Foul weather predicted for this weekend may hinder but it won’t slow down the enthusiasts participating in the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Fishing is at a fever pitch.

Sloppy seas and a prevailing east-northeast breeze made the fishing tough this week. Nevertheless, at the Wednesday night derby weigh-in, the derby got a new leader in the striped bass boat category.

Larger striped bass moved closer to shore in the past weekend, as the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby entered its second week. The month-long fishing contest continues through Saturday, Oct. 18.

Harvard law professor Charles J. Ogletree is a celebrated black writer, teacher and speaker and director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. But on Sunday, he accomplished something truly special: he was in the leader’s spot in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby on Sunday, weighing in a 26.68-pound striped bass he had caught earlier in the day, fishing with Buddy Vanderhoop and a couple of friends.

The fish arrived slowly at the weigh station on the opening day of the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. And when they did begin to show up, they were carried by top derby anglers.

William Pate, 34, of West Tisbury walked into the weigh station at 8:02 a.m. carrying a 7.54-pound bluefish that he had caught at 2 a.m. in the morning. Asked where he caught the fish, his answer was quick. “State forest,” he said.

An architect from Connecticut and a mailman from Westport were the top winners in this year’s 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.

On Sunday, Paul C. Harris of Oak Bluffs and Weston, Conn., won a new black Chevrolet 4x4 pickup truck for a 10.75-pound bonito he caught while fishing with friends earlier this month.

Scott D. Tompkins of Westport won a 20-foot center console Eastern powerboat for a 40.12-pound striped bass he caught fishing alone on an Up-Island shore in the early evening of Oct. 1.

The fishermen will begin lining up with their fish well before the 8 a.m. Sunday opening of the weigh station at the foot of Main street in Edgartown. Many of the anglers will be sleep deprived, having not slept but a few hours overnight.

Fewer fishermen and fewer fish — that has been the main theme for the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby this year. The fall premiere saltwater fishing contest has been affected this year both by the economy and the state of fish stocks. Participation is down.

The tournament that began in mid-September ends tomorrow night at 10 p.m. with the last weigh-in. As of Wednesday morning there were 2,674 fishermen registered in the contest, significantly down from last year’s 3,042 participants.

The air was calm this morning under dark gray skies.

“The water is like a mill pond,” said Ron McKee of Buxton, Maine. “So there will be hundreds of boats out there today.”

Mr. McKee was standing with a half dozen anglers. They were all sipping coffee and talking fishing at the weigh station at the foot of Main street in Edgartown. This is the fourth Monday morning in the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. There is only one Monday left in the contest.

At the derby station this morning Ed Jerome, president of the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, was not happy about the weekend forecast.

“It could blow up to 35 knots,” Mr. Jerome said.

Last weekend the anglers were discouraged by heavy rain. This weekend, there is a serious concern about high wind.

For boat fishermen that is not only tough it could be dangerous. Shore fishermen will flock to the lee side of the Island to get out of the wind.

Over the years she has sold a lot of eels and given out a lot of advice about how and where to catch fish.

And last month Ruth Meyer, former longtime owner of Larry’s Tackle Shop and a quiet unsung hero in the fishing community, was inducted into the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby hall of fame.

On a rain-streaked morning last week, Ms. Meyer sat at her home in Edgartown and recounted a few memories. “I didn’t choose to run a fishing tackle shop because sales was my profession. I inherited it,” she said.