Rising sun, rising tide
Rising fish, rising spirit
The birds in the sky
Start to chirp, can you hear it?
Cut and dip, dash and dive,
How can the baitfish
Ever survive?
Shade your eyes, scout the horizon
The fish are breaking, our spirits rising
Hogy hooked up,
At last the chance,
To do the lightning Albie dance,
Bow to stern, left to right
One thing I’ve learned,
Best keep it tight,

At its halfway point, the 69th Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is going strong, with 2,793 contestants and 1,481 entries as of Thursday, including 468 in the week ending Saturday.

The waiting is the hardest part.

Twice a day anglers bring their fish to derby headquarters to get weighed in. But there are always plenty more fishermen out there who haven’t caught a fish, or caught one big enough to bring in. Especially this year.

He is an educator, fisherman, shellfisherman, sports fan, son, husband and father. The trappings of John Custer’s third-floor office in the Tisbury School, where he has been principal for four years, say as much.

Children from all over the Island converged on the Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority dock at first light Sunday for the annual Kids’ Derby. Nine-year-old Myles Sprague took home the top prize for a 17.25-inch bluefish he caught, the largest fish of the day.

The Edgartown harbor is relatively quiet these days, with the exception of a small shack where a steady stream of fishermen arrive with their best catches of the day. The Martha’s Vineyard Bluefish and Striped Bass Derby is off to a strong start, with ideal fishing weather.

For 25 years it was an anticipated event — the arrival of the limited-edition prints depicting classic Vineyard fishing scenes as rendered by artist Ray Ellis.