A group of five anglers rushed to the left side of Edgartown Memorial Wharf early Thursday morning when a flock of gulls started circling nearby.
Lines were cast, jigs were sent out into the water and hope came alive for a moment. But after a few minutes the birds left and the scene quieted down.
Derby competitor Peter Bergeron looked down at his empty bucket, a familiar sight this season.
“It’s small fish and slow,” he said, describing how this year’s derby has fared on shore.
The 80th Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby passed its halfway point and as of Thursday morning the total amount of shore fish is just over 230, with only 31 albacore weighed in.
By boat over 820 fish have crossed the scales so far.
Though the start of the derby can typically be a bit slow for shore fishing, many said this year has been an agonizing one. Some have coined it “The Nantucket Derby” since most of the big fish are caught by boat in waters close to the sister island. Derby rules allow fishing those waters by boat but not on land, which has to take place on Vineyard soil.
On Wednesday night, fortune favored shore angler Joseph Holey who reeled in a 15.35-pound bluefish that put him at the top of the leaderboard. But most shore anglers said they’re antsy for any bite to get their adrenaline pumping.
“You feel like it’s going to happen the next minute or the next 15 minutes and you can’t leave,” Mr. Bergeron said. “You don’t want to miss it, and six-to-seven hours later you’re still sitting there.”
Mr. Bergeron, who was born and raised in Oak Bluffs, has been fishing the derby for about 50 years. He said the fishing has slowed down in recent competitions but he doesn’t know if it’s because the fish are disappearing or the temperature is shifting.
Even when it’s slow, however, he always enjoys being a part of the dereby. Mr. Bergeron said what he loves most about the competition is the community coming together. He shared a moment from last year when he lent bait to a kid and helped him catch his first albacore from shore.
“A week later in the mail, I got a handmade card,” he said. “[It said] ‘Thank you for helping me catch my first shore albacore’. The boy drew a picture of himself holding the rod and the fish... That’s what I like about [the derby].”
Vhimonel Kolvae, who learned to fish three years ago, feels the same way.
“I enjoy fishing, so for me the derby is just another reason to go out and try and catch fish,” he said. “It takes me out of the house.”
Mr. Kolvae said despite the quiet shore competition, there are plenty of bonito around to be excited about.
“Just get out there,” he said. “The more time you’re out there, the higher the chances you [can] catch a fish. That’s why it’s called fishing. It’s not called catching.”
Outside derby headquarters, volunteers are usually busy most nights filleting fish donated by competitors that will go to the Island’s elderly population and Island Grown Initiative. Jonathan Herman, the filet distribution coordinator, said no organization is lacking fish this year since the boat catch is making up for the small shore count.
“Certain days have been phenomenal,” he said. “We have to find other people to take the overflow because it’s so good. Hopefully the shore fish will come in and we’ll keep it going. But it doesn’t seem like the boat fish are slowing down.”
Mr. Herman said the filet program helps keep the Island’s fishing culture alive by bringing fish to Vineyarders who don’t fish anymore but enjoy the flavor.
“That taste of bluefish or bonito kind of brings people who either can’t fish anymore, or [who’s] husbands aren’t around anymore, back and reconnects them to the Island,” he said.
He said no matter how quiet a season is, the derby is always essential.
“There aren’t too many places, especially on the East Coast, [where] their fishing culture is left,” he said. “Here, you see rods on every truck.”
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