Let the fun begin

Fin-tastic!

If I had to choose one word to describe the Sunday opening of the 81st Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, I would have to say “fin-tastic.”

I began the day at State Beach with the intention of going to the first weigh-in at 8 am. While I hoped I’d have a fish to weigh in, I simply had to watch Cooper Gilkes ring the bell for the official start of the Derby.

Though rain and thunderstorms were predicted, the morning dawned with a beautiful sunrise. As the sky turned from pinks to shades of orange and rays of yellow, lures were reeled in and sprays of bait created magical fountains of silvery minnows.

With so much bait in the water, we all hoped fish would show. They did, though none of us hooked up before I left. When I arrived at Derby Headquarters, I was thrilled to see Rich Mann and Buddy D’Agostino standing on the ramp with a couple of bluefish, the first and second fish of the 81st Derby. “You catch that this morning?” I asked Rich.

“Last night,” said Rich. “I caught a bigger one before midnight and released it. I got this one around 12:15 [in the morning].”

Rich is no stranger to nighttime fishing. Two years ago, also on the first day of Derby, Rich was out fishing at night and hooked a big fish. A really big fish. When he finally got it to shore, Rich was staring in awe at a six-foot tarpon. Miracles happen!

His bluefish was a little shy of six feet. “It was 23 and a quarter last night. I’m hoping it’s still 22 this morning,” said Rich, talking about inches, not feet.

Rich’s teammate Buddy D’Agostino held a nearly twin bluefish. “Did you catch it at the same time?” I asked Buddy.

“No, at sunrise,” said Buddy. “I woke up at 5:15, then woke up Rich at 5:30. We were on the beach by 5:45, and I caught it a few minutes later.” 

We were about to take a few pictures when the headquarters’ door rolled open. The crowd quieted and pressed in. Derby President John Custer began, “Cooper Gilkes needs no introduction, so I won’t.”

John mentioned a few of the many gifts Coop has given to the Island community, including the Kids’ Derby, which is this coming Sunday, and the Kids’ Trout Derby in May. John concluded with, “Coop has done more for fishing on the Island than anyone.”

As heads nodded, Coop was visibly moved. “This is an honor,” Coop said, choked up. Coop shared the story of buying the Derby, his voice filled with emotion.

“This Derby has meant so much to so many people,” Coop said, adding, “We are so lucky.” 

Looking out at the audience, his friends, his wife, his children, and his grandchildren, Coop held the opening bell and said, “I’m going to ring the bell three times: once for me, once for Ed Jerome, and once for Eddie Medeiros.”

I had tears in my eyes, and looking around at all the people who love Coop, noticed I wasn’t alone.

After Rich and Buddy weighed in, I headed out to Chappy. The rain began pretty much the minute I parked my truck. I chatted with friends, all of us smiling at the start of another Derby, another five weeks straight of friends and fishing, another promise of great memories that we’ll talk about for years to come.

I started casting as the rain picked up. I moved a bit to the right, cast more, then moved a little more to the right. Then the line tugged. I was on. My first fish of the 2026 Derby. When I pulled it onto the beach, I saw that the bluefish was snagged. He’d swum into my lure and hooked his back. He was 21 inches, an inch short, so I released him and went back to casting.

My buddy Oliver Valdes arrived. Fifteen minutes later, he was on. The rain alternated from steady to downpour to flood. The group of us out there were drenched. And I do mean drenched. Even in our rain gear, seven hours later when the rain ended we didn’t have a dry inch on our bodies.

It was fin-tastic!

We laughed. We caught fish, not often but consistently. Hey, the fish are already wet, so the rain didn’t bother them one bit. I caught a small weighable blue and texted Dave (Balon, my teammate, stuck off-Island) that I was going to weigh in.

I went home first to change into dry clothes. As I drove past Oak Bluffs Harbor toward Edgartown, the sun shone on the water and the restaurants, casting the waterfront in a golden glow that reminded me yet again how blessed I am to live here.

At the headquarters, I chatted with friends, took sunset pictures as we all had our first Derby weighables, and then the door opened. I handed my bluefish to Mike Cassidy, watched the scale total 4.68 pounds, and smiled. I’d officially weighed in and could turn my Derby pin right side up.

After Martha Klein and I took pictures of each other with our catches and the Derby sign, my phone rang. Tyler Poole was calling. He was in the parking lot — with two, not one, but two fish. I walked over to his truck. Kevin Seger pulled up beside us. Kevin also had a fish to weigh in. The already great day was getting even better.

We heard cheers coming from headquarters, but stayed focused on the three fish for these two awesome guys. I grabbed a scale out of my truck, and we held our breaths for a minute as we realized all three fish could be daily pin winners. Tyler weighed in his bonito first. At 4.77 pounds, he moved into first-place shore bonito.

Cassidy weighed Tyler’s bluefish next. It tipped the scale at 8.80 pounds. Tyler now had two first-place fish. As Tyler and I walked out of Derby Headquarters to take pictures, we saw the Stedman family and their three children holding three triple crowns with some giant fish. Now we knew what all the cheering was about.

Scarlett Stedman held the record-breaking Derby junior boat false albacore, an incredible 18.73-pound hardtail. “I’m just so happy,” said 13-year-old Scarlett. “We were trolling. It was my turn on the rod. It hit, and it ripped the line. It ran and ran and ran. My muscles were burning. It was amazing, that feeling when I got it on the boat.”

Scarlett attends the West Tisbury School and plays center-back on an Island soccer team. She has practice twice a week after school and games every Saturday, including Derby Saturdays.

“Sometimes after games, we go straight to the boat and go fishing,” said Scarlett with a grin. “I love fishing. I go out as much as I can. I love fishing with my dad, my brother, my cousins, and my uncle.”

Scarlett is now the Boat False Albacore Grand Leader. Last year, also on the first day of Derby, Sam Bell weighed in an 18.66-pound boat false albacore that held the lead throughout all five weeks. Will we see Scarlett onstage? As of Tuesday morning, we have 33 days of weigh-ins to go before we have that answer. After I chatted with Scarlett, Kevin weighed in his bonito, moving into third place (4.65 pounds) behind Tyler and Curtis Farrell.

We smiled, we cheered, we laughed, and we watched the board.

When headquarters closed at 9 pm on Sunday, Tyler had two first-place pins and Kevin had a third. If you don’t know Tyler and Kevin, you should. They are kind. They’re funny. They’ll offer you a smile every day. They love fishing. They love the Vineyard. And they love the Derby. Great guys!

Kevin and his family are my neighbors (lucky me). Tyler lives in Maryland and counts the days between his visits to the Island. “I moved off the Island in 2022 to relocate for my wife’s job in Maryland. I worked a lot of overtime this season. When I asked for time off for two and a half weeks, my boss told me, ‘Why not a full three?’ I guess the harder the work, the luckier you get,” said Tyler.

I asked Tyler how he felt fishing in the torrential rain. “Miserable, wet, soaked. I thought to myself, ‘I should have stayed in bed.’”

But Tyler didn’t stay in bed. He fished through the storm. “Surfcasters are a special kind of crazy. You know how it goes, the famous ‘one more cast’ turns into 20, and two hours later you’re still there. You never know when something will happen. It only takes one cast,” said Tyler.

Tyler’s persistence certainly paid off. And he knows how fortunate he is: “I’m very excited. I know they probably won’t hold, but it’s a strong start. Only thing to do now is to keep looking for the bigger ones. And an elusive albie.”

On Monday, Derek Bergeron and Keith McArt bumped Tyler out of first with their 5.05-pound bonitos. Tyler’s bluefish was still leading.

After fishing State Beach on Monday morning, I was driving through Edgartown, and I saw Buddy D’Agostino coming toward me. He slowed his truck to yell across the distance that he’d caught fish and had his triple crown. I shouted with joy and headed to the beach for an afternoon of sun, friends, and laughter. I look forward to seeing Buddy onstage on Sunday, Oct. 18, as he collects the Abe Williams Memorial Award for the first Shore Triple Crown. Go, Buddy!

I hope to see you on the beach, hopefully at weigh-in too, and definitely at the Kids’ Derby at 6 am on Sunday morning.