Sitting on Squid Row behind the Texaco station in Menemsha is a pretty good place to be if you want to learn something about fishing.

The small bench overlooking the harbor is ground zero for generation after generation of Island fishermen, serving as a sort of weigh station for the men and women in salt-stained caps, faded orange waders and tattered plaid shirts who wander past with rods and bait buckets in tow.

For starters, you'll likely run into Jimmy Morgan, who might tell you about the nurse shark he caught while the Island was consumed by the filming of Jaws. Karsten Larsen will probably roll up as well, a Menemsha native who has fished out of the harbor since he was a child and now captains his own commercial fishing boat. If you're lucky, Everett Poole will stop by and recount the many stories that came out of the fish market he ran for years down at the end of the Dutcher Dock.

And as the first week of October rolls into Columbus Day, it is almost guaranteed you'll find Lev Wlodyka somewhere nearby, too. After all, this is the final week of the 59th Annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.

"There are albies breaking right in the channel," Mr. Wlodyka shouts to a friend as he ties up his boat to the dock on a chilly, blustery morning. He and fellow angler Geoffrey Codding have just pulled into the harbor after landing a medium-sized false albacore from just beyond the jetties, and the school has just moved inside the channel, chasing baitfish. The frequent splashes dotting the edge of the harbor have sent fishermen racing to the jetty.

"It's hard to relax during the derby, you're always thinking about it," Mr. Wlodyka says, scanning the activity. "It kind of takes over your life for five weeks. All you think about is fishing. All you think about is catching the winning fish."

A longtime Chilmark resident, Mr. Wlodyka knows a little something about catching that winning fish. At age 25, he has already become a fixture in the derby's storied history, fives times finishing first in several categories in both the adult and junior divisions. In 2000, he landed a 52-pound striped bass to win the boat, all-tackle category. As a junior angler, he reeled in a huge bluefish with only several hours left to win first place in that category.

"I've been pretty lucky," he says, smiling.

This year, he currently leads the boat, all-tackle category Grand Slam with a combined total of 74.93 points. (The Grand Slam combines the weights of the angler's biggest albacore, bass, bluefish, and bonito.) But on this cold autumn morning he is more concerned with a fish he didn't catch than the ones he did. Only hours earlier, William Lehman weighed in a 47.62-pound striped bass, unseating Mr. Wlodyka and his 46.08-pound striper from first place in the boat, all-tackle bass category. His displeasure is evident.

"Yeah, I'm a little sour about that," he says with a shrug. "But that just means I have to go out and find that 50-pounder. That's the thing about the derby. It's what keeps you coming back every day, every week, every year."

It is no surprise Mr. Wlodyka has found so much success in fishing. It is in his blood. His grandfather was a lobsterman until his death at 77. His father fished and owned a dragger that he lived on in Menemsha when his family first moved to the Vineyard. And as anyone in Menemsha will tell you, he's been a part of the fishing scene ever since.

"I remember a time when Lev and Karsten were out off the channel fishing among a whole bunch of boats," says Mr. Morgan, keeping watch from Squid Row. "They were right off the buoy and there were boats all over the place, I mean everywhere, all going after the fish. But Lev and Karsten were the only two catching anything."

He smiles and shakes his head. "Lev's just a good fisherman. He puts an awful lot of time out there."

Mr. Wlodyka admits he'll fish for long stretches at a time, hoping to reclaim some of the glory of past derby victories. But what keeps Mr. Wlodyka coming back every year is not the memories of the 52-pound striper he hooked in 2000, or the 12-pound albacore he hauled onto his boat in 1999. Instead, he admits, it's always about the one that got away.

"My dad took me out when I was kid and I got this huge fish on the line," he recalls. "But as I was reeling it in, I lost it right next to the boat. Once you lose a slammer right next to the boat, you can't stop thinking about it. And that's when you get addicted. That's when you get the fever."

And now, for Mr. Wlodyka September and October are only about fishing and not letting that big one slip away. As he unties from the dock and prepares to head back out to Vineyard Sound, he talks about stepping back from the derby a bit, about cutting back on the time he spends fishing, but so far that hasn't happened.

"I want to take the last two weeks off, but that's unrealistic," he says with a laugh. "I know I'll be out there chasing albies."

Grand Leaders

Boat bluefish: William W. Farnham, 15.17. Shore bluefish: Peter J. Cook, 13.19. Boat bass: William F. Lehman, 47.62. Shore bass: Keith A. McArt, 42.46. Boat bonito: Tom Langman, 10.13. Shore bonito: Betsy J. Miraglia, 8.75. Boat albacore: David C. Kadison, 12.37. Shore albacore: Robert W. Thomas, 12.48.

Grand Slam Leaders

All Tackle Boat: 1, Lev C. Wlodyka, 74.93; 2, Alec N. Gale, 70.71; 3, Chris M. Harding, 70.65.

All Tackle Shore: 1, Jack Livingston, 48.50; 2, Daniel K. Tilton, 43.43; 3, Brian Gracie, 41.70

Flyrod Boat: 1, Kevin A. Ludwig, 41.37; 2, David C. Kadison, 36.35; 3, Thomas J. Rapone, 35.95.

Overall Leaders

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, William F. Lehman, 47.62; 2, Lev C. Wlodyka, 46.08; 3, Carl Leaf, 44.48.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Keith A. McArt, 42.46; 2, Heath J. Estrella, 40.33; 3, Charles Rimas, 36.78.

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Tom Langman, 10.13; 2, Ben Smith, 8.66; 3, Chris M. Harding, 8.22.

All Tackle Shore Bonito: 1, Betsy J. Miraglia, 8.75; 2, Bernie B. Arruda, 7.14; 3, Daniel A. Keniston, 6.30.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, William W. Farnham, 15.17; 2, Ted Rosbeck, 14.43; 3, Ken R. Brede, 14.14.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Peter J. Cook, 13.19; 2, Russell K. Hooper, 11.82; 3, Jarek Pasicki, 11.67.

All Tackle Boat Albacore: 1, David C. Kadison, 12.37; 2, Donald M. Benefit, 11.22; 3, Jared E. Fisher, 11.01.

All Tackle Shore Albacore: 1, Robert W. Thomas, 12.48; 2, Robert Correll, 12.08; 3, Peter S. McChesney, Jr., 11.19.

Flyrod Boat Bass: 1, Kevin A. Ludwig, 18.60; 2, David C. Kadison, 16.44; 3, Thomas J. Rapone, 15.84.

Flyrod Shore Bass: 1, Oh Keong, 17.82; 2, Jonathan R. Herman, 14.32; 3, Thomas J. Rapone, 11.24.

Flyrod Boat Bonito: 1, Ken P. Baracchini, 7.57; 2, Brian Nunes-Vais, 6.50; 3, Kevin A. Ludwig, 6.36.

Flyrod Boat Bluefish: 1, Art Crago, 9.61; 2, Kevin A. Ludwig, 8.31; 3, Mark W. Jones, 8.29.

Flyrod Shore Bluefish: 1, Norris E. Johns, 6.74; 2, Thomas J. Rapone, 6.41; 3, Chip J. Bergeron, 5.30.

Flyrod Boat Albacore: 1, Rick A. Peters, 11.95; 2, Orlando Corsi, Jr., 10.20; 3, Tim P. Sheran, 9.98.

Flyrod Shore Albacore: 1, Thomas J. Rapone, 10.08; 2, Jay J. Cronin, 10.00; 3, Gary S. Berenson, 9.84.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Ashleigh L. Plante, 39.08; 2, Trevor Maciel, 36.80; 3, Ben T. Ciciora, 36.50.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, William B. Stewart, 26.29; 2, Jesse Forney, 18.11; 3, Katherine E. Stewart, 16.03.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Kassidy R. Bettencourt, 6.42; 2, Sarah L. Kadison, 6.27; 3, Max A. Davies, 6.03.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Kurt Rivard, 12.49; 2, Lauren A. Williston, 11.52; 3, Sarah L. Kadison, 10.86.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Lucy Benedetto, 9.77; 2, Samuel Scott, 7.25; 3, Mia G. Benedetto, 6.61.

Junior All Tackle Boat Albacore: 1, William C. Kadison, 11.25; 2, Sarah L. Kadison, 9.18; 3, Derek R. Andrade, 9.01.

Junior All Tackle Shore Albacore: 1, Christian Nation, 8.47; 2, Jarek B. Peters, 8.31; 3, Samuel Scott, 7.75.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Travis Leaf, 29.32; 2, Connor Leaf, 28.84; 3, Christopher Mayhew, 28.56.

Mini-Junior All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Cameron Maciel, 20.21.

Mini-Junior All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Tony P. Canha, 5.86; 2, Brian T. Fraser, 5.42; 3, Travis Leaf, 4.84.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Tony P. Canha, 9.48; 2, Cameron Maciel, 8.37; 3, Travis Leaf, 7.49.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle Boat Albacore: 1, Wyatt A. Jenkinson, 8.42; 2, Gordon A. Moore, 7.63.

Mini-Juniors All Tackle Shore Albacore: 1, Lexus M. Pate, 7.92.

Daily Winners
Thursday, Sept. 30

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Joe El-Deiry, 11.50; 2, Dwight K. Kaeka, 11.29; 3, Estey L. Teller, 10.28; 4, Scott Miller, 9.95.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Lisa B. Beyer, 9.26; 2, Dan Purdy, 7.73; 3, Sergio Radossi, 6.77; 4, Peter J. Beyer, 4.31.

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Cheryl A. Welch, 40.00; 2, Casey Elliston, 39.78; 3, Carl Leaf, 37.76; 4, Joshua R. Desrosiers, 34.42.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Tomas R. Leon-Guerrero, 27.75; 2, Lucas L. Landers, 15.77; 3, Bob Jacobs, 20.45; 4, Scott Gilory, 11.09.

Flyrod Shore Bluefish: 1, Norris E. Johns, 6.74

Junior Boat Bluefish: 1, Brian T. Fraser, 3.66.

Junior Boat Bass: 1, Douglas G. Fraser, 19.85.

Junior Shore Bass: 1, Daniel C. Ferry, 14.64.

Mystery Prize Winners: Joe El-Deiry, Casey Elliston, Norris E. Johns, Douglas G. Fraser.

Friday, Oct. 1

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Sardar R. Thanhauser, 5.41.

All Tackle Shore Bonito: 1, Bernie B. Arruda, 7.14.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Norman E. Bouchard, Jr., 11.69; 2, Kevin Lima, 11.64; 3, Mike Hurley, 11.00; 4, Keith M. Ogren, 10.38.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Daniel J. Benedetto, 9.86; 2, David L. Leighton, 8.81; 3, Joshua R. Burton, 6.44; 4, Bob Jacobs, 6.29.

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Patrick T. Jenkinson, 35.44; 2, Alec N. Gale, 42.54; 3, Jim S. Fraser, 34.04; 4, Ralph N. Cortezi, 33.42.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Paul Bradshaw, 36.48; 2, Peter F. Munro, 25.62; 3, Sherm H. Goldstein, 20.98; 4, Robert F. Trosset, 18.78.

Flyrod Boat Bluefish: 1, William L. Jurczyk, 3.71; 2, Art Crago, 3.09.

Flyrod Boat Bass: 1, Harley Stowell, 13.00.

Flyrod Shore Bass: 1, Oh Keong, 17.82; 2, Jonathan R. Herman, 14.32.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Travis Leaf, 7.49; 2, Connor Leaf, 6.72; 3, Max A. Davies, 6.86; 4, Lauren A. Williston, 8.67.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Ben T. Ciciora, 36.50; 2, Travis Leaf, 29.32; 3, William B. Stewart, 24.46; 4, Connor Leaf, 23.51.

Mystery Prize Winners: Steve W. Parris, Bernie B. Arruda, Dick L. Cudmore, William L. Jurczyk, Connor Leaf.

Saturday, Oct. 2

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Philip Dwane, 5.45; 2, Ted Rosbeck, 5.38; 3, Brian C. Packish, 5.26; 4, Nils Leaf, 4.11.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Zachary K. Tilton, 14.04; 2, Nate Whitaker, 12.36; 3, Casey Elliston, 12.32; 4, Edwin B. Gentle, III, 10.86.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Forrest Alley, 8.62; 2, Dennis R. Gough, 7.41; 3, Francis A. Kuszewski, 7.14; 4, Dennis L. Jackson, 8.45.

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Karen M. Leaf, 43.24; 2, Nils Leaf, 38.50; 3, Stephen C. Morris, 37.20; 4, Suzanne E. Kennedy, 36.98.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Lou Othote, 35.12; 2, Ragnar Ritter, 21.51; 3, Peter J. Beyer, 20.27; 4, Daniel J. Benedetto, 19.46.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Travis Leaf, 4.84.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Sarah L. Kadison, 10.886; 2, Cameron Maciel, 8.37; 3, Austin T. Gampfer, 7.36; 4, Conor Leaf, 5.01.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Ashleigh L. Plante, 39.08; 2, Connor Leaf, 28.84; 3, Joshua Crowtner, 27.79; 4, Brian T. Fraser, 27.75.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Cody Chandler, 15.66.

Mystery Prize Winners: John Imperatone, Brian C. Packish, Scott M. Menton, Travis Leaf.

Sunday, Oct. 3

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Gregory H. Tayntor, 7.17; 2, Jennifer Jamgochian, 7.05; 3, Philip Dwane, 4.57.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Jennifer Jamgochian, 10.99; 2, Thomas C. Antolick, 10.80; 3, Chris Scott, 9.89; 4, Linda S. Murphy, 9.73.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Don W. Gregory, 11.16; 2, Michael L. Jackson, 9.62; 3, Ernie J. Baraccini, 7.48; 4, Albert R. Whittier, 7.24.

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Steve Dufresne, 38.18; 2, Dana R. Norman, 35.24; 3, Robert B. Baker, 31.34; 4, Jim Feiner, 29.00.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Mark S. Morris, 28.05; 2, Keith A. McArt, 42.46.

Flyrod Boat Bluefish: 1, Colin L. Day, 8.98; 2, Jesse L. Thomas, 8.09; 3, Ryan T. Antolick, 7.85; 4, Tony M. Lima, 4.97.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Ryan T. Antolick, 16.86.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, William B. Stewart, 26.29; 2, Alex M. Poole, 15.66; 3, Justin Clark, 14.27; 4, Ben T. Ciciora, 14.67.

Mystery Prizes: Robert B. Baker, Gregory H. Tayntor, Jim Feiner, Colin L. Day.

Monday, Oct. 4

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Alec N. Gale, 6.79.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Edwin B. Gentle, III, 12.11; 2, Mike E. Mayrand, 11.84; 3, Albert R. Whittier, 11.30; 4, Tom Langman, 11.00.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Tim N. Duys, 8.42; 2, Don W. Gregory, 5.49; 3, Daniel J. Benedetto, 9.61; 4, Michael L. Jackson, 7.75.

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, William F. Lehman, 47.62; 2, Stephen J. Whorton, 40.36; 3, Jindrich Juricek, 39.84; 4, Mark S. Plante, 40.16.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Charles Rimas, 36.78; 2, Heath J. Estrella, 32.88; 3, John Montes, 29.94; 4, Peter J. Pate, 25.38.

Flyrod Boat Bluefish: 1, Art Crago, 9.50.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Mike P. Cutrer, 7.90.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Lucy Benedetto, 9.23.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Katherine E. Stewart, 16.03.

Mystery Prize Winners: Stephen J. Whorton, Richard Sykora, Art Crago, Katherine E. Stewart.

Tuesday, Oct. 5

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Alex Preston, 10.95; 2, Jim P. Donovan, 8.88; 3, Daryl A. Owens, 8.20; 4, Harry Beach, 8.18.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Andrew N. Russo, 8.71; 2, Johnny Hoy, 8.05; 3, Michael L. Jackson, 6.80; 4, Jack Livingston, 5.38.

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Charles Wendell, 34.66; 2, Jeannie McIntosh, 32.22; 3, Harry Beach, 31.50; 4, Nils Leaf, 34.28.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Stephen C. Morris, 35.72; 2, John Montes, Jr., 31.32; 3, Andrew N. Russo, 16.24; 4, Ernie J. Barracchini, 15.79.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Lauren A. Williston, 7.98, Hat Trick.

Junior All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Lucy Benedetto, 9.77.

Mystery Prize Winners: Jim P. Donovan, Richard Blackinton, Lauren A. Williston.

Wednesday, Oct. 6

All Tackle Boat Bonito: 1, Tom Langman, 10.13; 2, Casey Elliston, 6.56; 3, Nils Leaf, 4.69.

All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Patrick T. Jenkinson, 12.38; 2, Edwin B. Gentle, Jr., 11.15; 3, Norman E. Bouchard, Jr., 11.25; 4, Patrick J. Paquette, 10.85.

All Tackle Shore Bluefish: 1, Bob Jacobs, 8.83; 2, Thomas J. Kieras, 9.75; 3, Ronald McKee, 8.76; 4, Frank O'Rourke, 7.49.

All Tackle Boat Bass: 1, Carl Leaf, 44.48; 2, Anthony Rinaldi, 36.66; 3, Hollis F. Smith, 34.68; 4, Joseph Christopher, 31.82.

All Tackle Shore Bass: 1, Ron Domurat, 27.74; 2, Brian Gracie, 21.97; 3, Brian K. Mcdonald, 19.54; 4, Troy J. Kresser, 13.26.

Junior All Tackle Boat Bluefish: 1, Chris A. Morris, 4.76; 2, Max A. Davies, 7.57, Hat Trick.

Mystery Prize Winners: Tim P. Hoyt, Nils Leaf, Frank T. Dougherty.