THE time for excuses is over. This Sunday sees the official start of the 2005 sport fishing season. The Bermuda Fishing Clubs Annual Tournament (BFCAT) will start off the competitive action and even if you subscribe to the old Department of Tourism schedule, you will realise that the first Sunday in May, in this case 1st May marked the commencement of the season.

Happily, it appears that the fish are in agreement that the season should kick off about now. The wahoo action has remained reasonably good over the last couple of weeks although it has had a bit of an "on again, off again" pattern to it. The best action seems to be coming from Bermuda's Edge with the southwest sector seemingly the best. A number of wahoo have been caught on the Banks but the really fast action does not seem to have settled there just yet. Hopefully it will do so in the not too distant future and then it will last long enough for the weekend warriors to get at least a piece of the action before things settle into the same-old, same-old summer routine.

An interesting observation that has been made by a number of skippers and that is the calm, sunny weather has seen numbers of wahoo lazily cruising along just below the surface. On the one hand, this is good because it means that there are more than just a few out there. On the other hand, though, this is a pattern more usually encountered in the late summer just prior to the start of the autumn run. Whether the fish are in something other than feeding mode, say, spawning or otherwise aggregating is hard to say. It is just that this behaviour is associated with a reduction in the amount of wahoo action although it is very suggestive of good things to come.

By contrast the tuna action has been slow. A few yellowfin have been taken while trolling and this can be expected to be the norm for a few more weeks. Perhaps surprisingly, the chumming effort that has been made has failed to produce anything much in the way of numbers of tuna. Maybe it is still a mite early but it could also be significant.

Blue marlin reports continue to come in in dribs and drabs. With most boats hugging the Edge, the chances of a run-in are reduced but the general indication is that this will be a good year for billfish. With the wahoo having arrived offshore there should be some whites around as these two species often run together. The fact that whites are well suited to wahoo tackle is a bonus because inevitably, one of those wahoo strikes will skyrocket clear of the water, affording the lucky angler one of the great piscatorial moments.

Other summer species such as dolphin and rainbow runner are also on the grounds.

The former are never really numerous in local waters but the few that have been taken lately have been of a good size and there are not too many anglers who will turn down a fillet from this species.

nshore there are jacks and snappers that are willing to please. Over the reef, some judicious chumming, particularly during the night, should start to produce some grey snappers. The when's and where's of this speciality fishing are well-kept secrets but with a bit of effort, even the amateur should manage a few. The grey dogs that haunt bridges and jetties are old hands and it will take something special to suck one of these in. An unlikely bait that often works is a bit of rare roast beef. For some reason it causes them to throw caution to the winds and it can pay off but, hmmm, roast beef for snapper??.

The Bermuda teams of Bermuda Onions and Sans Enfant got off to a good start at the 1st annual Hurricane Hole Invitational Tournament (the replacement for the Key West Light Tackle Tournament), finishing up second and third, respectively on the first day of the event. Day two wasn't so hot for either team with each managing just over 1,000 points. Despite something of a comeback on the final day, the overall results were disappointing as the Bermuda contingent had a great time but couldn't really score enough in the way of pints to make it anywhere near close to the winner's circle.

The Bermuda Chubs on the other hand got off to a diabolical start, had an even worse second day and then, on day three, racked up a respectable 8,850 points for a grand total of 10,930 points. This set them up as the best of the three Bermuda teams, as they narrowly beat out the Onions who had 10,850 points in total. Sans Enfant was not too far off with 10,279 points. The Bermuda teams came ninth, tenth and eleventh overall out of a field of thirteen.

The winning team was the familiar Hatteras Haulers who overcome a mediocre start to finish with a fantastic last day and an overall total of 23,325 points. The High Point Angler was Casey Sowers with 13,698 points with Gene DuVal in second with 9,839 points. The best Bermuda finisher was Keith Winter in eleventh with 6,400 points. The High Point Boat award went to with in excess of 20,000 points.

Although conventional tackle was used by most of the anglers, there was a fly fishing category that saw eight anglers catch 40 fish. The High Point Fly Rod went to Casey Sowers with 4,387 points. Honourable Mention should go to Cindy Mitchell who merited 1,950 points. Cindy and Peter Mitchell were the only Bermuda anglers entering fish caught on fly gear. There's always next year.

nglers who follow the international scene should know that the United States Virgin Islands Atlantic Blue Marlin Tournament (the Boy Scout) website at http://www.abmt.vi has been updated and includes plenty of information on the Bermuda Triangle series including some good exposure for local charter boats relative to the Bermuda leg of this event. The Bermuda fishing dates are July 7, 8, 9 and Capt. Jimmy Loveland, the organiser, is reportedly receiving inquiries every day.

The Bermuda Triangle Series seems to be gaining momentum. Apparently at least four boats have confirmed that they will be fishing the entire series. That is a considerable bunch of commitment for even the Big Boys and suggests that quite a few boats will be making the run to fish in local waters this summer.

No reason not to get the gear out and to have a shot at some of the best light tackle fishing that the world has to offer. Right here, right now. With the fish willing to cooperate and the 24th only three weeks off now is the time to go for some Tight lines!!!