Dawn broke pink over Menemsha harbor as the water rippled softly. Aboard the fishing boat Mary Sea, Captain Jonathan Boyd drove fisherman Brian Curry and veteran Tommy Elliot out to Quick’s Hole in search of bluefish.
Talk of the Derby has been as gloom and doom as the weather, but excitement picked up in a hurry when nine-year-old Westley Wlodyka dragged a striper almost bigger than he was up to the scale.
False albacore. Barely sounds like a fish. Tastes like an oily shop rag. Not even included in the official Derby name. Yet an albie is a prized possession at Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby headquarters.
Fishing poles bobbed like reeds and voices were hushed early Sunday as children waited to claim their spots at the Oak Bluffs Steamship wharf for the annual kids derby day. Hannah Gibb, 13, was the overall winner with a 19.75-inch shark.
The 41st Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby will be held in Edgartown again this year, according to a release issued by the derby committee this week. And for the second year, the derby will not award prizes for the catching of striped bass.
There are few possessions that last 50 years on the Vineyard waterfront. A wooden boat may last only 10 years unless the owner takes good care of it. A fishing reel will fail in a few years if exposed to hard use and poor care, and a fishing rod may last a little longer. Without routine maintenance an outboard motor can’t last.
The Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is now celebrating its 50th year, and on this waterfront that comes after an awful lot of care and attention.
The 48th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby begins tonight, a minute past midnight. The contest is long-awaited, one of the true signs of Vineyard life after the peak of summer.
This year’s month-long contest is the world series of saltwater contests, attracting fishermen from up and down the Atlantic coast. This is the first year since 1984 that the striped bass will be included in the derby that bears its name, along with competitions for bluefish, false albacore and the bonito.
On Monday evening, the second night of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, the fillet tables at weigh-in headquarters were full with volunteers.
