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.
The 64th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is winding down and it could be practically over with today and tomorrow’s bad weather. Though the weather already has shut down the shore division, there has been a new development every day this week in the boat division.
On Sunday, the derby committee announced that a fish weighed on Oct. 5 was removed from the contest because it had ice in it.
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.
More fishermen are coming: the Vineyard community, sportsmen and local businesses are pooling their resources to greet the Monday arrival of five men and two women who were recently seriously injured during military service. The veterans are coming to fish the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, now entering its second week.
What better opportunity to bring out the best of the Vineyard than to share a local passion with those who have served their country?
More than $300,000 in prizes are stashed and ready for the 64th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, which begins at 12:01 Sunday morning and runs until 10 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 17.
And this year if you catch a big one, watch for the tweets. Derby chairman Greg Skomal confirmed yesterday that updates will be sent out on Twitter this year. Yesterday’s tweet? “Windy, windy windy . . . but reports of albies in THICK. Boats hooking dozens/day. Final weigh station setup Sat. Derby starts @ 12:01 AM Sun!!”
The Vineyard may yet be the scene of another big fish film under the eye of Steven Spielberg: the Jaws director’s studio, DreamWorks, has just bought the film rights for a soon to be released book about the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
The book, The Big One: An Island, an Obsession and the Furious Pursuit of a Great Fish, by David Kinney, published by Atlantic Monthly, will be released on April 8.
More than three tons of fish have been weighed in so far in the month-long 65th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. At least 460 bluefish have been weighed in, three times more than the number of striped bass.
False albacore is again the scarce fish in the derby; only 35 have been weighed in so far. A total number of 96 bonito have touched the scales. That translates to 4,172.37 pounds of bluefish; 2,398.12 pounds of striped bass; 586.27 pounds of bonito; and 332.41 pounds of false albacore, as of yesterday.
Autumn is in the air and there is no better evidence than the sight of pickup trucks loaded with fishing rods and gear. The 65th Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby opened on Sunday; so far there are 1,400 fishermen registered.
The biggest striped bass weighed in at the Edgartown headquarters is a 32-pounder brought in Wednesday morning by Evan D. Metropoulous, a boat angler with a reputation for loving to be on the water and a persistence in catching big fish.
The 65th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby opens Sunday morning at a minute past midnight. The fishermen are waiting.
George Moran of Oak Bluffs will be out there. At 64, he is almost as old as the derby. “For me it is wonderful being outdoors, being on the beaches, out at night with the stars and moon,” Mr. Moran said.
The sea and coastline around the Island have been roughed up by hurricanes and tropical storms this September, beginning last weekend when Earl blew through and again midweek when more tropical disturbances cropped up. The weather has been unstable: thunderstorms crashed down on Edgartown on Wednesday while West Tisbury stayed dry and sunny.
But the forecast calls for weather patterns to settle down by Sunday, just in time for the opening of the sixty-fifth Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
