WELL, even by the most optimistic view on things, the fishing season is over. The Fishing Information Bureau, one part of the Trade Development Board, later the Department of Tourism, admitted that the sport fishing season came to an end on November 30. That date is now upon us and things have turned decidedly wintry.

It is pretty hard to focus on the offshore scene when so many distractions are raising themselves. Thanksgiving is now behind us but the other "turkey day" beckons. With that one comes a myriad of tasks including, for some at least, a "great escape" off to visit friends and families overseas. With so much going on it is a bit difficult to focus on a sport that is likely to suffer at the hands of the weather anyway.

For those die-hards who must get their weekly fix of the briny, there are a few fish around. Not much for the heavy tackle although there are persistent rumours and some hard evidence to suggest that bluefin tuna transit the local area from late November on into the late spring (they have been caught here in December and June although the instances were years apart). What effort there is is concentrated along the 30-50 fathom curve where the target species are wahoo and tuna. There are some wahoo around and it can be possible to actually rack up a decent haul. There are reports of small numbers of frigate mackerel offshore and there are usually some juvenile blackfin around. Both make excellent live baits for anything that might happen to be in the area.

A few yellowfin tuna have been caught but the entire year's tally is nothing much. Consider this a "non-year" for Allisons, but there are a few fish that can be lured into chum lines on the Banks. Again, an awful lot of effort for something that isn't particularly numerous or particularly large, either. The fish that have been caught have been schoolies, well suited to light tackle.

The best bet for mixing sport action with the feat of actually catching something to eat is to chum over the deeper reefs. The southwest seasonally protected area is open to fishermen now and this piece of bottom is, arguably, the most consistently producing piece around Bermuda.

Ladling chum over the side should establish a chum line that can pay off with blackfin tuna ¿ a fine light tackle species, mackerel (some king-size ones have been caught at this time of the year), jacks and robins. Of course, the latter have all sorts of potential as live baits and if you are just inside from the Edge, have no fear, any wahoo or tuna in the vicinity won't think twice about moving into the shallow for such a tempting morsel.

As the chum sinks, any "floating fish" such as yellowtails or bonitas will be quick to turn toward the source and to move upwards. Although they will generally meet up with any lines out on the surface, things can be sped up by attaching a small 'pinch-on" type sinker. This will hasten the sinking of the line and it will, hopefully, meet up with some upwardly mobile snappers or bonitas. Triggerfish (turbots) also respond most positively and it is possible to catch large numbers of these when they show up in schools. All make for nice, white fillets.

Should you not be lucky enough to have picked a spot with some desirable fish cruising over the reefs, the sinking chum will inject new life into any of the bottom dwellers. The coneys, hinds and barbers will all move into competitive mode and you should be assured of some bites. Porgies occasionally please as well and, for the really lucky, there might just be a rockfish in the area.

Another thing that happens quite regularly in the early winter, is the occurrence of oddities. Species like African pompano, mako shark, big-eye tuna, albacore (most welcome) and odd jacks that are only occasionally seen here, are often caught during the so-called off-season. Part of the reason for this is that some species prefer cooler water and spend the summers at a depth where locals seldom encounter them. Cooler surface waters see them move upward where the chance of an encounter is increased. So, even though the fishing might not be up to the standard that you would expect during the summer, be prepared to have to deal with something different; after all, variety can be the spice of life.

Recently a gentleman by the name of Alfred C. Glassell, Jr. passed away. He was 95 years old and had been sick for a while. To most of us, the name doesn't mean anything but he has truly left sports fishing a great legacy.

Sport fishing as we know it did not really boom until after World War Two and Glassell was one of the pioneers. He, along with people like Michael Lerner and Ernest Hemingway, brought the idea of pursuing giant tuna and marlin to life for the common person. This led to the great game fish figuring in movies, on television, in the popular press and for words like "marlin" to enter the common lexicon.

Even in Bermuda, where you might think we were always exposed to it, it took a while for big game fishing to catch on. Books written in the earliest days of salt water game fishing (the 1930's ¿ although everything was seriously interrupted by the war) only mention Bermuda as a place with potential. And it took well into the 1980's for big blue marlin to put Bermuda on the map.

Countless millions have seen the film footage of Glassell's world record 1,560 pound black marlin. The catch was made in August, 1953 off Cabo Blanco, Peru and the epic battle was filmed in its entirety by a Hollywood film crew.

The film shot that day was used in the original (Spencer Tracy) movie of Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea. This particular fish is still the IGFA All-Tackle record for the species, and it remains the ultimate measure of the sport for every serious marlin fisherman.

Movie purists will also want to know that the same fish has figured in other movies including The Islands in the Stream, another Hemingway story (his unfinished book) that starred George C. Scott in 1977.

But Glassell's contributions to sport fishing go well beyond that world record. He did much to popularise the sport and was a member of the IGFA Board of Trustees. His accomplishments should long remain in our memories, for without him, we might have missed out on what we take for granted: our Tight lines!!!