There is a new boat leader in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby: Lev C. Wlodyka came in with a 46.82-pound striped bass he had caught earlier in the day. There was drama at the weigh station, according to the officials. It wasn’t just Mr. Wlodyka’s fish that drew the crowds — it was the drama of two other fishermen showing up with theirs at the same time.

Fishing slowed to a trickle this past weekend for the participants in the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. And the rainy, windy weather didn’t help. Some of the 2,000 anglers may have been out there, but few came home with dinner. Weighmaster Roy Langley said he weighed in half a dozen fish a day through the weekend. Mr. Langley shares weighmaster duties with Charlie Smith, who works the scales at night.

Harvard law professor Charles J. Ogletree is a celebrated black writer, teacher and speaker and director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice. But on Sunday, he accomplished something truly special: he was in the leader’s spot in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby on Sunday, weighing in a 26.68-pound striped bass he had caught earlier in the day, fishing with Buddy Vanderhoop and a couple of friends.

The fish arrived slowly at the weigh station on the opening day of the 63rd annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. And when they did begin to show up, they were carried by top derby anglers. William Pate, 34, of West Tisbury walked into the weigh station at 8:02 a.m. carrying a 7.54-pound bluefish that he had caught at 2 a.m. in the morning. Asked where he caught the fish, his answer was quick. “State forest,” he said.

Total catch and catch by species during the 2007 annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby recorded large increases over last year’s derby. The catch was the best since 2004 and among the best in the past eight years for all of the four species. The total catch of 3,099 fish was 35 per cent higher than in 2006. Compared with 2006, striped bass were up eight per cent, false albacore were up almost 376 per cent, bonito were 204 per cent higher and bluefish nearly four per cent higher.

Fall Classic Ends A junior angler won the 19-foot Boston Whaler. A fisherman whose name has been well known on the leader board through the years won the 2008 Chevy Silverado truck. A husband and wife team who are weighmasters retired. A controversy flared up and just as quickly died down, offering an eye-opening educational moment on a striped bass baiting technique known as yo-yoing. A record number of fish were weighed in.