THIS is high summer and even if the weather has played up the last few days, there is still plenty of angling to be had. Although many write off the month of August as being too hot to fish or the fish take a break, neither is true. While it does make sense to start early and finish early or to concentrate on the latter half of the day, there are still enough fish to be caught to justify most any trip offshore.

Trolling is still producing wahoo fairly consistently. Most of the fish are more the run-of-the-mill schoolies that we associate with the summer but there are some bigger fish around. Using live robins is often a good technique for trying for larger wahoo and this can be combined with chumming and working the bottom. There is plenty of small game around in the form of jacks, rainbow runners, mackerel and that old standby the barracuda. Blackfin tuna are a real game species and there should be some trophy-sized specimens around.

The deep water continues to be the prime hunting ground for blue marlin. Although there is not as much effort being put in as there was a few weeks ago, there is still plenty of potential for big fish activity. The average size of the marlin tends to ease off as the summer progresses but, rest assured, there are some sea monsters around. No one is quite sure why but the smaller fish, usually males start to dominate the proceedings from around now until the blue marlin all but head south for the winter. Not that the so-called smaller fish are small at all. Most of these will be in the 200-pounds plus bracket and that is a huge amount of fish in most ordinary person's reckoning. Particularly if you are from the American or Canadian mid-west where a 20-pound trout or bass is considered massive. Talk about the rest of us being spoiled.

Although blue marlin are the target species, there are other fish out in the dark blue briny as well. Mako sharks take it upon themselves to hit both baits and lures in the deep. They appear out of nowhere and are easily confused with a marlin as the strike is often spectacular and the mako is capable of putting on a marlin-like performance. They also have some nasty ways about them, aided by rows of razor-sharp teeth. By no means common here, they do exist and can attain weights in excess of 500 pounds. Those unfamiliar with these denizens of the deep should do the right thing and release them by cutting or popping the line. Alongside the boat, they can turn into a real handful and are dangerous.

Other billfish, like white marlin and the odd sailfish also happen occasionally. The latter tend to get mixed up with the wahoo runs in April and September but with this year's batch of wahoo starting to raise questions, there may well be a few sails or spearfish mixed in with the 'hoos that are here now.

More common, but for some reason thin on the ground this year, are yellowfin tuna. Just recently a local charterboat has had some luck and come up with a couple of nice fish in the 150-pound plus bracket. These are actually stunning fish and they put on a battle that will have some anglers surrendering the rod to their boat mates after just a few minutes of heaving exertion.

Perhaps surprisingly, the yellowfin tuna that are such an important part of the North Carolina offshore fishery have also failed to put in an appearance this summer. It is unclear as to whether this lack of a commercially valuable species is due to some natural calamity or, perhaps, the fish just took an alternative road this year. The most recent findings of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) indicate that the yellowfin stock is in reasonably good shape and certainly there has been no local change in fishing practices that would give a hint as to what has happened to the fish. On the other hand, who would have expected such a long and steady supply of wahoo, a species which often assumes a much lower profile during the summer.

Especially popular with small boaters or those not wanting to head right offshore is the channel fishing. The main target is whitewater snappers although things like turbots will please as well.

Now, the whitewaters are more correctly called Lane snappers and are not to be confused with silk snappers. They do bear a passing similarity to each other but, then again, this is true of a lot of fish species.

Prominent in the easily confused arena are the grunts: yellow grunts, French grunts and blue-striped grunts. They all show some bright yellow and a bit of blue, have bright red mouths and emit the grunting sound that gives them their name. The thing is they are all different so when someone says that he has caught a yellow grunt, it is more likely to be a blue striped grunt, especially if it is large enough to be termed a "bull" grunt.

Returning to snappers, the whitewaters have a predominantly brown hue to them even though some pink can be discerned. The pink is more obvious when the fish are caught in deeper water over the reefs. There is a spot of sorts on the upper back down towards the tail. They generally occur is schools and, once you have encountered one, it should be possible to fill the bag limit in under an hour. That makes for rather a lot of fine fillets. Early evening, either side of sundown is usually the best time. Waiting until it is well and truly dark often lets sharks into the equation; something that isn't of much interest to the angler and one which might interfere with the snappers. Start early and finish early.

This weekend the Blue Waters Anglers' Club hosts its annual junior tournament. Details may be had from the club.

Next Sunday, the youngsters get another chance to show their prowess with the Flybridge Annual Junior Tournament. Some of the juniors who have participated in this event over the years have now become regulars on the adult angling circuit each with various claims to fame. Entry is free and there are lots of prizes at stake for boys and girls in four different age groups; whether fishing from shore or boat and on handline as well as rod and reel. Entry forms and details can be had from Flybridge Tackle on Church Street. A great opportunity for the younger set to experience some Tight lines!!!