Steve Amaral was 9 years old when he fished his first Derby. He has only missed one since, when he was stationed overseas during the Korean War. And at 89, you can still find him casting from Norton Point, hoping to land one for the leaderboard in this year’s Derby.
In the year that officials with the Island’s premiere fishing event are celebrating 80 at 80 — 80-year-olds that are still fishing the Derby in its 80th year — Steve has the most under his belt. He’s a true Derby legend.
I had the pleasure to spend a few hours talking with, but mostly listening to, Steve. Not only is he one of the coolest guys around, but going through his old photos and listening to his stories is the stuff that fishing dreams are made of. He has more tales of Island life and fishing Vineyard waters then I’ll experience as a decades-old washashore, no matter how long I live.
It was 1946 when Steve, along with his entire family – Dad, Mom, older brother Ed (10), and younger siblings Leo (8) and Eleanor (7) – entered the very first Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass Derby. Steve’s dad, Gus, weighed in the very first striper. Who would’ve known back then how monumental and magical the Derby would become?
Steve has a display rack hanging in his dining room. On this display rack is every Derby pin from every Derby Steve’s entered, minus the 1946 Derby, when they didn’t have pins. I looked at the numbers, and noticed Steve had a variety of numbers until 1983. From then on, except for the 50th Derby, Steve has been No. 875. “It’s my phone number,” he said simply, noting that for the 50th he got 857 by mistake: “Oops.”
A collection of Derby buttons tells a story, but you’d have to sit with Steve for days to get the bigger story.
Steve was born on-Island, and raised in a family that fished, hunted, and harvested for scallops, quahogs, oysters, berries, and vegetables.
“The mileage I’ve put on these legs between hunting and fishing, you wouldn’t believe,” said Steve. “I’m so lucky. I grew up hunting and fishing. My father and his brothers grew up with it, and then I went out with my father and my brothers. We used to hunt for deer, rabbits, and quail. The quail were so delicious,” said Steve, who showed me a picture of his family, including uncles and cousins, on their annual Thanksgiving Day rabbit hunt.
As we talked about shellfish, Steve laughed: “I’ve opened thousands of scallops over the years. I used to scallop, quahog, and surf-fish, and I sold it all for extra money.”
Steve graduated from the Vineyard high school in 1954. At the end of that summer, he volunteered for the draft. His older brother Ed had volunteered for the draft in June. Ed was called up in September. Steve fished the 1954 Derby, and got called up in November.
“I went to Fort Gordon in Georgia. I learned construction and how to put up pole lines. Then I got sent to Fort Devens, of all places. I would get weekend passes, and I would hitchhike home to the Vineyard,” said Steve, noting that he was excited to serve his country.
“A few of us went to see the company commander. We asked to go overseas. The commander said, ‘I’ve got news for you heroes, the whole 51st Signal Battalion is going to Korea.”
As luck would have it, Steve got a furlough in the fall of 1955 before shipping out to Korea. He, of course, came home to the Island and fished the Derby.
After “the longest boat ride of my life –– 21 days,” Steve spent a year in Korea putting up communication poles and guarding them. “The Koreans would steal the copper wire,” said Steve, who missed the 1956 Derby while in Korea.
When Steve returned to the Island in December 1956, his family had moved to California. “My father took over a 600-acre duck club in Sacramento,” said Steve.
Steve found a room to rent, went to work for his uncle’s Amaral Brothers Plumbing and Heating, where he would become a journeyman and then master plumber, and he went deer hunting.
“I haven’t missed a deer hunting season since Korea. I got back here, and I had three days to hunt. I got one, and I was so happy,” said Steve.
“Last year I only got two days in, and I didn’t get a deer, but at least I got out there,” said Steve, who needed to have bypass surgery last December during deer-hunting season.
Steve also volunteered with Fire Engine Co. No. 4. He retired in 1993 after 36 years. “I’ve known Steve for 50 years,” said Stephen Morris, who served on Engine Co. No. 4 for 15 years. “I was on the Fire Department with him. He was my captain.
“He’s an intense fisherman. That boy is driven. Go, go, go, every night,” said Morris, “He loves his bass.”
To say Steve Amaral loves bass fishing is an understatement. There are numerous species that swim in and around Vineyard waters, but Steve had a near-singular focus: big bass.
“How many guys are fortunate enough to catch the 50-pounders I’ve gotten?” said Steve, adding with a huge smile and twinkle in his eyes, “And to get three 50s in one night, with witnesses! I thank the Man above.”
“Being secretive was one of his strengths,” said brother Ed with great admiration. “We’re tight. You can’t beat Steve as a brother. But share information –– he held off a little bit, and so did I. I think he held off a little more, but that’s competition.”
We looked through a stack of photos, each one special, each one with big bass. Steve held a photo and shook his head: “I sure do miss bass fishing.”
“He saw the best of the best with the bass,” said Morris. “When I first started fishing with him, he could go everywhere. He had permissions, he had keys to gates, he had combinations.”
Bass may not currently be in the Derby, but I knew I was in the presence of a great fisherman, so I asked for bass fishing tips.
“I only use a steel-coated leader. I don’t want to lose a fish and a plug at the same time, especially in a tournament,” said Steve. “When the bluefish came in, other people were getting cut off. Not me!
“My bottom-fishing rigs are the same: steel leaders. I hook the eels in the tail, at the meaty part. I let it sit for 2 to 3 minutes, then bring it in, untangle the eel, throw it back out, bring it in after five minutes, untangle, then seven minutes, and the eel is fine. Then I leave him out there,” said Steve, adding, “Bass take everything head-first. I can get a hand down there, get the hook and eel out, the eel is still alive, and I can use him again.
“When that fish hits and that pole is going down, what a thrill it is!” he said.
Steve offered great advice on plugging, which we can use today with blues and hardtails, especially during the Derby, when every second can count after getting cut off during a blitz. “I always have three plugs ready. The plugs are on a leader with a swivel. When I land a fish, I unhook the swivel, put the fish with the leader and plug on the beach, and switch to the next leader and plug,” said Steve.
Steve’s favorite plug, you ask? “The Danny plug is my favorite swimming plug. On rough days, I used a Gibbs swimmer plug.”
Seeing his 80th Derby pin in his hand, I asked Steve if he had a favorite Derby memory.
“Every Derby that I fished in is a Derby memory. As I put all the Derbies together, and if I have to pick one, it’s 1975,” said Steve. “My father came up and fished with me. One night –– Sept. 27 –– we were bottom-fishing with eels, and we both landed big bass. My mother was there too, and watched the whole thing. And my dad’s dog Mack was there, too. I got the Island shore lead (45 pounds, 12 ounces), and my dad took the nonresident lead (39 pounds, 2 ounces). My dad ended up winning, but I got bumped,” said Steve.
Steve finished second that year. Over 78 Derbies, Steve has won a lot of daily pins and weekly awards. He’s still casting for that Grand Leader fish.
Last year, Steve caught a 6.04-pound boat bonito. He earned a first-place-daily pin, the weekly boat bonito award, and the senior weekly award.
Steve isn’t sure if he’ll be out on a boat this year, but he has his fishing strategy mapped out. “I got my Norton Point sticker. I’ll go down there and do the best I can. I’ll take my 11-footer and cast for a bit. When I get tired of that, I’ll bottom-fish with some bunker I’ll get from Stephen Morris. When I get tired of that, I’ll go back to plugging,” said Steve.
Steve is the true Derby legend. If you see him on the beach, go talk to him. You’ll learn a lot, and you’ll hear stories that will leave you dreaming of big bass and days gone by. You’ll also be inspired, not only to get out and fish, but to love what you do, love nature, and love your Island community.
As we fish the next three-plus weeks, and watch the leaderboard every morning and every night, will you join me in hoping to see Steve’s name on the board and Steve on the stage come Oct. 19? I’d love to win the Derby, but it would be so much cooler if Steve won!
I hope to see you on the beach. Tight lines to all!
