Shakespeare, Mark Twain, fishermen, and fly-fishing

I didn’t know what to expect at the 34th annual Martha’s Vineyard Rod & Gun Club Fly Rod Striped Bass Catch and Release Tournament awards ceremony on Sunday. The tournament had started at 7 pm on Saturday with winds gusting up to 40 mph, which was an improvement over the 60 mph winds in 2025.

I am a novice, rank beginner, fly-fisherman. Winds over five mph send me back to the truck for my spin rod. I couldn’t imagine casting in high winds, but I knew Coop Gilkes, Abe Pieciak, Jared Stobie, Tom Neadow, Liz Packer, and all the other skilled fly-fishermen would know where to fish and how to fish.

The biggest question was, Were the fish feeding and biting during the storm?

I ran into Mark Wrabel in the parking lot, who described the beautiful night sky and the chill in the air even after the wind dropped, but didn’t mention any fish.

I took a seat next to Tom Neadow and asked how he’d fared. Tom said simply, “I got one.” As I listened to conversations around me, it sounded as if Tom might be the only person who landed a fish. Just before the ceremony was to begin, we heard rumblings of another fish.

Nelson Sigelman, who co-founded the tournament with Cooper Gilkes, picked up a microphone and began, “Welcome to the 34th No-Catch, No-Release Breakfast Tournament.”

The crowd of fishermen laughed under a gorgeous sunny blue sky, and Nelson continued, “There’s about 100 people here, and I know you didn’t come here to catch a fish.” More laughter and many nods. “You went fishing in 40 mph gusts. Normal people wouldn’t understand that.”

Nelson then asked if anyone had ever acted. One hand went up down front, and Nelson wrangled the fellow and three of his friends up to the award area. Fake crowns and swords were passed out, along with a couple of pages of scripts.

Shakespeare. “Henry V,” no less.

It wasn’t Shakespeare in the Park, but there on the lawn of the Rod and Gun Club, we were all treated to an impromptu, modified version of “Henry V.” One should note that Sunday’s performance was the third time in the history of the tournament that Nelson’s rewritten comedy was staged.

With the applause still ringing in the air, an official announced that Abe Pieciak, renowned fly-fisherman, fly tyer, and artist, had overslept, and was, as we clapped for “Henry V,” driving from Aquinnah to Edgartown. We now knew who landed the second fish.

Nelson called up Daisy Neadow, and then called for her father, Tom. Nelson, with tongue in cheek, awarded 8-year-old Daisy a plaque for being the daughter of the second-place winner. Nelson then handed Tom a plaque and congratulated him on being the father of the daughter whose father had caught the second largest bass.

“Abe is the GOAT. If I’m second to the GOAT, I’m doing good,” said Tom.

Last year, Tom and his teammate Joe Uva took home the Roberto Germani Trophy, given to the team that reaches its fish quota at the earliest time. This year, with only two fish caught and released, no team reached their quota.

Tom found fish, but only hooked the one. “I saw two fish at Menemsha that were decent, but as soon as I put my fly in front of them, they disappeared. Around 1 am, I had a hit. Then I hooked that one,” said Tom. “There were fish around, but they were in a weird bait and feeding pattern.” 

Tom showed me the gorgeous black fly he caught his bass on. “For this tournament, I made all my own flies. The fly-tying part is one of the best parts for me. This one is deer and a couple of chicken feathers,” said Tom.

After Tom’s award, there were many spur-of-the-moment awards given out, all with plaques, jokes, and chuckles, and numerous raffle items drawn, as we waited for Abe. The abundance of laughter made up for the missing fish. There was also a bit of line dancing, and an apropos version of “Jeopardy.”

Question: Who wrote, “Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it”? The answer, known by all three contestants: Norman Maclean.

Question: Who wrote, “There is no use in walking five miles to fish when you can depend on being just as unsuccessful near home”? The contestants struggled to come up with Mark Twain. Nelson, however, noted that it was the perfect quote for this year’s tournament.

Finally, the man of the hour arrived. Abe walked up to the microphone, joked that he normally gets eight hours of sleep, and he went to bed late. Abe accepted the Sonny and Joey Beaulieu Trophy for the largest fish.

If you know Abe, or know of him, you know he’s a hardcore fisherman. He’s tenacious, he’s tactical, and he’s talented, very, very talented.

“It wasn’t too bad,” said Abe. “I was looking at the weather, and it was gonna be six- to seven-foot swells. Then it dropped to three-, four-foot swells. We ended up with no swell.”

While most people were looking for spots out of the wind, Abe knew his plan. “I went to the same spot I’ve been fishing for 15 years. The conditions matter. The tide matters, but there’s usually always fish there,” said Abe, who was hoping, and had stated so on Facebook, that his teammate Jared Stobie would win this year.

I asked Abe why he fishes. He’s a successful artist who not only works in multiple mediums, but he’s successful in every medium he works in. What is about fishing that draws him to the water day and night?

“I fish alone 95 percent of the time. Fishing frees my mind. I get away from the world. It frees my crazy artistic brain,” said Abe, who donated a dozen or more prints as prizes for the tournament.

By the end of the award ceremony, at least half of the people there had won a raffle item or a plaque for something or other — first tournament, first time competing with spouse, mother/daughter, mother/son, mother/daughter/son. Though the fish were scarce, the reasons to celebrate were abundant.

Perhaps the weather will be better next year; perhaps there won’t be a full moon and very high tide; and perhaps the fish will show up hungry. One factor is a given: The fly-fishermen will return in early June. I plan to be among them.

I hope to see you on the beach, and I hope the winds are in our favor.