The Chum Line February 2012
Welcome to the February edition of the Chum Line.....hard to believe another year is upon us. But that does mean we have another year of fishing to keep us focused on what is really important!!
Offshore Fishing Report
Winter in Bermuda has been a rather remarkable event. Unlike last winter there have been many calm sunny days which have allowed those of us fortunate enough to be able to skip work to get out on the water. The weather does seem to be noticeably warmer than usual and people have already been talking of whales and longtails at the beginning of February.
The Yellowfin Tuna have stayed around over winter. And there are some nice Wahoo to be caught also. Some of these Wahoo are in the 70lb plus category.
Of course the really BIG news is Andrew Card's remarkable Bluefin Tuna capture on 1 February. While the fish was "sharked" at some stage during the fight, nobody can take anything away from Andrew for completing such a fantastic feat. The fish weighed in at 920lbs....and that was with a few bits missing courtesy of sharks around Argus Tower!
Here's one of the pictures of Andrew's fish that appeared on the Bernews website.
Next time you find yourself spooled by a mystery strike it could just be one of these bad boys.
Club News
There is plenty to report on the Club news front.
Planning for the ILTT is well underway. We have a new range of sponsors for 2012, a new location for the event (Barr's Park) and, hopefully, more teams than in recent years. And a dedicated ILTT website - almost ready to go!
On Monday 6 February we held a meeting at Docksiders with charter boat captains who have indicated an interest in fishing the event. The turnout and atmosphere for the event was great.
This is also a good opportunity to recap on some recent angling efforts by Club members in waters far from home.
In fall last year David Lines Jnr made a fishing trip "down under" to Australia with his boys and enjoyed some great fishing in Cairns. While Black Marlin were not waiting behind every wave, Narrow Barred Mackerel were ready to bite. (Aussies call them "Spanish Mackerel", but they are nothing like the fish of the same name caught off the Keys. But that's Aussies for you ! You can tell the writer is a Kiwi!).
Both Joss and Noah landed some nice ones. Noah also proceeded to try to catch every bottom fish that can be caught offshore.
Over the Xmas and New Year period Dean Rea and Fiona Beck completed their annual migration to the Kingdom of Tonga. This time the mission was to field test a new range of Bonze lures that will be released at the Miami Boat Show. Florence Pedro came along for the trip also.
It is fair to say the fishing was not up to its usual standard, but that said a nice selection of fish came to the boat - generally Sailfish, Yellowfin Tuna and Wahoo with a few Mahimahi thrown in for good measure.
Here's a nice size Sailfish that was tagged and released
Here are a few photos of the guests we invited for dinner!
It's hard to know whether the slower than usual bite in Tonga was due to commercial fishing pressure elsewhere in the South Pacific, a current change which had moved the bait elsewhere, or the water being a little warmer than it usually would be for summer in Tonga.
Unsurprisingly Fiona and Florence were the anglers of record....and Dean, the deck hand. Anyway, it beats a day at the office by a significant margin.
It's with great pleasure we welcome back Club member at large, Niel Jones. Niel has put aside a promising career in ice fishing in Russia to return to Bermuda to threaten the local fish population. It's good to have Niel back among us.
Finally.....we need a new Club newsletter writer. The current writer has been doing this since 2008....and if you would like a more regular newsletter, we need a new writer. All and any applications welcome! Don't be shy!
Next Club Meetings
Our next Club meeting is scheduled for Wednesday 22 February at the RHADC. 7.30pm start time! That is important meeting as we'll have the results of the Government survey of recreational fishing effort, and perhaps a better understanding of some of the policy implications for the Club and its members.
The AGM will be held on 21 March 2012. If you want to be involved on the Executive please let Fiona Beck know. The more the merrier!
And, of course, we have our club prize giving coming up in April.
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 HUfhpp@northrock.bmU
Contacting the Club
Contact the Club by email at HUbermudaanglersclub@bermuda.comU or by emailing us from the Home Page at http://www.bermudaanglersclub.com/.
And for those of you with a social networking bent....follow us on Facebook!