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.
Harvard law professor Charles J. Ogletree is a celebrated black writer, teacher and speaker and director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. But on Sunday, he accomplished something truly special: he was in the leader’s spot in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby on Sunday, weighing in a 26.68-pound striped bass he had caught earlier in the day, fishing with Buddy Vanderhoop and a couple of friends.
The fish arrived slowly at the weigh station on the opening day of the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. And when they did begin to show up, they were carried by top derby anglers.
William Pate, 34, of West Tisbury walked into the weigh station at 8:02 a.m. carrying a 7.54-pound bluefish that he had caught at 2 a.m. in the morning. Asked where he caught the fish, his answer was quick. “State forest,” he said.
An architect from Connecticut and a mailman from Westport were the top winners in this year’s 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
On Sunday, Paul C. Harris of Oak Bluffs and Weston, Conn., won a new black Chevrolet 4x4 pickup truck for a 10.75-pound bonito he caught while fishing with friends earlier this month.
Scott D. Tompkins of Westport won a 20-foot center console Eastern powerboat for a 40.12-pound striped bass he caught fishing alone on an Up-Island shore in the early evening of Oct. 1.
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.
Over the years she has sold a lot of eels and given out a lot of advice about how and where to catch fish.
And last month Ruth Meyer, former longtime owner of Larry’s Tackle Shop and a quiet unsung hero in the fishing community, was inducted into the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby hall of fame.
On a rain-streaked morning last week, Ms. Meyer sat at her home in Edgartown and recounted a few memories. “I didn’t choose to run a fishing tackle shop because sales was my profession. I inherited it,” she said.
He won again. William A. Pate of West Tisbury, who spends his summers working at Cutler Bike Shop in Edgartown and his winters working as a carpenter, won the grand prize in the 64th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck. Three years ago, Mr. Pate won the boat in the derby.
The story gets better. Mr. Pate caught his winning fish this year, a 12.66-pound false albacore, from the boat he won in the 2006 derby.
