With two days to go before the close of the 59th Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, tournament officials are already calling this year's event one of the most successful in the history of the competition.

"What can you say, it's been incredible," derby chairman John Custer said yesterday. "The weather has been great, the fishing has been phenomenal and we had a record number of registrants. And certainly there are no complaints about the scarcity of fish out there. The numbers brought in are just amazing."

The derby ends tomorrow night. The last weigh-in will be from 8 to 10 p.m. Saturday, and the annual awards ceremony will be held on Sunday afternoon at the Atlantic Connection in Oak Bluffs. The ceremony begins at 1 p.m.

At derby headquarters at the foot of Main street in Edgartown, the week's activity peaked Wednesday night, according to volunteer Martha Smith, when dozens of large fish poured into the weigh station. Island charter fishing Capt. Everett (Porky) Francis was part of the action, bringing in a 10.09-pound bluefish that he caught on a flyrod. The fish vaulted Captain Francis to the top of the flyrod boat bluefish category. Geoff Codding and Lev Wlodyka also weighed in on Wednesday, sneaking into the second and third spots in the all-tackle boat bonito category with 9.28 and 8.89 pounders, respectively.

Ms. Smith, who has worked for the derby for 17 years, said the busy night made up for a fairly slow week. She also noted the overall size of fish seemed to be relatively down.

"We just haven't had the real nice sizes we've had in past years," Ms. Smith said. "The numbers are great, but I guess the bigger fish haven't been biting. The good news is that recent catches have shown that the fish are starting to eat more than in previous weeks, so that could play a part in the next few days."

"We're still waiting for that 50-pound bass," Mr. Custer said. "The tournament has produced its share of fair-sized fish, but if I had to guess, I would say overall this year's batch is probably on the smaller side than in years past."

The dearth of larger fish is not due to a lack of fisherman, according to tournament volunteer Amy Coffey.

"We had a lot of new people enter this year," she said. "There seems to be a ton of new people who have never even caught a fish before entered in this one. There are lot's of first-timers."

By Mr. Custer's count, the total number of registrants topped last year's total of 3,107. Over 33,000 pounds of fish had been weighed in as of Thursday night.

As for the leaders, all top spots on the grand leader board remained unchanged through the week. William F. Lehman's 47.62-pound boat striper remains the biggest catch as of yesterday evening, fending off both Lev Wlodyka and Mark Plante's 46.08-pound bass.

William W. Farnham's 15.17-pound boat bluefish, reeled in on Sept. 17, has held onto first place for almost the entire tournament. Peter Cook's 13.19-pound shore bluefish has also held first place in its class since the same date.

"Those are the ones that drive the leaders crazy," weigh master Bill Jurczyk said with a grin yesterday. "You don't want to go all month in first place just to lose it in the last couple of hours."

As the final hours approach, derby officials said those gunning for the Grand Prize Boston Whaler or Chevrolet truck will be doing little beyond fishing as they frantically search for the big ones. Mr. Jurczyk predicts long nights for fishermen in contention for the big prize.

"You definitely see who is restless, who is serious, who won't be sleeping anytime in the next few days," he joked. "But on the bright side, this tournament really rewards those who fish seriously and fish a lot. The big ones are out there waiting."

With two days to go, here is the current list of derby leaders:

Grand Leaders

Boat Bluefish: William W. Farnham, 15.17. Shore Bluefish: Peter J. Cook, 13.19. Boat Striped Bass: William F. Lehman, 47.62. Shore Striped Bass: Keith A. McArt, 42.46. Boat Bonito: Tom Langman, 10.13. Shore Bonito: Betsy J. Miraglia, 8.75. Boat False Albacore: David C. Kadison, 12.37. Shore False Albacore: Robert W. Thomas, 12.48.

Grand Slam Leaders

All Tackle Boat: 1, Lev C. Wlodyka, 76.23; 2, Patrick T. Jenkinson, 71.17; 3, Mark S. Plante, 71.10. All Tackle Shore: 1, Jack Livingston, 48.50; 2, Daniel K. Tilton, 47.72; 3, Brian Gracie, 42.40. Flyrod Boat: 1, Kevin A. Ludwig, 41.37; 2, David C. Kadison, 36.35; 3, Thomas J. Rapone, 35.95.

Overall Division Leaders

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, William F. Lehman, 47.62; 2, Lev C. Wlodyka, 46.08; 3, Mark S. Plante, 46.08.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Keith A. McArt, 42.46; 2, Heath J. Estrella, 40.33; 3, Charles Rimas, 36.78.

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Tom Langman, 10.13; 2, Geoff K. Codding, 9.28; 3, Lev C. Wlodyka, 8.89.

All Tackle Shore Bonito: 1, Betsy J. Miraglia, 8.75; 2, Bernie B. Arruda, 7.14; 3, Daniel A. Keniston, 6.30.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, William W. Farnham, 15.17; 2, Ted Rosbeck, 14.43; 3, Ken R. Brede, 14.14.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Peter J. Cook, 13.19; 2, Dennis Guluzy, 12.88; 3, Russell K. Hooper, 11.82.

All Tackle Boat False Albacore: 1, David C. Kadison, 12.37; 2, Donald M. Benefit, 11.22; 3, Jared E. Fisher, 11.01.

All Tackle Shore False Albacore: 1, Robert W. Thomas, 12.48; 2, Robert Correll, 12.08; 3, Peter S. McChesney, Jr., 11.19.

Flyrod Boat Striped Bass: 1, Kevin A. Ludwig, 18.60; 2, David C. Kadison, 16.44; 3, Thomas J. Rapone, 15.84.

Flyrod Shore Striped Bass: 1, Oh Keong, 17.82; 2, Patrick J. Paquette, 17.73; 3, Jonathan R. Herman, 14.32.

Flyrod Boat Bonito: 1, Ken P. Baracchini, 7.57; 2, Brian Nunes-Vais, 6.50; 3, Kevin A. Ludwig, 6.36.

Flyrod Boat Bluefish: 1, Porky J. Francis, 10.09; 2, Art Crago, 9.61; 3, Kevin A. Ludwig, 8.31.

Flyrod Shore Bluefish: 1, Chip J. Bergeron, 9.32; 2, Norris E. Johns, 6.74; 3, Thomas J. Rapone, 6.41.

Flyrod Boat False Albacore: 1, Rick A. Peters, 11.95; 2, Bob W. Hayman, 10.88; 3, Orlando Corsi, Jr., 10.20.

Flyrod Shore False Albacore: 1, David R. Thompson, 10.75; 2, Robert Wilcoxson, 10.70; 3, Thomas J. Rapone, 10.08..

Junior All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Ashleigh L. Plante, 39.08; 2, Trevor Maciel, 36.80; 3, Ben T. Ciciora, 36.50.

Junior All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, William B. Stewart, 26.29; 2, Jesse Forney, 18.11; 3, Emilyanne A. Williston, 17.45.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Kassidy R. Bettencourt, 6.42; 2, Sarah L. Kadison, 6.27; 3, Max A. Davies, 6.03.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Kassidy R. Bettencourt, 12.72; 2, Kurt Rivard, 12.49; 3, Zachary Coutinho, 12.46.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Lucy Benedetto, 9.77; 2, Samuel Scott, 7.25; 3, Mia G. Benedetto, 6.61.

Junior All Tackle Boat False Albacore: 1, William C. Kadison, 11.25; 2, Gus M. Hayes, 10.22; 3, Sarah L. Kadison, 9.33.

Junior All Tackle Shore False Albacore: 1, Scott Canavan, 8.96; 2, Christian Nation, 8.47; 3, Jarek B. Peters, 8.31.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Travis Leaf, 29.32; 2, Connor Leaf, 28.84; 3, Christopher Mayhew, 28.56.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, Cameron Maciel, 20.21.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Brian T. Fraser, 6.30; 2, Tony P. Canha, 5.86; Travis Leaf, 4.84.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Christopher Mayhew, 10.60; 2, Tony P. Cana, 9.48; 3, Cameron Maciel, 8.37.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle False Albacore: 1, Wyatt A. Jenkinson, 8.42; (2) Gordon A. Moore, 7.63.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle Shore Albacore: 1, Lexus M. Pate, 7.92.

Daily Winners
Thursday, Oct. 7

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Geoff K. Codding, 8.17

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Keith R. Gazaille, 11.77 2, Keith C. Krogslund, 10.18; 3, Ellen Saville, 9.72; 4, Patrick T. Jenkinson, 9.62

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, John A. Kallel, 7.10; 2, Louis Zglobicki, 5.07; 3, Bob Jacobs, 8.66; (4Thomas J. Kieras, 8.76, hat trick.

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Mark S. Plante, 46.08; 2, Reid R. Macduff, 43.90; 3, Jim F. Creedon, 39.10; 4, Michael J. Michalski, 38.50.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Dan J. Geary, 19.37; 2, Steven J. Masterson, 17.80; 3, Paul H. Cormier, 16.93.

Flyrod Boat Bluefish: 1, Wiliam L. Jurczyk, 3.46; 2, Art Crago, 7.95.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Christopher Mayhew, 10.60; 2, Michael Morris, 4.07; 3, Wyatt A. Jenkinson, 6.62.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Emilyanne A. Williston, 17.45; 2, Daniel C. Ferry, 14.80.

Mystery Prize Winners: Wilson Saville, Robert A. Plante, Daniel C. Ferry.

Friday, Oct. 8

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Ross F. Morancie, 8.83; 2, Bob J. Mocarski, 7.84; 3, Philip Dwane, 6.67.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Mike E. Mayrand, 11.87; 2, Joseph Feeks, 11.07; 3, John M. Hobby, 11.33; 4, Ross F. Morancie, 10.36.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Tony B. Jackson, 7.27; 2, Thomas W. Buchert, 6.36; 3, Sue M. Geresy, 5.67; 4, Sergio Radossi, 6.05.

All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Benjamin G. McCormick, 35.22; 2, Kevin P. O'Farrell, 34.98; 3, George J. Rogers, 34.60; 4, Willie J. Levesque, 34.00.

All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, John Montes, 24.67; 2, Lou Othote, 31.82; 3, Michael P. Ferry, 21.65; 4, Michael Alwaardt, 20.28.

Flyrod Shore Striped Bass: 1, Patrick J. Paquette, 17.73.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Chris A. Morris, 5.84.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Gus M. Hayes, 5.29; 2, Kassidy R. Bettencourt, 11.52.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Leah H. Pachico, 3.62.

Junior All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Gus M. Hayes, 13.79; 2, Sam Larsen, 23.78.

Junior All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, Mia G. Benedetto, 13.79; 2, Daniel C. Ferry, 11.57.

Mystery Prize Winners: Frank L. Mazzulli, Don T. MacGillivray, Michael Alwardt, Patrick J. Paquette, Kassidy R. Bettencourt.

Saturday, Oct. 9

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Jennifer Jamgochian, 7.78; 2, D. J. Pothier, 6.18; 3, Denise M. Fraser, 5.55; 4, Lev C. Wlodyka, 5.82.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Edwin G. Bentle Jr., 12.56; 2, Rick S. Lee, 12.08; 3, Bruce McIntosh, 11.33; 4, Chris Scott, 11.68.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Ed Willoughby, 9.20; 2, Tom V. Noonan, 6.15; 3, Edward J. Niejadlik, 7.71; Josh J. Kresel, 5.24.

All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Ali R. Lotfi, 34.06; 2, Brian K. Mcdonald, 34.06; 3, Carlos Bartolomeu, 32.42; 4, Scott A. Bliss, 30.06.

All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, Scott Braen, 17.80; 2, John VanCAlcar, 13.82; 3, Lou Othote, 24.01; 4, Eric T. Eastterday, 12.72.

Flyrod Boat Bluefish: 1, Porky J. Francis, 5.20.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Brian T. Fraser, 6.30; 2, Sarah L. Kadison, 5.34; 3, Jake Tierney, 4.53.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Jake Tierney, 7.45; 2, Kurt Rivard, 10.57; 3, Brian T. Fraser, 6.25; 4, Kassidy R. Bettencourt, 12.72.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Louis J. Walsh, 4.83.

Junior All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Arno Ewing, 16.80.

Junior All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, Thomas Heylin-Tilton, 17.40.

Mystery Prize Winners: Noreen Deery, Lev C. Wlodyka, Jerry Salvi, Porky J. Francis, Jake Tierney.

Sunday, Oct. 10

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Daniel S. Athearn, 6.99; 2, Lev C. Wlodyka, 8.14; 3, Richard Schiffer, 6.98; 3, Geoff K. Codding, 7.80; Hat Trick, Patrick T. Jenkinson, 8.45.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Charles W. Long, 11.26; 2, Richelle O'Neil, 10.51; 3, Edwin B. Gentle, Jr., 12.39; 4, Robert O'Neil, 9.31.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Dennis Guluzy, 12.88; 2, William Geresy, 11.63; 3, Edwin J. Vanderhoop, 9.78; 4, Dennis R. Gough, 9.38.

All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Daniel L. Larsen, 35.18; 2, Robert Clark, 25.79; 3, Michael M. Baden, 24.88; 4, Jeffrey G. Cleary, 18.53.

All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, John P. O'Connell, 17.81.

Flyrod Boat Bonito: 1, Brian Nunes-Vais, 4.70.

Flyrod Shore Bluefish: 1, Chip J. Bergeron, 9.32.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Thomas Wilkins, 5.55; 2, Max A. Davies, 5.44.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Zachary Coutinho, 12.46; 2, Charlie E. Rice, 5.46; 3, Zachary J. Waller, 4.81; 4, Michelle Long, 4.05.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Chris A. Morris, 4.27.

Junior All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Alex Natterstad, 20.10;

Junior All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, Dan D. Durawa, 12.21; 2, Chris A. Morris, 11.09.

Mystery Prizes: Emilee Kieras, Maria Rello, John P. O'Connell, Chip J. Bergeron, Dan D. Durawa.

Monday, Oct. 11

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Seth MacPherson, 8.61; 2, Tyson P. Kehl, 7.60.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Mike Peterson, 8.39; 2, Peter J. Belsan, 7.94; 3, Randy Larkin, 7.47; 4, John Montes, 4.83.

All Tackle Boat Sriped Bass: 1, Kevin P. O'Farrell, 21.47.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Russ Burgess, 33.80; 2, Ronald McKee, 20.36, 3, John P. O'Connell, 14.83; 4, Bob J. Merritt, 14.82.

Junior All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, Samuel Scott, 14.16.

Mystery Prize Winners: Thyson P. Kehl, Deb Taylor-Blair, Samuel Scott.

Tuesday, Oct. 12

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Jeffrey E. Leonard, 7.52; 2, Tom R. Barlosky, 9.36; 3, Annette M. Cingle, 7.14; 4, Johnny Hoy, 5.20.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Hayden L. Boullie, 6.52; 2, Tony B. Jackson, 4.15; 3, James C. Cornwell, 3.56.

All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Annette M. Cingle, 18.96; 2, Daniel L. Larsen, 21.55.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Matthew J. Malowski, 27.74; 2, Harry F. Rodrigues, 21.40; 3, Ronald McKee, 21.38; 4, Hayden L. Boullie, 18.10.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Sam Larsen, 7.16.

Junior All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: Sam Larsen, 14.74.

Mystery Prize Winners: Annette M. Cingle, Matthew J. Malowski, Sam Larsen.

Wednesday, Oct. 13

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Stanley W. Brown, 6.18; 2, Robert Blanchard, 5.75; 3, Jennifer Jamgochian, 8.52; Hat Trick Geoff K. Codding, 9.28.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Fred P. Collins, 13.99; 2, Steven J. Wood, 11.92; 3, Tena Davies, 11.86; 4, Mike E. Mayrand, 11.63.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Joseph W. Fitzgibbon, 10.25; 2, Jefferson S. Howell, 10.21; 3, Hayden L. Boullie, 8.77; 4, Ralph J. Peckham, 7.69.

All Tackle Boat Striped Bass: 1, Nick W. Peters, 37.04; 2, Joe El-Deiry, 27.49; 3, Stephen J. Whorton, 21.88; 4, Everett L. Whorton, 21.59.

All Tackle Shore Striped Bass: 1, Johnny Hoy, 30.90; 2, Daniel C. Stiles, 18.45; 3, Brian Gracie, 20.40; 4, Daniel K. Tilton, 25.94.

Flyrod Boat Bluefish: 1, Porky J. Francis, 10.09; 2, William L. Jurczyk, 4.15.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Chris D. Davies, 10.71; 2, Daniel C. Ferry, 7.63; 3, Celia J. Mercier, 7.39; 4, Sydney E. Davies, 7.10.

Mystery Prize Winners: Ed McDevitt, Robert Blanchard, Ronald McKee, Chris D. Davies.