The 72nd Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is in the books, with plenty of fish, plenty of surprises, and plenty of excitement for the record 3,382 anglers who participated this year.
This derby has been full of surprises for Trish Lyman of Edgartown, not the least of which was the surprise of hearing the distinct click of a key in a padlock, which won her a new car at the derby awards ceremony Sunday afternoon.
“Shock,” said Ms. Lyman as she accepted congratulations from dozens of well wishers. “I was shocked.”
Ms. Lyman has been a derby volunteer for the past 11 years, helping out at the weigh station and with derby merchandise. Her derby duties, along with those of other non-profit organizations she supports, often leave her little time to fish, but she got some time on the water late in the derby with her fellow volunteers, and landed a 12.23 pound false albacore.
“Beautiful day, beautiful sunset, a really great day with other volunteers that work the derby,” she said. “Just one non-keeper after another, so when we got one that finally broke the line we just put it in the cooler. When it came in I had no idea it was going to take the leader board, no idea, until it did.”
Ms. Lyman said volunteering for the derby is very important to her.
“Just how much the scholarship fund means, this whole thing, everything,” she said. “I needed scholarships to get through college. I wouldn’t have gone if I didn’t have them. I’m glad to be able to give back to these other kids.”
Her grand prize, a Suburu Crosstrek SUV, was donated by long time derby sponsors the Clay family
John Stasiuk, a seasonal resident of the Vineyard from Northford, Conn. said he was surprised that his name stayed on the grand leader board from the first day to the last. His 29.61 pound striper caught from shore earned him a derby key, and when it clicked open the lock, he won a new boat and trailer.
“I caught it down Philbin Beach on a chunk of bunker, about 5 a.m. on the first night of the derby,” said Mr. Stasiuk, who plans to move to the Island in the near future. “It held up the whole way. Never thought it would. I was glad to get the day (prize) out of it. I figured I’d get the week out of it, then nobody would know who I was after that. It would disappear.”
It often takes a bigger fish to win the shore bass division, so Mr. Stasiuk wasn’t all that caught up in checking the leader board. He just kept fishing. He didn’t catch a bigger bass, but no one else did either.
“I’ve got to find a new place to fish, learn how to use a boat now,” he said. “I’m kind of a shore fisherman.”
The grand prize was donated by Cape Codder Boats of Lynn.
Also Sunday, derby president Ed Jerome announced two new inductees to the derby hall of fame.
John Custer, principal of the Tisbury School, fished the derby when he was young enough to enter the junior division, and is in his second stint as derby chairman. Mr. Jerome said that during Mr. Custer’s tenure as chairman, the number of participants in the annual fishing tournament has doubled, with a corresponding increase in the amount of scholarships awarded to Island kids.
“I really appreciate this honor,” said Mr. Custer. “I regard it with the utmost respect and appreciation. When I consider some of the individuals in the hall of fame, I’m really humbled to be among them. These are all amazing people, and I’m glad I learned something from all of them.”
Mr. Custer will be succeeded as derby chairman next year by Joe El-Deiry.
Also inducted into the hall of fame was Ed Amaral, who weighed his first derby fish in 1947. Mr. Jerome said Mr. Amaral personifies derby sportsmanship, sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm for fishing with others.
“Wow, what a culmination to my life, and I’m not over with it yet,” said Mr. Amaral. “This is just totally unbelievable. As Ed can attest to, he let me know and I totally flipped out. I have so much love for it, and for the people and kids. It’s part of my life. To see something come back at me unexpectedly? Too much for me.”
Mr. Amaral was the grand leader in the boat bluefish division last year and won the grand prize, a Chevrolet truck.
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