Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby
Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby
October 25, 1996
Scientific Research Is Aided by High Volume of Fish Brought to Derby Weigh-in Station for Examination
The annual fall fishing derby offers the scientific community an ideal platform for monitoring the health of fish and for doing marine research. Gregory P. Skomal, a regional division of marine fisheries biologist, is involved in several key studies with the help of derby organizers.
Derby fishermen provide the perfect mechanism for monitoring fish. Four species of fish are weighed in almost daily, and all a researcher has to do is take his pick. And since the fish are all brought to the same spot for weighing in, it is easy to standardize.
September 12, 1995
Fifty Years of Big Fish and Good Fellowship
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.
September 7, 1993
Annual Island Fishing Derby Opens: Striped Bass Return To the Tourney After Ban
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.
January 31, 1986
Derby Office Will Stay in Edgartown
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.
May 24, 1985
Derby Drops Striped Bass from Tournament In a Dramatic Reversal of Previous Position
In a sudden and dramatic shift of position, the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby dropped the threatened striper out of the fall tournament.
The announcement came yesterday in a formal statement released by the derby committee chairman Ed Jerome and puts to rest a running controversy that has plagued the derby for at least the last two years.
September 30, 1980
Federal Study Will Examine Causes for Striper’s Decline
The striped bass, valued not only as a premier game fish but also as a commercial catch, is the subject of a three year, multi-million-dollar study by several federal agencies because of its apparently dwindling population.
October 20, 1978
Dick Hathaway's Striper Caps Another Successful Derby
Surfcasters were the stars for this 33rd year of the Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. The stripers were huge, and there were more big ones than anyone expected. In the pages of the daily derby records are entered 20 striped bass weighing more than 40 pounds each, and winning daily prizes. Seven of those fish weighed more than 50 pounds. In most past derbys, a 50-pound bass would be an easy winner. This year, a 52-pounder didn't finish in the top three. It is a derby of striper surprises.
October 6, 1972
This Year’s Bass Derby Is a ‘Family Affair’
The 27th Vineyard Derby is turning into a family fishing outing with the Tiltons and the Hancocks leading the way. Jean Hancock and her husband, Herb, still lead the boat bluefish division, topped by her record 23 lb. 4 1/2 oz. blue and Judy Tilton nearly knocked her husband out of the second spot in the resident shore bass category as she weighed in a 44 lb. 13 oz. striper, just 5 oz. less than her husband’s.
September 11, 1970
Vineyard Fishing Derby Celebrating 25th Year
Tuesday, and continue through Oct. 15. Striped bass and bluefish are the game fish to be sought, and for which prizes are given. The derby, often called the outstanding one of its kind on the Atlantic Coast, is also the oldest, in terms of continuous operation.
The derby is known from coast to coast, and close to 2,000 entrants from 22 states attended a year ago. The present promise of good fishing is expected to bring a crowd that large or larger.
October 22, 1965
20th Derby Is Called the Most Successful Yet
The curtain fell at 2 p.m. on Friday on the Island’s twentieth Consecutive fishing derby and without doubt its most successful. Up to the final hour, the fish arrived at the weighing-in station, and thus the derby ended on a high note, with sixteen bass and eleven bluefish weighed in at the final hour.
