When Thomas Ronan started fishing the Martha's Vineyard
Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby in the late 1980s, he never thought much
about catching anything other than striped bass.
If you ask Thomas Ronan, he'll tell you it was a great week of
fishing around the Island during the second week of the Martha's
Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
But that is to be expected from someone who lands a 39.48-pound
striped bass that puts him atop the leader board and into the running
for a new truck.
For a weekend anticipated to be a washout for fishermen, it was an
active three days at Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish
Derby headquarters in Edgartown.
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."
How have the wind and choppy seas affected the fishing during the first week of the 61st Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby? That depends on whom you ask.
Island Fall Fishing Classic Begins with Thirteen-Pound Striped Bass
By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL
Vying to be the first to weigh in a fish in the 61st annual
Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, a sleepy Jim
Cornwell arrived at the downtown Edgartown weigh station at 4 a.m.
Sunday. Armed with a striped bass caught on East Beach on
Chappaquiddick, Mr. Cornwell - a 69-year-old retired chemist from
Edgartown - proceeded to wait for the opening at 8 o'clock.
An eye-popping derby to be sure but no eyes popped wider than junior angler Chris Morris’s when his key sprung open the padlock that awarded him the 19-foot Boston Whaler complete with a 115-horsepower Mercury motor and a trailer last Sunday at the 2007 62nd annual striped bass and bluefish derby awards ceremony at Outerland.
Chris, with the top shore bluefish, was one of eight division winners lined up on stage with a key and a chance to win either a 2008 Chevy Silverado four by four truck or the fishing boat.
Two leading Island recreational fishing organizations have called on the state Division of Marine Fisheries to end the controversial practice known as yo-yoing, which laces bait fish with lead that ends up in the bellies of striped bass.
