With 51 minutes to go during Saturday night’s final weigh-in for the 74th Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, it seemed as if all the fish on the grand leaderboards were going to hold.
That is, until 10-year-old Aubrey Warburton entered derby headquarters with a huge bluefish in her arms.
A crowd of eager onlookers gathered in a quiet hush as the fish was placed on the measuring table, stretching longer than the regulation size for striped bass. Then it was placed on the scale.
Dylan Kadison, the 17-year old leader of the boat bluefish division, watched nervously as the numbers on the scale continued to climb, eventually eclipsing his 17.49-pound bluefish.
“20.19 pounds,” called out John Custer, weighmaster for the evening and president of the derby committee.
The crowd erupted.
“That’s a Subaru right there,” exclaimed a voice in the crowd.
The fish vaulted Aubrey to the top of the grand leaderboard for the boat bluefish division, and Dylan was one of the first to congratulate her.
“It took so long to reel in,” Aubrey said as she posed with her fish under the derby banner.
A bluefish over 20 pounds has not been caught during the derby since 1998, long before Aubrey was born.
After the final bell rang at 10 p.m., mingling in the air with the Edgartown church bells, Aubrey’s name was chalked onto the leaderboard just below her 11-year old brother, Mason, who finished at the top of the boat striped bass division with his 37.58-pounder.
This will be the third time Mason has landed at the top of the grand leaderboards since he began fishing at age six.
At the awards ceremony tomorrow, the two siblings will share the stage with another member of the junior division, Westley Wlodyka, age 12, whose 12.96-pound false albacore won the boat division.
Greg Clark, the only fisherman who is not a member of the junior division, rounds out the boat division leaders with his 11.62-pound bonito.
Mr. Custer said that in the history of the derby, a member of the junior division has never taken home the grand prize vehicle. But this year, with three of the four boat spots taken by juniors, the odds certainly favor it.
Mason and Aubrey have already agreed to split the 2019 Subaru Impreza if either of them win, they said. At least when they get their licenses in a few years.
From shore, each of the grand leaders held through to the final day. Robert Battery remained at the top of the shore bluefish division, with his 12.17-pound fish. Lewis Colby won the shore bonito division with a 6.42-pounder. Shawn Emin’s topped the shore false albacore division with a 12.13-pound fish. And Clinton Fisher caught the biggest striped bass from shore at 34.42-pounds.
The four anglers will be vying to take home the grand prize boat, a 19-foot Cape Coder with an 115-horsepower engine.
All are invited to the awards ceremony on Sunday, Oct. 20, at the Farm Neck Golf Club in Oak Bluffs. The event begins at 1 p.m., with doors opening at 12:30 p.m.
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