The fishermen will begin lining up with their fish well before the 8 a.m. Sunday opening of the weigh station at the foot of Main street in Edgartown. Many of the anglers will be sleep deprived, having not slept but a few hours overnight.
Fewer fishermen and fewer fish — that has been the main theme for the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby this year. The fall premiere saltwater fishing contest has been affected this year both by the economy and the state of fish stocks. Participation is down.
The tournament that began in mid-September ends tomorrow night at 10 p.m. with the last weigh-in. As of Wednesday morning there were 2,674 fishermen registered in the contest, significantly down from last year’s 3,042 participants.
The air was calm this morning under dark gray skies.
“The water is like a mill pond,” said Ron McKee of Buxton, Maine. “So there will be hundreds of boats out there today.”
Mr. McKee was standing with a half dozen anglers. They were all sipping coffee and talking fishing at the weigh station at the foot of Main street in Edgartown. This is the fourth Monday morning in the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. There is only one Monday left in the contest.
At the derby station this morning Ed Jerome, president of the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, was not happy about the weekend forecast.
“It could blow up to 35 knots,” Mr. Jerome said.
Last weekend the anglers were discouraged by heavy rain. This weekend, there is a serious concern about high wind.
For boat fishermen that is not only tough it could be dangerous. Shore fishermen will flock to the lee side of the Island to get out of the wind.
Following last weekend’s foul weather, Island anglers have jumped back into fishing with a new urgency. This is the start of the third week of the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby and with two weeks to go, a lot can happen — and is happening.
A shifting on the leader board took place on Tuesday, before the past weekend’s storm clouds and the big waves had settled.
There is a new boat leader in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby: Lev C. Wlodyka came in with a 46.82-pound striped bass he had caught earlier in the day.
There was drama at the weigh station, according to the officials. It wasn’t just Mr. Wlodyka’s fish that drew the crowds — it was the drama of two other fishermen showing up with theirs at the same time.
Fishing slowed to a trickle this past weekend for the participants in the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. And the rainy, windy weather didn’t help.
Some of the 2,000 anglers may have been out there, but few came home with dinner. Weighmaster Roy Langley said he weighed in half a dozen fish a day through the weekend. Mr. Langley shares weighmaster duties with Charlie Smith, who works the scales at night.
Foul weather predicted for this weekend may hinder but it won’t slow down the enthusiasts participating in the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. Fishing is at a fever pitch.
Sloppy seas and a prevailing east-northeast breeze made the fishing tough this week. Nevertheless, at the Wednesday night derby weigh-in, the derby got a new leader in the striped bass boat category.
Larger striped bass moved closer to shore in the past weekend, as the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby entered its second week. The month-long fishing contest continues through Saturday, Oct. 18.
The largest false albacore caught from the shore was landed last Saturday. Keith A. McArt of Somerville, a well-respected derby fisherman, caught a 16.55-pound false albacore while fishing off Lobsterville Beach. Quite a few fishermen saw him land the fish.
The 64th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is now entering its third week with still two weeks to go.
