific and Indian Oceans), they tend to be found close to land and are seldom caught off oceanic islands. Actually, this pattern is not limited to the Atlantic. There are myriad sailfish on the Pacific coasts of Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica and Panama and yet, as is the case with Bermuda in the Atlantic, Hawaii seldom sees sailfish. They are a bit more common in Micronesia but that huge conglomeration of islands could fool anything into believing that there was a continental landmass. Thailand hosts good numbers of sails and, again, this bottom is a continental margin.

Other sailfish hot spots are found on the Atlantic coast of Africa and on the Indian Ocean shore of southern Africa - Kenya and the Republic of South Africa are most prominent. So if a spindlebeak is your target your best bet is to jump a jet and head off elsewhere. But don't be totally amazed if someone comes up with one in the next week or so.

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Finally, remember that since The Mid-Ocean New Wahoo Tournament is a competition, rules do apply. All fish that are entered must be caught by the angler unassisted beyond a mate taking a leader or gaffing the fish. Passing of rods and so on is fine on a charterboat where people are just out for a bit of action. In competition this is strictly forbidden and, in truth, takes a lot of the fun out of catching a trophy fish.

Despite the postponements and the inevitable depletion of the fleet due to the storm, this promises to be a memorable tournament and with the open entry format (you do not have to be registered in advance on any given boat), participation is likely to be good. Just remember that the ultimate responsibility for safety lies with the boat captain or owner and that courtesy to other boats helps make the experience more pleasurable for all.

Plus if the fish please, and they should, there should be no shortage of Tight lines!!!