A 393-pound thresher shark was caught on Friday in waters south of the Vineyard. The fish, caught by Allen Bradley of Weatherfield Conn., was a record breaker for that species in the 14th annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament.
A total of 82 boats from all along the Eastern Seaboard showed up for two intense days of fishing. They started fishing early in the morning and quit by 3:30 p.m. Most of the boats were home by late afternoon.
The 11th annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament starts this Thursday with a captain's meeting at the Wesley Hotel. Fishing takes place on Friday and Saturday. Bob Jackson, the organizer of the event and the president of the Boston Big Game Fishing Club, said he is expecting at least 55 boats.
A huge 454-pound blue shark was caught during the tenth annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament held over the weekend. The shark could be the largest blue ever caught, a world record.
The shark was caught by Pete Bergin of Shrewsbury in his boat Quality Time. Mr. Bergin's boat was one of 65 participating in the Boston Big Game Fishing Club's annual event. Competing boats filled the Oak Bluffs waterfront for most of the weekend. On Friday and Saturday a large number of fish were caught, and even more were released.
A man participating in this weekend's Oak Bluffs Monster Shark tournament was injured Friday afternoon when a blue shark bit him on the forearm.
Peter Phillips, 36, of Taunton was fishing more than 10 miles off the Island's South Shore in the boat Sea Tern when he landed a large blue shark, tournament officials said. When he attempted to bring the shark on board the boat, Mr. Phillips was struck on his outstretched forearm.
"Apparently, the shark just lunged out at him," Edgartown deputy police chief Paul Condlin said.
A Vineyard recreational fishing boat took the title in the ninth annual Oak Bluffs Monster Shark Tournament held over two days this weekend. Tom Furino of the 34 1/4 foot fishing boat Fish Finder out of Oak Bluffs won the tournament with a catch of two large sharks. On Friday Mr. Furino and his charter crew caught a 320-pound blue shark and on Saturday they caught a 302-pounder of the same species.
The long poles and the antennae of deep-sea fishing boats lined the harbor in Oak Bluffs on Thursday as fishermen from on and off-Island prepared for the first annual Oak Bluffs Blue Water Classic fishing tournament.
The days of shark weighing in Oak Bluffs will come to an end following a vote by the town selectmen this week to grant a harbor permit for a tournament that targets other big game fish.
The new tournament, led by Cape Cod residents Damon Sacco and Christian Giardini, will be held in the town marina July 24 to 26.
Two proposals will be aired from organizers who want to host big game fishing tournaments out of the town marina. One way or another, chairman Walter Vail said he will push for a vote
In the weeks since the death of organizer Steven James in a duck hunting accident, Islanders have speculated about the future of the tournament, which brought crowds and controversy to the town for 27 years. Now two have applied to take over the contest.
While each of the spectators made it home in one piece after the annual Monster Shark Tournament had officially ended, the same isn’t true for the 12 sharks weighed in over the two days. Each fish was cut up and pieces transported to different places. Muscle was brought home to serve — shark steak for dinner. Teeth found homes in the keepsake boxes of little boys. Photographs were uploaded to Facebook and Instagram.
