WHO would have thought that the monsoons would have set in in such fashion? The rainy, gloomy weekend put paid to most fishing effort even though a few intrepid souls did venture offshore.

Most of these were larger vessels with marlin in mind. In actual fact, this paid off for one of the visiting boats with a blue marlin double while the island was being drenched in rain on Sunday.

By all accounts the billfish activity is still pretty good but with the departure of many of the foreign boats, effort has dropped markedly. Most local commercial and charter craft concentrate on catching fish to keep both their clients and their markets happy. Right now this has seen most boats looking for tuna and having some sport with the smaller game species which, at the very least, provide action.

Although reports are a mite scarce, the thinking is that the cooler, overcast days will probably help the tuna fishing. There is no doubt that although numerous, the yellowfins had very definitely decided that the only times that they were going to cooperate were either very early or very late. While commercial anglers have no problem dealing with such circumstances, this did pose a problem for most casual anglers who want a bit of sport without undue hardship.

It is likely that the fish will be more willing to please as long as the weather continues to be relatively cool and the clouds keep the bright sun at bay. Again, this is one of the island's best opportunities for superb light tackle action. The Allisons are anything up to 80 pounds or so and, considering that a 25-pounder can give a 12-lb rig a good workout, the potential sport is enormous. Both Banks have populations of tuna willing to please and there is no sense in leaving them out there to merely serve as marlin food. Most activity seems to be on the southeastern sides of the Banks but this can vary with the tides.

Be prepared to chum deep. The hundred fathom curve holds no terrors for large yellowfin and they often prefer to hang out in such draughts.

The blackfin tuna, on the other hand, hugs the drop off and is more likely to move over deep reef areas (even into 18?20 fathoms) than to slide out into the blue abyss.

As such they are often encountered on top of the Banks and invade chum lines intended for smaller game. Occasionally schools of blackfin tuna can be seen along the northern portion of Bermuda's Edge. At such times they will take trolls quite readily.

Nearer the shore, it is rapidly becoming peak season for one of the reef fish that is not only a great little game fish but also has few equals in the kitchen. The yellowtail snappers are starting to please and there should be some good numbers available.

Chumming is the best way of catching numbers of this species and although they can be caught off the bottom, the use of sand expedites matters.

Balling down with a mixture of chum and sand gets the bait down where the fish are likely to be, just over the bottom. They will quickly go in search of the source of the bait and once they have located it, it is possible to hold a school of yellowtail behind the boat for, literally, hours.

A few of the old-time commercial specialists used to use such tactics to catch anything up to 800 pounds of snapper in a single night.

Once on the feed, the snappers will continue to please until the tide changes. Snappers are notoriously susceptible to a windward tide and frequently just will not bite under such conditions. They also have a habit of hanging back in the chum slick, so that is where a spinning rod can come in handy. Just flick the 'chobie back into the strike zone and hang on ? it won't be long.

Although some of the best snapper grounds are still within the seasonally protected areas, there are a few good spots such as Western Blue Cut that are not. In any case, there are only a couple more weeks before the seasonal protection is lifted and these prime areas are once again open to exploitation.

Now is the time to start planning for Wahoo Tournament. In one sense it hardly seems possible that we are already looking at the season's final, in terms of tournaments but, in another, this is one of the big ones that has incredibly good levels of participation. This is slated for the September 12 ? sort of a back to school tournament! Last year's was very successful despite the attentions that Fabian had paid the island.

Something that this should raise in angler's minds is the probability that the wahoo action should be just about ready to kick in. It just might be worth putting in a bit extra trolling effort and, for sure, you should drag a daisy chain just in case there happens to be some frigate mackerel around. Although frigate mackerel are not essential to a good wahoo run, and, in fact, sometimes the frigates show up but the wahoo don't, they are a good indicator that something is about to happen. Live bait trolling is very exciting fishing and just about every predator in the ocean will whack a frigate or juvenile blackfin.

This weekend sees the junior anglers out in force, regardless of the weather as the Flybridge Tackle Junior Tournament is held. It is not too late to get in on this event. All you need to do is be less than 16 years old and have completed an entry form at Flybridge Tackle before 5.00 p.m. on Saturday, August 14. There are classes for shore and boat anglers, handline and rod and reel and separate categories for boys and girls as well as different age groups.

This is an ideal opportunity for parents to instil in their children an appreciation for the outdoors and for good sportsmanship. It is also, to use a politically correct term, a great means of "bonding".

The weigh-in takes place at 5.00 p.m. at the Flagpole on Front Street and it can be amusing and even amazing to see what the younger set comes up with. It is a great spectator event.

About the only downside to this tournament is that its success has meant that many a keen angler has found himself with grown children who are keen anglers in their own right. These now all too often insist on dragging Dad offshore in search of big game when he really feels a bit past being able to deal with such Tight lines!!!