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Martha's Vineyard Times is a weekly publication.
July 14 - July 20, 2005 Edition
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Gone
Fishin'
I called Ned Casey, out fishing with Eamonn Solway, on his cell phone for a realistic assessment. The fishermen were bobbing off Robinsons Hole in the Elizabeth’s. Ned said conditions were tough. I was not about to risk the trip in my 18 foot Tashmoo, a rugged but very wet center console that requires full foul weather gear under breezy conditions. Figuring that fishing is as much about luck as location, I decided to put in at the Lagoon launch ramp and fish off East Chop. It is a location that has produced a state Derby-winning fish. I could manage nothing beyond a few small fluke. Out where the waves and the fish were big, the Sole Men, also known as the flukettes, were doing their best to match their big talk with some big fluke. Mike Amaral, the fluke king, was trying to hold onto his stomach, no small feat. But pride goeth before the fall. In the end the Sole Men would come up short, third place to be exact. My decision Saturday not to try Vineyard Sound seemed very smart. By the time I decided to call it quits the tide had started falling and the wind had increased. My short journey through the very turbulent waters of East Chop and Vineyard Haven harbor provided quite enough of a thrill. Sunday the weather moderated slightly. I headed out to Vineyard Sound but thought better about heading all the way to the deep water off Spring Point where the big fish live. The key to finding big fluke is staying on the bottom. Between the wind and current I was using 10 ounces of lead and still having trouble. By 2 pm I had two large fluke in the cooler but no winners. I headed into Tashmoo where a number of visiting boats were anchored for the day. Glancing over at a large cabin cruiser I saw a fellow who looked to be in his fifties standing on the deck in a bikini beaching suit, the sort only Frenchmen or porn stars wear. If ever a situation called for more regulation or Martha’s Vineyard Commission review as a development of revolting impact, the wearing of such suits in public is it. At the VFW, Todd Stempien, a big, burly guy in a Red Sox shirt that matched the color of his sunburned face, put down a large white cooler and started weighing fish. He and his team members, Jim Choinere and Steve Barron, the Slab Men, had been fishing from 5 am to 5 pm with one purpose. When he saw that his team total of 52.9 pounds beat out the Sole Men’s 45.3-pound total, he said, “That was our goal.” The secret of their success, he said, was the bait: whole squid. The winning team was just as determined to stuff the Flukettes. They had named their team, “Payback,” because as Joyce Cornwall, wife of one team member, told me, “That is what it is.” Inside the VFW the Sole Men were squabbling about who had let the team down. Coop said Ricky lost a Derby winner at the boat. “I told him not to lift its head out of the water,” said Coop solemnly. Ricky maintained the line snapped. “You snapped the line,” said Ray, his cousin, proving that blood is not thicker than seawater. “It was the netter,” said Rick, referring to Ray. I told them their bickering reminded me of that television show, about a group of people stranded on an island after a plane crash. (I never actually watched it but I assume bickering is a regular plot device) Ray pointed out that it would not be wise to be stranded with Mike. “I wouldn’t want to be stranded with Mikey, he’d eat you.” During the awards ceremony, Peter Hermann, the hard-working tournament chairman, said that 125 people, including seven teams, had entered the tournament. Despite the tough fishing, everybody had fun, which is always the real measure of success. VFW Fluke Derby winners Grand champion: Jeff Tomkins, 10.8 pounds. Men’s division: Jeff Tomkins, 10.8; Jim Choinere, 10.7; Rick Harvey, 10.6. Women’s division: Denise Fraser, 5.5; Justine Chisholm, 1.8. Kids’ division: Dylan Doty, 2.4; Lauren Williston, 2.3; Mike Huss, 2.2. Kids 12 years of age and under: Brian Fraser, 6.7; Sarah Williston, 6.5; Doug Fraser, 6.4; Alex Powell, 6.2; Peter Powers, 4.2. Team division: Payback (Don Benefit, Bill Bishop, Jim Cornwell, Jim Kligensmith), 57.9 pounds. Short fluke earn citation A pair of local Edgartown fishermen also attracted some attention with their catch of fluke, but not the sort they expected. Instead of a trophy, Pat Grady, environmental police sergeant, presented the fishermen with non-criminal citations, which is sort of like a fishing parking ticket, for taking undersized fish. State marine fisheries regulations allow a fisherman to keep seven fluke over 17 inches in length. According to Sergeant Grady, he stopped the men last Wednesday morning as they were carrying half a dozen short fluke they had caught from the Menemsha jetty. The men received fines in the amount of $50 each. They could have had their fishing equipment confiscated because it was used to violate state fishing regulations (Game and fishery law violators also risk losing boats or vehicles.) and been fined $50 per fish if Sergeant Grady had decided to issue criminal citations. Proving once again that it is always a good policy to be polite and courteous when speaking to someone wearing a badge, Sergeant Grady said that he allowed the men to keep their fishing rods because they were polite and courteous. The fish were donated to local Island residents he said. Responsible fishermen who play by the rules will welcome Sergeant Grady’s efforts to make sure that those who do not play by the rules know that he is out doing his job. Bonito arrive on Vineyard The first bonito of the season was caught by an unknown tourist who did not understand the significance of his catch and told Julian Pepper, a cagey Island kid, who did. On Monday, Julian caught and released a bonito. He kept the second bonito he caught, a seven-pounder, and went to Coop’s to claim the shop’s Roberto Germani Trophy, awarded to the first fisherman who catches and releases a bonito. When asked, Julian told me he caught the first reported bonito of the season Monday morning while fishing from Little Bridge at State Beach. Uh huh. On Tuesday Stanley Larsen at Menemsha Fish Market told me that a good school of bonito hit the jetties on Monday. “They’re catching them right now he told me,” as I sat in The Times office. It is a bit unusual to have the first bonito come from the shore. Usually, the first reported fish is picked up by a boat fisherman trolling for bass or blues. Being an inquisitive reporter, I asked Julian why he just happened to show up at State Beach that morning. “I kinda thought maybe there might be a few around,” said Julian. Uh huh. Tautog record The slow and homely tautog is not exactly up there with fly fishing’s glamour fish like bonefish, tarpon, and striped bass. Tautog are bottom dwellers normally found in rocky areas and around piers. The folks who target tautog usually do so because they live around rocky places and piers, and tautog are pretty good eating. So it is a bit unusual that on Friday two friends and fly fishermen, Thomas Cochran and Matthew Smart, each caught a tautog. The young men were out fishing with Matt’s uncle, Paul DiMaura of Chilmark, targeting striped bass and blues in tight along the north shore. Matt’s fish was a little over two pounds. Tom’s fish tipped the scales at 4.62 pounds, a respectable tog on any gear. The fish’s particulars have been submitted to the International Game Fish Association (igfa.org), a Florida-based nonprofit organization that keeps track of fishing records. The fish is poised to surpass the current men’s 20-pound tippet division record set on Oct. 9, 1993, when Richard Embery landed a 2-pound, 1-ounce tautog at Margate City, N.J. The heaviest tautog caught by a fly fisherman listed in the IGFA record book is a 5-pound, 10-ounce fish caught on a 16-pound tippet. Tom was using a sink tip line and a Clouser, a fly that features weighted eyes. Paul thinks the tautog was hanging on the bottom picking up baitfish chopped up by the bass and blues that were feeding higher up on the surface. It is as good a theory as any. Fishing, Fishing Supplies & Boat Charters Business Listing |
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