‘The toughest Derby ever’

I’m sitting at my computer, looking at the water on a warm, sunny day, and the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby is over. How can that be? Though it was the slowest, most painful Derby ever, it was still the best 35 days of the year. I’d appreciate someone hitting the rewind button so we could start over, preferably with more shore-weighable fish.

This year, more than any other, the time with friends was the best part of the days on the beach. I fished 34 of the 35 Derby days, missing one day for an off-Island meeting that I couldn’t change. I caught my bonito and bluefish during the first week, and never saw or hooked an albie to secure my Triple Crown. As with many of my fellow shore fishermen, I cast endlessly with little to show for it. 

Few people fish as passionately or with such thoughtfulness as my teammate Dave Balon. Due to his work schedule, he can only fish the first, third, and fifth week of the Derby. He spends nearly every waking minute during those Derby weeks fishing. He’s good. Really good. He’s been onstage multiple times. He can outfish me any day of the year — in skill and determination. 

Dave has fished the Derby for 27 consecutive years. This year, he didn’t weigh in a fish. He caught a few fish, but none were long enough.

“This was the toughest Derby ever. It’s the first Derby I didn’t hook an albie or lose a single piece of tackle. The only thing I lost was my mind,” said Dave, laughing.

The numbers don’t lie. The total fish caught was 1,590. A significant decrease from 1,987 in 2023, and 1,960 in 2022. 

Boat fishermen caught 303 false albacores, up from 283 in 2023, while shore fishermen only weighed in 121 albies, a drastic decline from the 331 in 2023. 

Bluefish were also scarce from shore. Boaters weighed in 577 blues this year, while surfcasters only put 184 blues on the weighmaster’s table. Though boaters caught more blues, the total catch is down from previous years. Boaters caught 618 in 2023, and 768 in 2022. 

Bonito were the most prolific shore fish, at 207, this year, but the count is down from 254 shore bones in 2023. Of those shore bonito, only one was over eight pounds; five were over seven pounds, and 10 were over six pounds. Seventy-eight percent (162) of the shore bonito weighed less than five pounds.

Everyone is asking why. It’s not merely one species, such as striped bass. All of the catches were down. Standing on Chappy’s shores, looking at the windmills polluting the view, there was much speculation about their potential impact on the decreased numbers. Time, and research, will tell. Until then, all Derby anglers are wishing and hoping for a rebound in 2025.

It was so slow that anglers took to passing the time by playing games, or amending the English dictionary. Peter Sliwkowski, owner of Larry’s Tackle Shop and president of the Martha’s Vineyard Beachgoers Access Group, told me quite a few amusing word definitions. 

Case in point: “Wishing —  it is the act of fishing with very little hope of actually catching fish. It involves casting into the void, reeling in with increasing frustration, and swapping lures every 10 minutes in a desperate attempt to trick fish that aren’t even there. If you’re really succeeding at wishing, you’ll spend half your time untangling wind knots, or muttering under your breath about how you could be doing literally anything else more productive with your life. Experienced wishermen obtain a strange euphoria when they either snag a bait like a silverside or peanut, or catch an exotic species like a sea robin, skate, or dogfish.

“Derby Tourette Syndrome (DTS) — is a brief, intense outburst of foul language triggered by losing a Derby fish. Symptoms typically subside within 30 minutes, but can be easily reignited when a fishing buddy reminds the angler of their lack of skill in landing a fish.”

All that said, the Derby awards banquet was a joyous celebration, made especially exciting by first-time Derby fisherman Carmelo Torres winning the fabulous Eastern Boat Works boat. Personally, the highlight of the Derby banquet was watching my friend Oliver Valdes win the Martha’s Vineyard Surfcasters Association Sportsmanship Award.

Oliver is truly one of the nicest guys on the beach. You could see him helping one of the Cape Poge residents who got stuck in the sand, asking friends if they needed ice for their coolers when he was making an ice run, or volunteering to set up the Derby banquet. 

Eleven fishermen were nominated, but Oliver clinched it with generosity that went above and beyond. Oliver heard that a shore fisherman had a favorite rod and reel stolen. He called another friend and asked what the rod was, and said he was going to buy a new one. Later that same day, Oliver put the new rod in the person’s rod rack. 

“It could have been a bad day, but kindness won,” stated one of the nomination letters.

The Derby may be over, and we have about 326 days until the opening bell in 2025, but all is not lost. Larry’s Tackle Shop is hosting its annual OctoberFish. Prizes and fun can, and will, be collected and enjoyed by all who enter and continue fishing. 

I’ve heard great reports about the bass fishing, and will soon be checking out the scene for myself after I weigh in some fish for OctoberFish.

I hope to see you on the beach, enjoying these gorgeous fall days and the fish still swimming in our Island waters.