ONE Bermuda-ful day after another. While maybe too hot for some, this is the stuff that great tropical sportfishing is made of. Now is the time to get offshore, catch a few fish and enjoy what is barely accessible to most ordinary people. Here, even a small boater can treat themselves to some action that is only dreamt of elsewhere. As things are warming up, the fish patterns are showing signs of change and it does well to keep up on the happenings.

Finally, the wahoo bite is easing off even though there seems to be not much of a challenge to actually catching one. Even abbreviated trips have generally returned with at least a couple wahoo. The size has also started to slip but it is high summer when the wahoo usually take a bit of a break.

Still elusive are the yellowfin tuna. A few fish in the 30 to 50-pound range are being caught on the troll but they don't seem to be too numerous anywhere. Chummers have happened on a few but, for most part, the action has come from blackfin tuna, amberjack and bonitas.

There are still enough robins around to make live-baiting worthwhile and there are reports of large numbers of smallish mackerel that are also suited to being used as live troll baits. These can be readily caught by dragging a daisy chain of small lures or feathers over the deeper reefs or along the edge of the drop-off. Remember to use some reasonable tackle both in terms of test line and hook size and strength because anything from a barracuda to a blue marlin will happily inhale such an offering.

There can be no doubt that the billfish season is now in full swing. The sailboats have mostly departed and been replaced with the sleek sportsfishing boats that grace the various marinas around the Island.

There has been no shortage of action around the Island with many boats getting multiple shots a day. This is especially true of the local blue marlin specialists and the visiting boats that devote virtually all their effort toward billfish. With so many shots, there have been lots of catches made and most of the fish have been released. Judging by the reports, most of the fish have been large - in excess of 300 pounds with some getting up into the 800-pound bracket and maybe even larger. Several fish in the grander category have supposedly been seen and a couple have run off great amounts of line before coming unstuck. The action has been concentrated down around Challenger Bank but all areas including Argus Bank, the north and northeast of Bermuda's Edge and even the South Shore have proven to harbour blue marlin. Expect the next couple of weeks to see just about every inch of bottom explored as the fleet goes in search of the ultimate fish.

Bermuda is a logical place to look for a big money fish in that it is readily accessible to North America. Most boats can make the crossing on their own bottoms and can leave after the major July events in order to get to the East Coast and Caribbean tournaments that fill out the rest of the season's calendar.

The Bermuda Blast is underway with today coinciding with the worldwide Blue Marlin World Cup. This is the 24th annual July 4 event and is being fished from Vanuatu in the Pacific to Angola in Africa. Apparently ten locations around the world have produced winners and not all of those have been covered in this year's event. It has been reported that overall numbers are down and it is not surprising given the state of the world's economy and the incredible rise in the cost of oil and oil-based products. In any case, there are hundreds of thousands of dollars at stake for the international winner take all event.

Those contemplating a foray into the world of big money billfish tournaments have to look no farther than next week's 8th Bermuda Big Game Classic (9-13th July). The base entry fee is a mere(!) $3,000 and there are additional opportunities to risk even larger sums. It is a modified release tournament with a 500-pound minimum weight. Another alternative is the Bermuda Open Tournament (part of the Bermuda Triangle Series) which is to be fished 6-8th July. Additional details can be had on the internet at http://www.bermudabiggameclassic.com/index.jsp for the former and http://www.abmt.vi/Pages/bermuda.htm for the latter.

Still with billfish but on another note, there is the occasional incidence of spearfish in Bermuda waters. Many of these are misidentified as white marlin to which they do have a passing resemblance.

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