THIS is summer and it just doesn't get any better. A long weekend, favourable forecasts and plenty of opportunities for getting out onto the water ¿ what more could you want? Whether than constitutes heading offshore in search of angling action or picnicking up in the islands, now is probably the best opportunity for kicking back and chilling out.

That most ignored of all local fishing is just at its best now. The calm, shallow inshore bays and the offshore flats host some of the finest bonefishing to be had anywhere on the globe. Maybe not the most fish but certainly some of the biggest bones. World records have been set here and there is no reason why there should not be some other "lunker" ghosting over the flats as you read this.

Spinning gear with line in the 6 to 8-lb test class is likely to give the best sport but fly fishing is another option. Be sure to check the tides; just before and just after the turn of the tide (preferably just before it is incoming) is usually the best time. It also helps to be in the lee although a light breeze will have little effect on the fishing.

Purists will use lures but bait gets results as well. Cockworms are the traditional standby but bones will take bits of squid or shrimp should you be kind enough to offer. Sight casting is the preferred method but blind casting and slowly retrieving a lure along the bottom works as does simply tossing a piece of bait out there and waiting for the bone to find it.

Given that this is a long holiday weekend where much of the activity revolves around camping, some of the shore-based bonefishing will need to be given a miss. Somerset Long Bay, Shelly Bay and Whale Bay are full of fun-lovers that disturb these nervous fish and that pretty much ensures that they will not be in attendance. Wait until Sunday or Monday when the holidaymakers have packed up and they will be back in force.

Taking a small boat up onto the grassy flats will almost ensure a shot or two are probing bonefish. You don't have to get too far offshore to experience some top class angling. In fact, back in the day, as they say, Bermuda was billed as the place to go for trophy bonefish.

While searching for bonefish is, in and of itself, exciting, there are other distractions. Barracuda should be making their way into the shallows and just about any flashy lure or one of those tube lures is pretty much guaranteed to drive them crazy. Some chum, in the form of cat food or sardine-soaked bread will conjure up palometa (pompano) out of seemingly nowhere and while they provide good sport for their size there are those who will argue that they are unsurpassed in the kitchen.

If staying near the shore is your intention, this is the time to concentrate on whitewater snappers. Those calm summer evenings are pretty much the best time to try and catch your limit off areas like the oil docks or in the channels. Most whitewaters are too small to make for much sport, but in a month or two, you'll be glad to have some fillet in the freezer.

Over deeper reefs, the yellowtails can really please and are more than capable of giving a good account of themselves on suitable tackle. Other species can also put in an appearance, although it is getting on for the time when sharks often show up along with the snappers.

Much of the emphasis has gone off the marlin fishing even though some foreign boats continue to concentrate almost solely on them. Local charter craft will put in some effort but unless the clients insist on directing all the effort in that direction, expect to see some trolling for wahoo and maybe some chumming for tuna and smaller game. There will be no shortage of marlin as evidenced by Capt. Cabral's Sea Scorpion which scored a double on Sunday. The lack of high profile tournaments and the emphasis on catch and release will keep all but the biggest billfish out of the limelight for the next few weeks.

Amazing as it may seem, the wahoo continue to please. The high summer is usually when the 'hoos take a bit of a break with the occasional fish being taken from chumslicks or on live baits. Not so, at the moment. Trolling the drop-off continues to produce wahoo fairly consistently and while the size might be more indicative of summer stock it is possible to post numbers not unlike those usually associated with the spring run.

One of the questions that is now being asked is whether or not the apparent excellent run of wahoo will continue and then build up to a new high for the autumnal splurge toward the end of August or early September; or will it just start to fade out, leaving pleasant memories. Time will tell and there is that other old adage of "making hay while the sun shines". Right now, at least as far a wahoo are concerned, the sun is shining.

Unfortunately, it does not look like the yellowfin are playing ball at all this season. A few tuna have been caught but not enough to get excited about. Even the blue water trollers aren't happening on to many tuna and the normal thinking is that if they are not on or around the Banks then they are in schools moving out in the deep water. No such luck, it seems!

As an alternative you can concentrate on chumming a bit shallower where the blackfin tuna often make up for the lack of yellowfin activity. On suitable tackle they put up a good battle, probably outlasting the Allison on a pound-for-pound basis. Also to be had at by chumming in such depths are bonitas and amberjack with plenty of jacks, robins, rainbow runners and mackerel keeping the action going virtually non-stop. Bottom bouncing can pay off, too. There are some red hinds and coneys but don't think that some of the jack clan including gwelly and bonita don't stay deep and feed.

If all you want is a good hard pull, out on the Banks, there should be some full-sized tiger sharks willing to take most anything you offer. While locals disdain so-called "monster fishing", there are plenty who get a kick out of it and even release the critter, if they are lucky enough to subdue it. One way of getting some serious exercise is to latch on to some major rod-bending Tight lines!!!