The table is set as we await the arrival of some eagerly anticipated special houseguests. Peanut bunker, bay anchovies, rafts of sand eels as well as spearing are in the neighborhood. Now all we need is the first solid showing of inshore pelagics. But this year they just might be delayed just a bit. Reports of one or two fish popping up here or there do not a major run make, but with all this varied bait buffet, it is only a matter of time before the arrival of strange “bluefish” that can’t be caught. Those tough-to-catch- mini tunas will most likely be Atlantic bonito. They too have a preferred water temperature comfort zone and with this year’s cooler H2O my bet is that there will be about a two-week lag from previous years’ full swing run of the early hard tails. In all the years I have been fishing for Atlantic bonito – and that goes back 1975- fish have already hit the decks! So, we need to keep our fingers crossed that they will still make a solid showing. But if all goes according to nature’s grand plan in an odd season we should see some bones, Spanish macks, albies and perhaps even some skipjack move in the area to cash in on all the bait that is in our area. Some fish have already passed us by and are up in the Cape and the Vineyard; to those fish we bid a fond adieu and hope their cousins stop by the Island for a visit. Both sides of the Island receive their annual share of these most coveted of inshore gamesters. That said, there are already fish in the neighborhood so this is the time of year to start prospecting so get out those light spinning outfits and fly rods and hit the water. Small tins, plugs and thin plastics work well on pelagics as do slim Deceivers, Clousers, and any assortment of epoxy baitfish, hair flies, and marabou or rabbit strip flies.