The Chum Line November 2011
Welcome to the November edition of the Chum Line... time is in short supply at present so this edition will be fast and furious! A little bit like we hope the fishing will always be!
Offshore Fishing Report
Despite being well into fall, the offshore fishing scene remains very positive. Anglers report good catches on Bermuda's Edge, with plenty of robins available and Yellowfin Tuna ready to eat them.
One feature of fall fishing in Bermuda is the run of Dolphin that seem to pass by Bermuda on their way to warmer water down south. The Dolphin catch has been steady and, some days, very good. Not every Dolphin is a lunker, but there are a steady stream of larger fish (25lbs plus) to keep things interesting.
This is also the time of year when jigging comes back on stream, after a bit of a lull over summer. There are some solid Amberjacks and Bonitas waiting to bite the jigs. But remember to throw back the smaller versions!
There is also a steady supply of Wahoo available, though the location and extent of the action can vary considerably from day to day. Sometimes the bite has been way down on Argus. Other times the East End has been firing. As always the fish are very much where you find them!
Here's a picture of Jason Lewis struggling to hold a Wahoo in the 70lb range landed on a trip down to Argus with Andrew Marshall and Dean Rea.
There are still a few billfish floating around with some anglers reporting attacks from Blue Marlin while trolling for Wahoo or Yellowfin Tuna. That said, we can expect marlin encounters to rapidly taper off over coming weeks. Christmas isn't that far away, despite the current warm temperatures.
Club News
We enjoyed a great mid-September BBQ around at Cindi Pearman's home. For those of you that could not attend, just check out the view!
It was a beautiful warm late summer/early fall evening and perfect for a Club gathering over good food and a selection of our favorite beverages. Our thanks to Cindi for hosting the event at her home.
Under separate cover you will have received an email setting out the latest news from the Department of Environmental Protection regarding ICCAT. You can expect a further update on this once Dr Trott returns from the November ICCAT meeting in Europe.
Niel Jones, Club member at large, sent through a fishing report from Russia where he'd been catching pike.
Niel's commentary follows... "I think pike are supposed to be hard fighters but in our case it was difficult to say because of the fishing method. We deployed what I will describe as an otter board out each side of the boat on heavy line (like parachute cord). The heavy line was about 40' long and as we deployed it at about 8' intervals we snapped on 50' hand lines with a rapala-type diving lure. So we had quite a big spread with ten lures in the water. When a fish got on you brought in the relevant main line and moved the hand lines in between the boat and the one with the fish to the other side. When you got to the one with the fish on it, you simply hand lined it in. This was not exactly a fast process and so the pike fought the main line more than anything; and like a barracuda, after the first bit of fight, you were pretty much just dragging it in. Still, it was fun to do something different".
And for the record the pike weighed in at 8kg or 17.6lbs! It ended up smoked and consumed by house guests.
While we are well outside the billfish season, it's timely to reflect on a particularly noteworthy achievement. On 6 July Michael Batista and his crew aboard Mojo recorded the first ever slam by any team in a billfish tournament in Bermuda. In the same day Michael and his team (including club member John Ringold, who landed the White Marlin) successfully released a White Marlin, a Spearfish and a Blue Marlin. Other boats have recorded slams this year, including Jason Lewis on Notorious, but these were achieved outside the marlin tournaments. Well done team Mojo! Some photos of the day's achievement follow immediately below.
Thanks to Michael for sending these photos for inclusion in the newsletter. More photos are always welcome!
Next Club Meeting and Xmas Dinner
Our next Club meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 16 November at the RHADC. Start time will be 7.30pm.
Planning for the Club Xmas dinner is well advanced. Expect an email from the Club Secretary on this in the very near future.
Club Catch Records
Remember to email Francis Patterson with your catches as they come to hand. Francis needs to know the species, the line class, and the weight of the fish, the date and the boat on which the fish was caught, along with any method of catch.
Francis' email is fhpp@northrock.bm.
Contacting the Club
Contact the Club by email at bermudaanglersclub@bermuda.com.
And for those of you with a social networking bent... follow us on Facebook!