Strong northerly and easterly winds, choppy water and small craft advisories challenged anglers in the first week of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, though the inclement weather did little to dampen the enthusiasm for the annual event.
Fishermen were hauling in plenty of stripers from shore, a total of 45 weighed in by Thursday morning. Weighmaster Mike Cassidy said it may be a sign of a healthier fish stock.
“It’s nice to see the striped bass back,” Mr. Cassidy said. “In the first couple of days we had as many striped bass as the other three fish combined. They’ve got some girth coming back to them, looks like they’re healthy.”
Cosmin Creanga leads the striped bass from shore division as of Thursday morning with a 29.04 pound fish. Dan Roy leads the boat division with a 29.15 pound striper.
False albacore were scarce in the opening week, with only 15 weighed in by Thursday morning. Joseph Canha caught an 8.73 pound fish to lead the boat albacore division. Lucas Brewer is best in the shore albacore category with a 10.29 pound fish.
Among the fishermen most successful in the first week is Alex Bettencourt, who has already picked up a couple of daily prizes. He is fishing hard early in the derby, working toward a grand slam, catching one of each species of fish. He was happy to weigh in a bonito or “bone,” this week.
“It’s good to get that out of the way, that’s the unicorn, that’s the one that’s really hard to get,” said Mr. Bettencourt. “I’m happy I got that. I got the first slam last year so I’m trying to go for it again this year.”
Mike Sisco is the grand leader for bonito from a boat as of Thursday morning, with a 7.97 pound fish, while Tyler Gibson leads the shore category with a 5.89 pound bonito.
David Kadison has the biggest bluefish from a boat so far at 13.11 pounds, and David Balon landed an 8.31 pound fish to lead the shore bluefish division.
The competition continues through Oct. 13.
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