By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Already this fall one Island angler has won a brand-new pickup truck for a huge striped bass he caught and the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby isn’t over yet.

That’s because he caught it in a different contest.

Morgan Taylor, 24, of Edgartown last week won the Angler of the Year Award in the annual Striper Cup, sponsored and run by the monthly publication On the Water. Mr. Taylor won the award for a 52-pound striped bass he caught from the shore way back in June.

On Wednesday morning, under a warm sun and blue sky, David and Karen
Berube were out on Cape Pogue Pond, at it again.

Lagoon Pond has millions of baby bay scallops. On Tuesday afternoon,
David Grunden, shellfish constable for Oak Bluffs, was out moving some
of them around. There is a gold mine of baby bay scallops out there.
While this doesn't help the fishermen of today, it may be a sign
of a good year to follow.

Opening day for the bay scallop season is as much a part of the
Vineyard culture as any holiday. On Saturday, dozens of smiling Tisbury
residents turned out in Lagoon Pond to harvest bushels of the tasty
sweet bivalves, and they had little trouble finding them.

Holders of family recreational permits harvested 528 bushels last
weekend. Those bay scallops would be valued between $40,000 and $50,000
if they were sold on the retail market.