Striped bass are plentiful this year and yet the big breeding females, the ones that star in the old pictures of derby fishermen straining to hold up 60-pound bass, have yet to return.

Aubrey Warburton, a fourth-grader at the Oak Bluffs school, has been fishing since she was five. When talking with the Gazette this week, she wore a “Girls Kick Bass” sweatshirt.

Derby fishermen, friends and family members mourned the loss of Ed Jerome, longtime president of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.

Fishermen were hauling in plenty of stripers from shore, a total of 45 weighed in by Thursday morning. Weighmaster Mike Cassidy said it may be a sign of a healthier fish stock.

The annual Kids Derby Day is Sunday, Sept. 16 from 6 to 8 a.m.

Caitlyn Parkhurst of West Tisbury walked in with the first fish of the derby just five minutes afterweighmaster Roy Langley rang the opening bell.

Lines go in the water at 12:01 Sunday morning as the 73rd derby begins.

Sea turtle specialists have documented a high number of leatherback turtle boat strikes this summer, including at least one off the Vineyard.

Trish Lyman of Edgartown won a new car and John Stasiuk of Northford, Connn., took home a new boat at the derby awards ceremony held Sunday.

Seven service veterans along with their families came to the Island this week to participate in the American Heroes Saltwater Challenge.