While many offshore anglers have resorted to preseason football, the scarcity of fish offshore did not put a damper on the Tuna Club of Avalon's annual antique tackle Linen One event Thursday other than, yes, they didn't find many fish. But in true Tuna Club fashion, a pair of club members went old school on the grandest billfish of them all, the broadbill.

"There was only one fish hooked up," said Bob Hoose, Tuna Club Member and Pure Fishing's West Coast saltwater frontman. "It was a swordfish on the Jeramar with Dave Denholm and Marv Garrett. Marv Garrett was the angler and they hooked the fish on 24-thread linen line with antique tackle. That means a bamboo rod and a pre-1940s reel. After five hours they got the hook back."

Hoose said club members were back at it Friday in the Avalon Charity event and a few of the boats made the run to the latest (and just about only) offshore bite, the yellowfin tuna on the Double 220s. "There were three yellowfin caught today," said Hoose of the boats that made the long run south, a journey barely leaving time to fish. ?

Next up is the Churchmouse marlin tournament out of Avalon as the billfish season begins in ernest. Will the fish show up to take part? Everything thing has been late this year due to the cold spring storms and the recent heat wave and push of the swells from the south did at least feel like summer. The big money marlin events at Catalina don't start for a couple weeks and who knows what conditions will be like then -- or whether any boats will be around. The striped marlin have been thick off Cabo and that's already sucked a couple of the bigtime players south.

But there's a reason the local money events aren't scheduled until the middle of September and the Cabo cash events hold off until late October -- Sept. 10 is the height of the hurricane season and ol' Mother Nature is still stirring her brew. We'll have to wait and see who is in the right place at the right time. ?

Rich Holland's Roundup