The Oak Bluffs Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) post was an island of sanity Sunday. I heard no talk about the King of Pop, the recently departed gloved strange one who had so dominated the "news," and no speculation about where President Obama might stay, or even if he plans to visit Martha's Vineyard, referred to as Hollywood East by those who know nothing about the Island.
The conversation was all about fluke. What does that tell you about the world we live in and the head-screwed-on-straight VFW's basic charm?
By most measures, the tenth annual VFW Fluke Tournament was a major success. Last year, 179 people entered. Peter Hermann, tournament chairman, said this year there were 223 individual entries and 25 teams. People caught fish, maybe not a lot, but the weather was nice and everybody had fun.
Like the one-story post building on Towanticut Avenue, the tournament is a no-frills affair and that is what makes it so appealing. This is an Islanders fishing tournament.
Jason BenDavid of Oak Bluffs is the newly crowned VFW "Fluke King." He bested tough competition and slow fishing. Photo by Nelson Sigelman
Fishermen competed individually and as teams. The team competition was based on the combined weight of the four heaviest fish landed each of the two days.
On Sunday fishermen crowded around the scale to watch Peter weigh in fish as the 6 pm finish time approached. Team 4-B's, perennial bridesmaids Ben Ross, Billy Dreyer, Bob Goff, and Steve Buckley, hoped that this year they might land on top. But when the tally was announced (with a little math help from Phil Cronin) they were 3 ounces under first-place team "Four Reel."
Much of the talk was about how hard people had to work to find good-sized fluke. The weather cooperated, but the fish did not.
Saturday was calm and sunny but a bit cool. My teammate Remick Smothers and I fished the deep water along Pasque and Naushon between Quicks and Robinsons holes. The morning began optimistically. Remick caught a nice 19-inch fluke and I told him to throw it back because we were looking for big fish. Later, as we struggled to get a fourth fish for our team limit, I regretted that decision.
We had plenty of company, but the fishing was slow. The radio chatter indicated that fishermen around the sound were catching plenty of small sea bass and small fluke.
The top fluke kids in the 12 and under category took home trophies and lots of prizes. (Left to right) Chris Perry, David Packer, Colin Buckley, Elizabeth O'Brien, and Gus Hoy. Photos by Nelson Sigelman
Phil Cronin told me that he and his crew caught a crab, a sea robin, and a sponge but few fluke. Ever the optimist, on Sunday, Phil surveyed the team standings and saw that his team was in the middle of the pack. Noting that it was a better finish than last year, he told Scott Paterson, "Scotty, we're movin' up the ladder."
Early Sunday morning thunderstorms rolled across the sound leaving a stiff wind in their wake. Later the winds moderated and the seas calmed. The fishing also improved in the deeper water along the Elizabeths.
In several cases, fishermen did not catch a lot of fish, but the ones they caught were a good size. Ned Casey called me on the radio and said that he and his boyhood best friend, Lance Mills, a schoolteacher from Lake Morey, Vermont, had hit some good fish off Seven Gates in deep water.
First-place finishers team "Four Reel" had a two-day combined weight of 49.7 pounds. (Left to right) Jared McKenzie, Andre Levesque, Karl Kallinach, and Mike Jackson. The second place 4-Bs came in just three ounces behind.
For Ned it was an opportunity to show his friend some of the Island's best saltwater fishing and have a good time. For me it was an opportunity to take a photo of a shirtless Ned and Lance.
Last week, The Times community section carried a story about a new pinup calendar, Fish and Chicks, that features attractive Island women in fishing poses. Seeing Ned and Lance shirtless inspired me to come up with my own idea for a calendar.
The calendar title is "Fluke and Flab, fishermen of Martha's Vineyard." Now I need to collect shots for the other 11 months. Any volunteers (one requirement is a tan line at the elbows and neck)?
Remick and I struggled to find good-sized fish. On the other side of the sound near Quicks fishermen were having better luck with bigger fish.
Later, Ned told me that when he and Lance headed in about 3 pm they encountered a bass and bluefish blitz on the surface just off Menemsha. It was quite spectacular and an exciting way for Lance to end his fishing trip.
Lance Mills and Ned Casey enjoy the warm sunshine day.
Sunday evening fishermen swapped tales and talked about the fishing over hamburgers and hot dogs as they waited for the awards ceremony to begin. The kids in the crowd anxiously eyed the piles of prizes that included new bicycles and fishing gear.
Not surprisingly, many of the winners were familiar names. That was also true of the adults. The familiar saying that 10 percent of the fishermen catch 90 percent of the fish is borne out every year.
No Island fisherman would be surprised to learn that the one-two-three spot finishers in the men's division were named BenDavid, Codding, and Hoy. Geoff Codding, a former Bass and Bluefish Derby grand prizewinner, told me he only caught four fish. But one was good enough for a top-place finish.
Sergeant Matt Bass, the Island's new environmental police officer, stopped in for the awards ceremony. The fact that he took time on a Sunday to stop by and say hello was a nice gesture and appreciated by those in the room with an enthusiastic round of applause.
Steve Buckley, the winning bidder for a set of engraved beer glasses and father of one of the top junior finishers, had his hands full Sunday.
The awards ceremony included a brief auction of specialty items. Bidding was spirited for sets of beer and wine glasses engraved with the fluke Derby logo, but golf was another story.
There are many stories of once-enthusiastic Derby fishermen who have foregone fishing rods for golf clubs. I do not understand why that happens, but I suspect North Korea is involved.
On Sunday Peter held up an envelope and said it was good for a round of golf at Mink Meadows, one of the Island's prettiest courses, for four people and it included two golf carts. It was a very generous donation worth about $400.
Peter began the bidding at $300 but heard no offers. He went to $200 and the crowd remained mum. "Do I hear $150?" Peter asked. "$100?"
"You could sell that for $300 in Edgartown," said a fisherman who was familiar with the market value of the sport but not apparently willing to play it.
Billy O'Brien, who had spent two days at the helm of his boat trying to put his wife, Chris, their two daughters and friend Heather Maciel (team girl power) on fish, looked around and said, "There are no golfers, they're all fishermen."
And it was quite true.
"Okay, I'll bid $125," the resourceful chairman Peter said. "It looks like I'm going golfing."
10th annual VFW Fluke Derby results
First place team: "Four Reel," 49.7 pounds, Jared McKenzie (5.8, 5.3), Andre Levesque (8.4, 6.7), Karl Kallinach (7.5, 6), and Mike Jackson (5.3, 4.7).
Men's division: Jason BenDavid (9.2), Jeff Codding (9), and Johnny Hoy (8.7).
13 to 16 years of age: Chris Morris (5.5), Joseph Turney (5.4), and Brian Frasier (5.4).
12 years of age and under: Gus Hoy (8.9), Elizabeth O'Brien (6.6), Colin Buckley (6.1), David Packer (5.6), and Chris Perry (4.9).
Largest Sea Bass: Ray Desauteis (5.8)
Bass for cash season opens
The commercial striped bass season opened Sunday. Licensed fishermen can take up to five fish measuring a minimum 34 inches in length on Sunday and 30 fish on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. As of Tuesday morning the state had recorded 600 pounds. The Massachusetts commercial quota is 1,107,118 pounds.
Also, as of Tuesday morning 54 percent of the state's 702,614 pound commercial fluke quota was filled
Fish talk
Captain Charles Bartholomay is a fisherman, conservationist, former syndicated outdoor columnist for Scripps-Howard Publications and author of "The Blue," a novel that blends big game fishing with corporate intrigue.
He will speak about his novel, fishing for big game species and the battle to save the oceans at the Federated Church Parish House at 4 pm Friday night.
The event is free, but donations for The Edgartown Public Library Foundation will be accepted gratefully, according to a press release.
Jason BenDavid of Oak Bluffs is the newly crowned VFW "Fluke King." He bested tough competition and slow fishing. Photo by Nelson Sigelman
The top fluke kids in the 12 and under category took home trophies and lots of prizes. (Left to right) Chris Perry, David Packer, Colin Buckley, Elizabeth O'Brien, and Gus Hoy. Photos by Nelson Sigelman
First-place finishers team "Four Reel" had a two-day combined weight of 49.7 pounds. (Left to right) Jared McKenzie, Andre Levesque, Karl Kallinach, and Mike Jackson. The second place 4-Bs came in just three ounces behind.
Lance Mills and Ned Casey enjoy the warm sunshine day.
Steve Buckley, the winning bidder for a set of engraved beer glasses and father of one of the top junior finishers, had his hands full Sunday.
