The kids are all right, at least as far as the derby is concerned. Seven-year-old Mason Warburton has held the top spot since the second day for his boat-caught false albacore.
Ten veterans and their families are participating in the sixth annual American Heroes Saltwater Challenge, hosted by Bob and Sarah Nixon. The veterans spend their mornings at sea, afternoons golfing and surfcasting. The challenge is full of gestures both large and small from the Vineyard community.
You can stock up on lines, lures and bait, but ultimately getting a top fish at the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby takes some luck and a lot of persistence. Anglers are working overtime.
The last weigh-in Saturday night saw Helena Kirschenbaum win the grand slam with her striped bass while Seb Keefe brought in a shore bonito to take over top spot on the leader board. And then it was over. The derby awards ceremony is today at Farm Neck.
Bluefish carried the day this year at the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, with two men taking home the grand prizes for bluefish caught from the shore and from a boat. The derby saw a record 3,282 registrants.
By all accounts, the 69th Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby was a major success with records all around. But the number of striped bass was dramatically lower, with only 288 weighed in.
By many accounts, the 70th annual Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is shaping up for a strong start on Sunday morning. Committee member Amy Coffey said Wednesday that all four derby species — false albacore, bonito, bluefish and striped bass — are biting.
At the stroke of 12:01 a.m. Sunday, no one turned into a pumpkin, but a whole lot of people turned into obsessive, superstitious and sometimes secretive competitors in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
Early Sunday morning, Hannah Gibb was the first to arrive at the Oak Bluffs ferry gate, ready to cast off the Steamship Authority wharf as part of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby’s annual kids’ day, which kicked off at 6 a.m.
The weekend weather demonstrated a tried and true maxim for competitors in the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby: east is least, west is best. Plenty of fish were weighed in Saturday, but there was a drop off Sunday and Monday.
