Wind howled through the wood panels of derby headquarters on Thursday morning as a group of fishermen escaping the storm huddled inside, trading theories about the underwhelming amount of fish weighed in over the last week.
“Just look,” said Phil Horton, vice chairman of the derby committee, gesturing at the waterfront remnants of the previous night’s storm. Clumps of seaweed littered the asphalt, and on the water the harbormaster crew attempted to flip a 21-foot Carolina Skiff floating belly-up in the harbor.
“Fishing can be good when it gets rough,” Mr. Horton said. “But there’s a point when it gets to be too rough, and I think we’re there.”
The final weigh in for the 74th Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby ends on Saturday at 10 p.m. On Sunday at 1 p.m. the awards ceremony will be held at Farm Neck Golf Club. But the story of this year’s derby remains the lack of fish.
There were only 12 fish weighed in from Thursday to Sunday over Columbus Day weekend, the last full weekend of fishing and often the most exciting stretch of the derby. Late this week only two fish were weighed in on Wednesday and as of 15 minutes before doors closed Thursday morning, none had been weighed in.
The grand leaderboards have been stagnant throughout, with many of the leaders catching their fish in the early days the derby. Dylan Kadison is the only fresh name to be chalked onto the leaderboards this week. He caught a 17.49 pound bluefish on Sunday, which vaulted him to the top of the boat division. Robert Battery remains at the top of the shore bluefish division, with his 12.17- pound fish landed in late September. Lewis Colby leads the shore bonito division with a 6.43-pounder. Shawn Emin’s 12.13-pound false albacore is leading from shore. And Clinton Fisher leads the shore striped bass division with a 34.42-pound fish.
Two leaders who have hung on since the early days are not yet teenagers. Mason Warburton, age 11, reeled in his 37.58-pound boat caught striped bass on the last day of September. Westley Wlodyka, age 12, landed his 12.96-pound boat caught false albacore on the first day of the derby.
If the two fish can hold their spots on the leaderboards until Saturday night, Mason and Westley will be vying with Greg Clark and Dylan Kadison for a 2019 Subaru Impreza at the key ceremony at Farm Neck on Sunday afternoon. Though if Mason or Westley wins, he will need a hand driving the car home.
On Thursday morning at derby headquarters, fishermen speculated on the tough derby season. The two most recent storms took their toll as weekend fishermen couldn’t make it to the Island and a Coast Guard advisory warned community members to stay off the water. But even for those still trying their luck there was little to show for it.
Some speculated that the snaps of strong winds could have confused the fish.
“The fish are there, I’ve seen them, but they just aren’t eating,” said one angler who preferred not to be named. “The water is just starting to cool off at the end of the derby. The problem is that it didn’t gradually cool over the course of a few days. It went from warm to cold northeast wind for three straight days. Everyone will tell you they went out on Sunday, but the fish weren’t feeding. They’re stunned and need to regroup.”
“There is still bait in the water and the fish are moving,” he concluded. “The big bite hasn’t happened yet. . . hopefully the fish will strap on the feed bag this weekend.”
As if on cue, just as Mr. Horton was getting ready to lock up the doors at the weigh-in station, a black pickup truck skidded into the parking lot. Anthony Marcantonio, still bleary-eyed from a late night of fishing, emerged from his truck, pushed his fishing poles to the side and hauled a large striped bass from his cooler.
“I almost didn’t make it,” he said. “I had to go three different routes because there were trees blocking the road.”
The gathered fishermen perked up as the fish was placed on the scale, and they watched the numbers climb up to 25.11-pounds. Mr. Marcantonio howled with excitement. The fish was almost 10-pounds heavier than the former leader of the shore flyrod striped bass division, placing him firmly in the lead.
“The storm was brewing and the seas were rough. I was soaked before I even got on the water,” he said. “I contemplated going to bed, but there are only two days left. I told myself I can sleep when the derby is over.”
Mr. Marcantonio said that it only took a handful of casts of his fly to land the fish, most of which were rejected by the 25-knot winds.
“When I hooked it I thought I hooked a rock,” he said. “And then the rock pulled back.”
“The last couple days have been tough,” Mr. Marcantonio concluded. “But you have to push through. I seem to do my best in the worse weather, the not-ideal conditions.”
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