Another month has gone by and, hopefully, with it the likelihood of any more hurricanes. Further disruption is the last thing anyone needs, and those tropical systems sure know how to bring about chaos. Let them take their foul attentions elsewhere, preferably to the wastes of the North Atlantic.

As autumn tightens its grip on the northern hemisphere, the effect here is for many boats to be taken out of the water and put into storage on dry land. As the number of operable craft diminish so does the effort that goes into fishing. This even extends to portions of the commercial fleet which accept the fact that there is an off-season more suited to land-based occupations.

It is unfortunate that sport fishing seldom focuses on the inshore variety. Perhaps it is the glamour of the pursuit of larger denizens of the deep or the fact that the deep blue briny is a bit of another world that provides a distraction from what is, quite literally, on our doorstep.

It was not always this way. In the early days of the Bermuda sport fishery much attention was paid to the species available to the inshore angler. Bonefish earned pride of place, and, for a time, this island was the home of records.

Other species like mangrove or grey snapper and palometa (mistakenly called pompano) were also favourites. The former offered serious challenges for the angler to try to fool them into taking a baited hook. With many hanging around docks and jetties, they also seemed to know every rocky outcrop or bit of jetsam likely to part any line should they mistakenly take an iron-enriched offering.

The palometa were the province of the cognoscenti who would turn up at a South Shore beach with a spinning rod and a loaf of bread. This often intrigued sun-worshipping tourists who were surprised to see the turmoil that casting a few bits of bread into the surf could engender. Often, they were even more surprised to see the battle put up by a fish that would weigh only a pound and a half or so. The pugnacious appearance of the captured fish only lent further credence to this supposition.

With autumn in full swing and winter not far behind, it might be thought that these inshore options would take their place as offshore travels became uncomfortable at best. Sadly, this is not the case. As the inshore waters cool, something that happens rather more quickly than those offshore, these species retire to their deeper winter quarters, well removed from the casual angler’s attentions.

As things stand, it might not be too late to have a go at some of these fabled fish. On sunny days, the waters over the grassy flats at places like Shelly Bay or Somerset Long Bay should warm up enough to attract a few bonefish. The same will be true of some of the offshore flats although, unlike the earlier venues, these will require a boat.

Those still committed to their boats will find the days they are able to get offshore will become fewer and further between as the days progress. With most sports fishermen confined to weekends, the odds of having a good-weather day are long enough now and they are only going to get longer before they show any signs of improvement.

Still, there are rewards to be reaped. Offshore reports still mention both wahoo and yellowfin on a consistent basis. Wahoo are certainly larger than the usual summertime fish and it tends to be the larger specimens that linger through the winter months. The autumnal run, which sees really large numbers of wahoo swarming over the local area, does not seem to have kicked in yet. It still may happen but there are no guarantees it is an annual event.

The yellowfin are also of a nice size and are probably on the move as they will take trolled baits rather than limiting themselves to feeding in chum slicks. Many of these would constitute really nice catches on the lighter classes of tackle but, given the time of he year and the urge to ensure there are some fish in the deep freeze, almost all anglers are using tackle suitable to catching fish but less sited to sport. A definite sign of the times.

Unless the season is really late, the frigate mackerel have not put in an appearance, and this is rather disappointing to put it mildly. Most of the mackerel now being caught are simply too large to make ideal live baits. In the hope that things may yet take a turn for the better, many boats will continue to drag a daisy chain for any juvenile little tunny or blackfin tunas they might happen upon. Any of those make superb baits, dead or alive, almost certain to turn into some very Tight Lines!!!