One of the top striped bass caught in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby this past week had a rough journey off and back onto the derby leader board. On Sunday evening, Lev Wlodyka, 28, of Chilmark weighed in a 57.56 pound striped bass. But the fish, it turns out, had ingested 1.68 pounds of lead prior to being caught. This was a big surprise to Mr. Wlodyka, not to mention to derby officials. They quickly disqualified the fish. The decision upset Mr. Wlodyka, for he had caught the fish using a hooked eel.

New Hampshire advertising agency executive David Flood has produced a documentary on Vineyard life and the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. The hour-long color film, Feeding the Water, will premiere today at 7 p.m. on MVTV and will run on the station through the remainder of the derby. Mr. Flood filmed for five weeks during the 2006 derby.

For the casual fisherman, fishing the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is like going from sandlot baseball to the major leagues. He realizes that a welter of customs, laws of natures, tips and superstitions have developed over centuries of Island fishing and more than six decades of derby competition to create a mind-boggling fishing culture. This casual fisherman felt that it would take an act of God to prepare him to compete with the best.

Oh boy, what a derby this is. The second week produced at least two records as eager anglers produced leader changes on a daily basis in most categories. Discussion of the sheer number of grand slams, including flyrod grand slams and a grand slam on opening day, almost tore the attention of Chris Scott away from a school of false albacore breaking 150 yards away from the weigh-in shed on Monday morning.

The water is swirling in the narrow channel connecting Cape Pogue Pond to the Edgartown outer harbor. Minutes before the tide hit bottom, the pond was as low as gets, and now the waters of the ocean are running back in.

Striped Bass Derby at Mid-Term: Fish Scarce, Competition Light By MAX HART As the 61st annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby rounds the corner into the second half of the tournament, the big story this week has been - well, that there is no big story. "There's been a whole lot of standing around, waiting," derby headquarters volunteer Martha Smith said yesterday morning. "We're all waiting for the conditions to change, waiting for the big ones to arrive."