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GONE
FISHIN'
January
13, 2005
There is no
new Gone Fishin' column this week.
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Hunting
Season
Duck hunting, Nov. 25–Jan. 22
Cottontail rabbit, Nov. 15–Feb. 28
Raccoon, Oct. 1–Jan. 31
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Patience and perseverance rewarded in Derby
October
21, 2004
View
Derby Results >
Story
by Nelson Sigelman
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(left to right) Derby president Ed Jerome,
Fran and Bob Clay, Tom
Langman, winner of a new truck donated by the Clay family
dealerships, and Derby chairman John Custer in front of one
of the two derby grand prizes.
Photo
by Ralph Stewart
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The 59th annual
Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby ended Sunday
with an uproarious cheer for a house painter, a self-proclaimed
wharf rat who weighed in his winning false albacore in the first
hours of the first morning of the Derby and then watched it hold
up for 35 days.
A West Tisbury man who dreamed of Derby glory since he first fished
the tournament in 1984 furnished the last day drama by catching
a big bluefish in the waning hours of the month-long tournament,
adding another page to the annals of Derby history and tradition
and earning a place on the awards ceremony stage.
An 87-year-old Island man showed he still had what it takes to be
a derby winner when he reeled in a 47-pound striper and overtook
a perennial derby champ more than 60 years his junior.
Over the course of the five-week tournament, a total of 3,126 fishermen
registered to fish in the Derby, a number that included 299 women
and 312 kids. Between them all, they brought 2,733 fish, mostly
bluefish, to the derby weigh station on the Edgartown waterfront.
By most accounts it was a very good Derby, and one devoid of controversy.
The shore fishing for striped bass and bluefish could have been
better, but an abundance of false albacore, speedy mini-tuna, off
Chappaquiddick beaches kept the daytime fishermen wanderers busy
mostly casting and occasionally catching the notoriously finicky
fish.
Bonito were in local waters for the start of the Derby, but veteran
anglers knew that their presence was unlikely to last and they were
right. For most of the Derby, bonito were scarce for boat fishermen
and almost nonexistent for those fishing from shore.
Big bluefish were hard to find for much of the derby. While the
shore leader seemed beatable, finding the fish to do it with was
a difficult task.
Stripers seemed abundant from the boats, less so on the shore. But
when it came to finding big fish, experience made the difference,
judging from the names of the top finishers.
Like any long-running play, the final act of the Derby comes as
a relief to participants and observers alike who are sad to see
it end but relieved to return to some degree of normalcy. On Sunday
afternoon they gathered in the Atlantic Connection in Oak Bluffs
for the awards ceremony.
One major change this year concerned the grand prizes for the derby’s
shore and boat divisions. In the past, the boat/motor/trailer went
to the winning boat fisherman, while the truck was awarded to the
winning shore fisherman. Over the winter, the Derby committee decided
that the boat fisherman did not need another boat and the shore
fisherman might be a shore fisherman because he or she did not own
a boat.
When the time came for the eight grand leaders to go up on stage,
the shore grand leaders in the bluefish, striped bass, bonito and
false albacore categories each drew a key for a chance to open a
lock and win a new boat. While the four boat grand leaders drew
a key to win a new Chevrolet Silverado.
The shore bonito grand champ and only woman among the eight, Betsy
Miraglia of Bryn Mawr, Penn, had traveled to the Vineyard with two
other women for the Delaware Valley Women’s fly Fishing Association.
It was her first Derby, she said, and it had not been going all
that well. But her luck changed. Walking off the stage with one
of her many prizes as she waited for the final event, she said,
"I was shaking like a leaf going up those stairs. They need
a rail."
Sitting with his two sons — Bob, a paramedic in Tisbury, and
Chuck, the owner of Good Impressions in Oak Bluffs — William
Lehman was pretty calm for an 87-year-old guy with a fish story.
Bob said that on the spur of the moment he and his brother decided
to book a fishing trip on "Flashy Lady," Captain Dick
Vincent, out of Menemsha. They invited their dad to come along.
Smart boys that they are, they registered their dad in the derby
and presented him with his hat and pin before they left the dock.
Clearly Lady Luck was the mate that day, because father William
was in the chair when the big fish hit. "I never should have
gotten up and given him the seat," said Bob with a laugh, "but
dad did very well."
Standing in the back of the room with his wife, Wendy, and two daughters,
Dan Benedetto looked a little shocked, like it was all a dream,
which in fact it was — his dream.
"He moved here for this," said Wendy. "This is his
total life’s dream. He could not be happier. Look at him."
Indeed, Dan looked very happy. So happy he might faint when he took
his place on the stage. I hoped Mr. Lehman would not be standing
close because Dan is a big guy.
Dan said he had caught his fish at 7:55 pm, Saturday night, two
hours before the 10 pm final ring of the weigh station bell.
Wendy admitted that by the end of the Derby she had had quite enough
of the derby. When Dan returned home and told Wendy about his fish,
she thought he was joking. But as the news spread and the phone
started ringing off the hook, she knew it was true.
The moment finally arrived to choose the grand prizewinners. Ed
Jerome explained the process to a group of eight people with expressions
that ranged from total shock to total stage fright. One by one the
first four boat fishermen would pick a key and try it in a lock.
Then the shore fisherman would follow suit. Only one key would open
the lock.
Tom Langman, a seasonal Chilmark resident from Washington, D.C.,
second in line placed his key in the lock. The click echoed in the
momentary silence as the room erupted in applause and cheers.
"Okay," said Ed as he placed the four keys back in a small
wooden box. "Boston Whaler, motor, trailer."
Amid shouts and cheers, Keith McArt, the shore striped bass winner
tried his key. The lock remained firm. There was a collective "awhhh."
Next up was Betsy. Again the lock failed to budge. Now there were
two, Dan, and Robert Thomas, who weighed in his fish at 8:01 am
on Sept 12, the first day of the Derby. The crowd went crazy as
the excitement continued to crest like a roller heading into Squibnocket
beach.
"Are you ready?" asked Ed.
"I’m ready," said Dan. The lock remained shut and
the crowd exploded with shouts of Bobby! Bobby! There was no doubt,
he was the winner.
Stepping to the microphone Tom thanked the committee for running
"a fabulous event" and promised to be back next year.
Bobby, a man unfettered by a car. Bob the painter with the green
knapsack, a man known for living an uncomplicated life and now the
owner of a new boat he had no idea how he would move from its parking
place out front, stepped to the microphone, his eyes welling with
tears as the wharf rats, the Derby denizens of Memorial Wharf, shouted
their hearts out for one of their own.
"I’d just like to thank everyone," he said. "I
mean it was just one of those years. First fish. First cast…it
has been a great year for me. All you people make this possible;
it is just a great feeling. Thank God I didn’t have to pick
the key, because if I had picked it I would have lost."
As people filtered out of the award’s ceremony, I asked John
Custer how the 59 Derby had gone. With the cheers of the crowd still
echoing, John said all that needed to be said: "It speaks for
itself."
One
more cast
This is my last fishing column of the season. That does not mean
I will stop fishing, only writing about fishing. There are big fish
still to be had.
With the end of this column for the season, I want to thank the
many people who called in with stories, sent photos, and generally
expressed support.
Past
Favorites:
Fisherman
artist captures spirit of Derby grand slam, October
14, 2004
This
fishing Derby is not a man's world, October 7, 2004
59th
Bass and Bluefish Derby heads into home stretch, September 30, 2004
For
angler Olga Hirshhorn, a dream comes true,
September 23, 2004
59th
Derby off to quick, sometimes nutty start, September 16, 2004
Catch
some luck in the 59th annual bass and bluefish Derby, September
9, 2004
Tuna
madness big and small takes over the Island, September 2, 2004
Dr.
Play keeps his life's priorities in order, August 26, 2004
Derby welcomes three new members
to hall of fame, August 19, 2004
Commercial
fisherman finds literary success and fans, August 12, 2004
Fishermen
urged to play it safe on the water, August 5, 2004
First
impressions are lasting in the art of gyotaku, July 29, 2004
Big
rods, big fish, shark tournament draws a crowd, July 22, 2004
Mike
Amaral wears the crown of the fluke king, July 15, 2004
It's no
fluke, the tournament's this weekend, July 8, 2004
Chronicle
of Island fishing adventures, now a classic, is republished, July
1, 2004
Charter
captains weather costs and deliver fishing fun, June 24, 2004
Finding the
fish is the easy part, June 17, 2004
Game fly fishermen persevere in
weekend tourney, June 10, 2004
One
fishing photo is worth 1,000 words, June 3, 2004
Fishing
begins to heat up for the holiday weekend, May 27, 2004
Beginning
where this angler left off, May 20, 2004
Familiarity
breeds success in Kids' Trout Derby, May 13, 2004
Thieves
Steal Poles, Not Derby Spirit, October 16, 2003
Word
Always Gets Around in the 58th Derby, October 9, 2003
Kids
Day Derby Provides a Successful Fishing Bouillabaisse, October 2,
2003
Derby
Fishing Is a Challenge, but There Are Theories,
September 25, 2003
Changes in 58th Derby,
September 18, 2003
Good Derby Fishermen Know How to Prepare, September 11, 2003
King Livens Up the Vineyard Fishing
Stage, September 4, 2003
Fishless Angler Sets Off to See the Sights, August 28, 2003
Island
Fishermen Lured Offshore by Promise of Tuna,
August 21,2003
Island Bass Fishermen Survive,
August 14, 2003
When the Fish Aren’t Biting, Might As Well Do Chores, August
7, 2003
For
Anglers, It's Now Bonito Time,
July 31, 2003
Newest
Derby Inductees Are Hall of Famers in Any League, July 24, 2003
Fishermen
Do Not Get to Say Peep about Norton Point Beach Fee Hike, July 17,2003
Mon
Dieu, Winning Fish was Quite a Fluke, July 10, 2003
Prey
and Predator Confused On Buggy Night of Fishing, July 3, 2003
Pond Openings Hold Fish and Risk for Anglers, June 26, 2003
For an Angling Father,
Something Fishy's Always Welcome,
June 12, 2003
Despite
Pain of It, Anglers Carry On,
June 5, 2003
Fishing, Fishing
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