The first Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass Derby, the most ambitious event of its kind to be arranged for this coast, will begin at 12 noon on Sunday, Sept. 15, and will continue until 12 noon on Oct. 15. The grand prize of the derby is $1,000, and among the contestants so far are salt water fishermen from Toronto, others from Canada, four from Virginia, two from Philadelphia, and hundreds from the New England states and New York.
Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby
October 21, 1955
Vineyard Gazette
In all the tumult of a savage easterly gale accompanied by lashing rain, the 10th annual fishing derby came to a close on Saturday, with contestants fishing, or certainly attempting to fish up to
May 23, 2013
Remy Tumin
Last fall a group of nine soldiers arrived in Menemsha to compete in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
February 3, 2020
Will Sennott
The venerable saltwater fishing contest entering its 75th year, will eliminate striped bass from the competition this fall.
2023
September 27, 2023
Bill Potter’s false albacore fell a fraction short of breaking the 19.39-pound state record set by Island angler Donald MacGillivray during the 1990 derby.
September 21, 2023
Gray-orange light struggled to glow through a thick overcast evening skies in Edgartown as fishermen lined up on a dour night to weigh in their derby catches for the day.
September 20, 2023
Recognized by his brown, leather hat, worn smooth by decades of fishing in salt air on Island shores, Mike Cassidy is an anchor of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
September 12, 2023
Sarah Kadison and five-year-old Tucker Schaefer both earned triple crowns (catching a bonito, false albacore and bluefish) on opening day. Tucker's advice to other fishermen: "reel hard."
September 10, 2023
Despite a foggy morning, which promised a slow start to the 78th Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, Kevin Seger was waiting patiently in line at 8 a.m. Sunday with a 3.46-pound bonito cementing its status as first fish of this year’s derby.
September 7, 2023
On Sunday at 12:01 a.m., anglers will head to moonlit beaches and offshore Island waters — as they have every September since 1946 — when the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby gets underway.
