Gone Fishin' : The 63rd Derby was itself the prize
By Nelson Sigelman
Published: October 23, 2008
The story of the 63rd annual Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is summed up by a casual conversation aboard the Steamship Authority ferry Sunday morning between a letter carrier from Westport and an architect from Connecticut.
The two men did not know each other and had never met before. But as is so often the case over the course of the five-week tournament, fishing proved to be a common denominator.
Photos by Louisa Gould
The ferry was rocking and Scott Tompkins, the shore striped bass grand leader, went out on the deck to get some fresh air. Paul Harris, the boat bonito grand leader, was standing talking to his good friend David Solway.
Scott was wearing a Derby hat under his sweatshirt hood. Scott said Paul looked like a fisherman. The men struck up a conversation and found out they were both on their way to attend the Derby awards ceremony at 1 pm that afternoon in Outerland.
Paul, a long-time seasonal visitor, asked Scott if he was getting any prizes. Scott identified himself as the shore bass grand leader. Paul said he was the boat bonito leader.
"I told him, if you win the boat I'll try to win the truck and we'll help you tow it home," said Paul.
The Derby officially ended at 10 pm Saturday night. My Derby ended unofficially on a dark north shore Chilmark beach Friday night fishing with Tom Robinson.
"Well," said Tom as we set out our beach chairs and sand spikes, "we only have to catch four fish before Saturday night." The tackle-box is half full, that's the sort of guy Tom is. And he was correct - we only needed four fish.
No doubt a member of the Red Sox told Jason Varitek something similar in the ninth inning Sunday night. "Jason, all you need to do is wait until the bases are loaded and then hit a home run."
Actually, the Red Sox had a better chance of scoring in the ninth than either Tom or I had of catching a bonito, a false albacore, a bluefish or a striped bass before the final Derby weigh-in ended.
In fairness to the fish gods, the only way I would have caught a bonito or false albacore was if a fish, similar to one of those disorientated (or simply stupid) manatees or whales that television news is so fond of reporting on, came sailing over the sea wall by the drawbridge and through my open car window.
My Derby fishing ranged between half-hearted effort and wishful thinking. I trolled a lure I found in my tackle box thinking it might appeal to an albie. I cast an eel along Stonewall Beach imagining with each cast what it would be like to walk into the weigh station with a monstrous striped bass.
A total of 2,724 similarly hopeful fishermen entered the 63rd Derby - noticeably short of the 3,000 mark the Derby had achieved for five years past. What accounted for the drop? Most informed folks blamed a combination of poor weekend weather, poor fishing, and the economy.
There is no doubt that the fishing was off (see sidebar for an analysis). For example, last year fishermen weighed in a total of 432 bonito compared with 285 this Derby. The drop was starker for striped bass, from 745 to 392. The number of albies caught, the big daytime crowd pleaser, dropped from 509 to 168. The bluefish catch remained about even, 1,413 to 1,438.
Based on anecdotal information, many fishermen concluded that fishing in the 2008 Derby was poor, compared to previous years. Division of Marine fisheries biologist and long-time Derby committee member Gregory Skomal provided the following assessment.
Overall, fishing was poor in 2008. While bluefish were readily available, bonito, false albacore, and striped bass were hard to find and their landings plummeted relative to 2007. A fraction of this decline can be attributed to a 10 percent drop in participation (2,724 versus 3,042 anglers in 2007).
This was the first time since 2002 that the number of Derby anglers has dropped below 3,000 and 2008 had the lowest level of participation since 1997 (2,544 anglers). However, this drop in Derby registrants does not account for the large proportional (34-47 percent) declines in 2008. The available data reveals the following:
Bluefish
• 2 percent increase in landings (1,438) despite a 10 percent drop in participation.
• Highest landings since 2003 (1,505).
• 26 percent caught by shore fishermen, average for last 22 years.
• The 7.7-pound average weight is the same as last year and higher than 2004-2006.
• Landed consistently through Derby.
Atlantic bonito
• 34 percent decline in landings (285) compared to 2007 (433).
• The landings were still above average (263) for the period 1995-2007.
• Only five (2 percent) fish were caught from shore. That is the lowest proportion in 22 years of data collection.
• 6.1-pound average weight, higher than last year (5.4), but lower than the 22-year average (6.4)
• 50 percent were caught in last 10 days of the Derby.
False albacore
• 67 percent decline in landings (168) compared to 2007 (509) but higher than 2006 (107).
• Landings were well below the 22-year average (312).
• 36 percent caught from shore, which is below the 22-year average (46 percent).
• The 8.3-pound average weight was the lowest since 2002 (7.6 lb).
• 73 percent caught in the first 10 days of the Derby.
Striped bass
• 47 percent decline in landings (392) compared to 2007 (795).
• It was the lowest landings since full re-introduction in 1997.
• Well below 1997-2007 average landings of 705 fish.
• 58 percent caught from shore. That is the highest in time series (1993-2007) and well above average (39 percent).
• The 19.3 lb average weight is lower than 2007 (20.5) and the lowest since 2003 (19.0).
• 65 percent were landed in September.
That the fishing was slow for some was of little concern Sunday afternoon to the eight grand leaders waiting nervously for the awards ceremony's climatic moment when each grand leader would hand Derby president Ed Jerome a key picked at random.
Ed would insert it into a padlock held next to a microphone and if it clicked open that person would be the winner of the division's grand prize.
The boat division prize was a 2008 Chevy Silverado 4X4, courtesy of the Clay Family Dealerships. On Sunday Fran Clay read a letter from her family that says much about the Derby and the Clay Family (see Letters, page 14). The shore division prize was a 20-foot Eastern center console, Honda outboard, and trailer, courtesy of the Derby and Eastern Boats.
What does it take to become one of the eight Derby grand leaders? My conversations with a number of fishermen prior to their moment on stage revealed a shifting balance of skill, hard work, and luck.
One man who was not going to go up on stage but might have was Gary Davidson of Edgartown, the second-place shore albie winner with an 11:55-pound fish. The first place winner was James C. Cornwell of Edgartown, also with an 11:55-pound fish.
A tie happens rarely, but when it does the first fish through the door takes the one spot. Gary, a taxi driver, took fate in stride and noted that it might have all come down to one silverside. "I'm not in it for the prizes," said Gary. "I have a boat, I have a truck. I fish it for the fun of it."
Lev Wlodyka had caught a 46.82-pound striped bass to take the lead in the boat division. It would be his sixth year on the Derby stage as a grand leader. Yes, it remained exciting to walk up on stage and have a chance to win a truck.
What did it take to get up on that stage that many times, I asked Lev. "Everyone puts in 100 percent," said Lev. "Guys who put in 110 percent do alright. Guys who put in 115 are what it comes down to."
Paul Harris, a Campground summer resident for the past 48 years, wanted to go bass fishing. His friend Eamon Solway of West Tisbury suggested they go bonito fishing.
Paul caught his fish using a reel with line that had not been changed for one year. Eamon said, "When it came on board we all knew." It was the first bonito Paul had ever caught. Paul said the eight days from the time he caught his bonito until the last weigh-in had been the longest eight days of his life.
The shore bonito winner was even luckier. Jared Stobie, a Vineyarder who recently graduated from Bridgewater State and wants to be a pilot, told me that it was his first Derby. School and sports then college had never left time for Derby fishing, he explained. This is a good way to kick off your Derby career, I told him.
Jared went to Tashmoo to wait for albies and brought along an old boat rod to use for any blues. That is the rod he was using when he hooked up. "I had 17-pound mono, no leader and a broken drag," Jared said. "I just got lucky."
I corrected him. "Derby fate," I said.
The youngest grand leader was Curtis J. Farrell, 11, an Edgartown School fifth-grader. What did he think about the possibility that he might win a boat? "Pretty cool."
Scott Tompkins had come down to fish the first two weeks of the Derby with a group of guys, members of a fishing club. He was casting a Danny plug, a time-honored lure, when he caught his fish.
"Are you nervous?" I asked him. "A little bit," he answered, but the truth is he looked real nervous. It was only his second Derby and the excitement of the awards ceremony was all new. "I've heard of it but I don't really know what to expect," he said.
When it came time to line up on stage and hand Ed the key each had picked from a small box Scott was in the first spot and Paul was in the eighth spot.
Ed took Scott's key. "Are you ready?" asked Ed.
"I'm ready," said Scott. Ed gave the key a turn. Click!
Photo by Louisa Gould
"I don't know what to say, " said Scott stepping to the microphone. "Thanks to everyone on the Derby committee and everyone on Martha's Vineyard for making this such a great Derby. No matter what happened today I'd be back here every year because I look forward to this vacation more than anything. Thanks a lot."
One by one Ed took a key from each boat division grand leader. When the first three failed to open the lock, Paul smiled broadly. "For a brand-new truck," said Ed. Click!
"This Derby for us is about a bunch of friends who come up every year and fish the Derby," said Paul. "Brothers and nephews and really, really good friends and I would like to toast Eamon Solway who broke it to us that we were going bonito fishing when all we wanted was some striped bass."
As the crowd began to disperse, the letter carrier who works out of Tiverton, R.I., was still in a state of shock, as was his girlfriend Sue Sylvia. "Just to make it," said Sue, "just to get braggin' rights was good enough for him. He was just thrilled to be in first place."
Outside by his new Eastern boat with the Derby logo painted on the side, Scott called his mother on a cell phone. "How ya doin', Ma," he shouted into the phone. "I won the boat." There was a pause. "Yeah, I won the boat. I'm outta my mind here right now."
Before they left, Paul and Scott made a plan for the 64th Derby. Scott is going to take Paul fishing on the beach and Paul is going to take Scott fishing on the water.
Final notes
The Derby awards ceremony was the sixth and final year for Tisbury School vice-principal John Custer in the role as Derby chairman. John told the audience that the responsibilities of work and family demanded more of his time. "It's been my honor and privilege to serve as chairman," said John with characteristic grace and modesty.
The job of chairman likely made school cafeteria duty seem like a walk in the park. John was an exceptional Derby chairman who helped steer the Derby through some rough patches. He well deserved the thanks of those present Sunday.
This is my final regular column of the season. Thanks to all the folks who make writing a fishing column fun and rewarding.
