The false albacore have had a banner year so far at the 77th Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. At the 65th derby in 2010, just 131 were submitted in total. But in the first two weeks of this year’s derby, more than 190 have been turned in according to Mike Cassidy, Derby director at large, who weighed and measured the fish on Monday night and Wednesday morning.

On Monday, Scott Snyder made waves with a 13.54-pound albie. A few in the crowd gave it a nickname: Fat Albert.

Bonito were less plentiful and smaller this week, their movements inscrutable to even to the most experienced of fishermen. But some still found success.

“I’m not a good fisherman, I’m a lucky fisherman,” said Jack Cushman, who brought in a 4.16-pound bonito from the shore on Monday, the winner of the evening.

In the first hour of competition this year, he said, he had already caught more fish than in the whole of last year’s derby, which he ended empty handed.

Shore albie. — Ray Ewing

Six-and-a-half-year-old Henry Scott brought in a massive 12.72-pound bluefish on Monday evening, skyrocketing to the top of the Mini Junior Boat Bluefish category. He stood up on the bench behind the derby shack to pose for photos and received a rousing applause.

Siblings Max and Sydney Davies, both shore fishermen, had less luck. They ended their night with no fish caught and headed to the end of the dock to cast for squid. Their hope is that some fresh bait might turn their fortunes around.

Mornings at the station are less busy, with fewer fish coming in. Usually, the traffic is made up of the daily winners returning each morning to pick up their trophy pins from the previous night. Paul Shultz was there Tuesday morning to pick up his first pin in his last five years of competing, second place in the all-tackle boat bluefish category.

There were also a few attempts to bring in live bluefish for the catch and release category, though not all were successful. But boat fly fisherman Jim Lepore managed to revive a 7.29-pound bluefish at the harbor on Wednesday morning. The fish did a few circles in the water before swimming away; if the bluefish had lungs, it would surely would have breathed a sigh of relief.

Derek Delaney used the morning hours to grab a cup of coffee and listen out for intel from the other fishermen. Weather and fish patterns are frequent topics of conversation.

A stop at Dock Street Coffee Shop is a favorite breakfast option for those coming in off the water or finishing up at the station. But on Wednesday morning, Dock Street came to them, delivering an array of free bacon-macs and linguica-cheeses for the hungry Derby organizers.