WHAT a week! Quite apart from some of the hottest marlin fishing in the world, and that was pretty much expected, there have been some pretty impressive individual accomplishments.

Just when everyone thought everything might have cooled down after a hectic weekend, Captain James Robinson's Wound Up seriously puts the cat amongst the pigeons when, on Monday, he brings a blue estimated at 900 pounds to the scales. Typical Bermudian understatement, the scale does not lie and Captain James clocks up his first, and very probably not last, grander when the fish checks in at 1049 pounds in front of an appreciative audience!

And don't think that that may be the last of them. On Tuesday, one of the visiting boat had some hard luck when they were disconnected from a fish estimated at between 1200 and 1500 pounds! That is the stuff that world records are made of ¿ surely the now long-standing all tackle record of 1403 pounds set in Brazil has to be in danger of becoming history. Time will tell.

The 24th annual Blue Marlin World Cup proved to be an exciting event, not just here, but throughout the world where it is fished by respective time zones. It was just into the first hour of fishing that the East End-based Shakedown hooked up a fish that was believed to have been eligible (500 pounds or more). After some 45 minutes it was boated and the measurements called in. The formula calculation gave the fish a weight of about 450 pounds, making it a marginal entry.

Word then came from Madeira that two fish had weighed in ¿ one was 574 pounds and the other 665 pounds. With that established as the benchmark, the 46 boats registered in Bermuda continued their quest for a sea monster that would secure them the several hundred thousand dollar winner-take-all award. And the productive local waters duly obliged.

Tenacious brought a 556-pounder to the scales; shortly thereafter Paradise One weighed in with a 617-pound blue. Mega Bucks advanced the cause with a 651 pound fish but it was Que Mas that strode into the lead with a 718 pounder. The question on everyone's mind was would that be enough to secure a six-time winning fish for Bermuda.

Alas, it was not to be. Eight time zones away, the Kona fleet was working their calm waters in the hope of a winning fish. One of their boats hooked up a large fish early in the day that kept the interest alive and then later the boat Ihu Nui succeeded in bringing a 773.5-pound blue to the dock. Meanwhile the boat that had hooked up early in the day continued its battle with a large blue that was eventually lost. When the dust finally settled, it was Kona, Hawaii to claim 2008 honours.

Not that Bermuda had performed badly.

Second place may not pay but there was barely 60 pounds in it. Four of the seven qualifying fish were caught here. In fact, although it really didn't matter, an eventual shore side measuring of the Shakedown fish with considerably more accuracy put that fish in the just over 500-pound bracket. So it might be argued that five of eight qualifiers were caught in Bermuda. Either way, there can be no doubt that this is a great place to search for an ultimate fish.

The Bermuda Blast was also underway and produced its share of excitement. With 40 boats competing, there was sure to be plenty of activity and the end is never over until the Fat Lady is actually singing.

On the first day (July 4) Que Mas, Paradise One and Tenacious all had their World Cup fish contribute to their total scores. Alongside these were plenty of contenders as there were 14 other blue marlin and six white marlin released on the first day.

With Day Two being an all release day, the pace quickened. A blue marlin release moved Paradise One into a fourth place finish. Allen "Heads" DeSilva's Treasure Isle, released two blues along with their first day white to amass 1200 points (third place); a release and the first day's points slipped Que Mas ahead into second place but it was Captain Craigin Curtis' Reel Addiction that came up with the surprise of the day. Starting with no points, a white release was closely followed by a blue release moving them into contention along with quite a few other boats in the fleet. As time grew short, they scored another blue marlin release comfortably sliding them into first place with 1700 points. Nice going! Needless to say there were a lot of really large fish seen, hooked and released due to the all release second day format.

The Bermuda Open stated with the two boats fishing the event having some action but failing to capture any billfish. Other boats not in the tournament continued to report hook-ups on a regular basis. On the second day, Rum Bum got the action going by releasing a small blue and scoring points. The Open allows the use of line as light as 50 lb test with there being a premium on points scored. With the big fish out there that has to promise some excitement.

Day Two saw Rum Bum consolidate its position by releasing two more small blues. Don't think too disparagingly of smaller blues. It is believed that these fish are predominantly males and do you really think there would be all those big females here if there weren't any males? In any case Rum Bum took 1,200 points into the next and final leg of the Triangle Tournament with the Virgin Island Boy Scout Tournament next on the agenda.

Looking ahead, it seems that Hurricane Bertha is the only thing that could spoil the party and, even given her projected passage, the prognosis for the weekend is still pretty positive and that will see the 8th Bermuda Big Game Classic in good stead. The consequences may be some welcome rain and maybe a bit of a swell and that certainly won't deter the fleet. In fact, there are some who believe that a bit of heavy weather actually improves the bill fishing.

The sport fishing scene is pretty much all billfish even though there is plenty of smaller game action to be had. There are still enough wahoo around that are willing to please and they should start hanging around any chum lines that there may be. What yellowfin tuna there are will probably be hugging the edges of the drop-off ¿ too many predators out in the deep ¿ and may well prove to be good candidates for any live robins that are turned into baits. Blackfin tuna will also readily take a robin as will even large rainbow runners. It is a little early for the barracuda to take everything live that is attached to a line so maybe getting the robins into use now is a good ploy. Down deeper there are some really nice bonitas and the ambers should be getting ready to hit their stride.

So, lots of fishing to be had but the focus is on the big stuff. With the fish having proven cooperative and the main event highlighting the weekend, rest assured that any foray off the Edge is likely to lead to some exceedingly Tight lines!!!