IF you are in any doubt as to when the local angling season commences, just note that the first tournament of the season was fished last Sunday in wonderful conditions. Warm and sunny, calm seas ruffled only by pods of porpoises that provided a most impressive display.

On that note, there seem to be quite a few of these about, favouring the northern side of Challenger Bank. These marine mammals are not seen in local waters as frequently as they are elsewhere and so now is probably a good time to combine a bit of whale watching with fishing. Actually, the humpbacks should just about all be past us by now, but there are probably a few stragglers that might pose for a camera.

Back to the tournament, it was the Bermuda Fishing Clubs Annual Tournament (best known to most as the BFCAT) and, for once it was held on the day previously reserved for the Opening Day tournament. The latter was frequently held in weather that was nothing short of foul, so the halcyon conditions that graced the weekend were quite in contrast to the past and commented on by most every veteran of the old days.

The only thing that did go right was the actual fishing. After a couple of weeks of good action, everything turned off and it was all anyone could do to entice anything to bite. It didn't matter whether you trolled, chummed, drifted or bottom bounced. It was just plain slow. But then, that's fishing.

As it turned out, six boats representing three of the island's IGFA-affiliated angling clubs actually fished the tournament but with the fishing so slow only a fraction of these actually weighed in.

There were no entries in the 8-lb test, 16-lb test and 30-lb test categories. The 12-lb test category went to Bermuda Anglers Club while Sea Horse Anglers Club claimed the BFCAT Cup for 20-lb test. The BFCAT Shield for the club amassing the greatest number of points went to Bermuda Anglers Club with 813.09 points. This handily beat the only real competition, Sea Horse Anglers Club, by over 450 points.

The High Point Fish was a 30.2 pound yellowfin tuna caught by Peter Mitchell on 12-lb test aboard Crayton Greene's .also qualified as the tournament High Point Boat.

The lack of activity was ascribed by most anglers to the bright moon, although anything could be a reason for the downturn in action. There seemed to be a distinct lack of bait on the Banks although as recently as just a few days before, flying squid had been reported.

There are still yellowfin tuna on both Banks and, apart from last weekend, some great catches have been made although the odd fish of 65 pounds or more has been taken while on the troll. These larger fish appear to be the exception and the main event seems to be concentrating on chumming where some commercial boats have gotten into double figures recently.

The fish that are willing to please chummers seem to be in one of two size classes. There are smaller fish in the 15?20 pound range and then some middleweights in the 30 to 50-pound bracket. It is this latter group that has always been the prime target of light tackle anglers fishing in competitions. Basically, a 38-pounder on 12-lb test equates to 1,000 points on the factor system. The same fish on 8-lb test provides over 2,200 points. With numbers like that, it doesn't take too long to amass a substantial number of points in either a one-day event or annual club competition. Expect the action to pick back up again over the next couple of weeks, especially if the wind moves into the southwest and puffs up a bit. That should help the trolling too.

The wahoo have been spotty but some of those spots have been pretty bright as well. The fish are a reasonable average size and some considerably larger fish have been recorded as well. Mixed in with the run-of-the-mill catches have been a few fish in the 50 to 60-pound range and at least one fish over 80 pounds has also been caught. Bermuda's Edge, particularly the south-western sector, between Sonesta and Sally Tucker's, has been quite productive and there should still be some fish on the Banks as well.

Although it can prove expensive for some boats, trolling is a good strategy at this time of the year. While wahoo will be the main event, other species such as dolphin, blackfin and yellowfin tuna should add some variety to the proceedings. The easterly wind that has dominated the last week or so should have brought in some seaweed and flotsam and this usually means better action from dolphin. That breeze won't last as the summertime scenario should start to settle in any day now with a succession of Bermudaful days one after the other.

Surprisingly, despite a full moon, there has been no confirmed billfish activity. Doubtless, this will start as suddenly as it usually does and once it does, there will be no looking back. Expect someone to get attacked by a decent blue over the next week or so. There should also be some white marlin action although this species is never really as numerous in local waters as the blue marlin. Rarely, the month of May has seen some sailfish but this species is more commonly encountered in the autumn with September being the main month. On the other hand, no one goes looking for sailfish in Bermuda waters, so this is of little value.

For those interested in the big time billfish scene, it appears that the Bermuda Triangle tournament is becoming a reality. News that the Royal Bermuda Yacht Club will be the venue for the event was received recently and this should provide the organisers with a stellar location from which to base a high class tournament. The key will be how many of the visiting sport fishing boats ultimately take part.

While the actual Triangle series itself will not be of much interest to locals at $50,000 an entry, the Bermuda leg is considerably more reasonable. As this is an angler-based event the entry fee is dependent on the number of anglers. The minimum is two anglers at a fee of $3500. Now, given the way locals fish, a team of, say, five friends could enter; designate two of their number as the anglers and then split the entry fee at a mere (!) $700 each. To learn more about this mid-summer event, contact Capt. Jimmy Loveland via e-mail at loveto(at)islands.vi .

Anyone interested in helping to cement Bermuda's relationship with Cuba should note that the organisers of the 54th Ernest Hemingway Tournament have invited participation from local teams. This long-running event is IGFA recognised and is a qualifying event for the Rolex/IGFA Offshore Championship. It will be fished from May 31 through June 5 2004. This is a tag and release billfish tournament limited to four rods per team and a maximum line class of 50-lbs. While travelling to Cuba may not be everyone's cup of tea, there is little arguing with the prices involved.

Charters range from $300 to $600 per day and hotel accommodation (including breakfast) is from $25 to $40 per day. The entry fee is $450 per team of three. Additional information can be had from Commodore Jose Miguel Diaz Escrich via e-mail at yachtclub(at)cnih.mh.cyt.cu . After all, Havana had a lot to do with the evolution of big game Tight lines!!!