Fishing report

Derby Week 4: Catching moments, weighing memories

A wonderful day on the water aboard Tenacious. Capts. Ed Smith and Eddie Smith got us on great fish. Ursula Kreskey with a daily fourth-place blue, Lisa Belcastro, Cole Metell with his first-place daily blue, and Oliver Valdes. —Lisa Belcastro Michael Blanchard caught his first weighable fish of the 2026 Derby and tried hard to…

by Lisa Belcastro

Blue miracle in Vineyard waters

Fintastic! That is the only word I can think of to describe the Derby experience I had today. I’m blessed to call Leigh and Kevin Lord friends. Kevin had texted me on Sept. 30, “I got an offer you can’t refuse. My biz partner is coming down the last week of the Derby from New…

by Lisa Belcastro

Fishing News

New Derby boundaries help up-Island fishermen

Updated August 27. Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby officials have set new boat boundaries for the annual fishing Derby, which encompasses the waters around Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, and now all of Buzzards Bay. 

Avatar photo by Nicholas Vukota

Bass in the grass auction

The Edgartown Board of Trade is holding the ninth annual Bass in the Grass Fundraiser in honor of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby. The auction starts on Sept. 25 and ends on Oct. 18 at 11:59 pm. The bass can be viewed at the Carnegie Heritage Center, starting on Sept. 25. A…

Avatar photo by The Martha's Vineyard Times

Important Dates

  • Sunday, Sept. 13, 12:01 am: Derby starts
  • Sunday, Sept. 20, 6 am: Free Kid’s Day (O.B. Ferry Wharf)
  • Saturday, Oct. 3: False albacore
  • Sunday, Oct. 4 (rescheduled): Bluefish
  • Saturday, Oct. 10: Bonito
  • Saturday, Oct. 17, 9 pm: Derby ends
  • Sunday, Oct. 18: Jr. Awards Ceremony (11 am), Awards Ceremony (1 pm) (Farm Neck Golf Club)

Important Resources

M.V. Times Resources

Click on the image to read a feature on 80 years of the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby from 2025.

Working Waterfront

  • Brothers Buddy and Tony D’Agostino celebrate receiving the David Furino Memorial Award. —Paul Bagnall
  • Buddy D’Agostino, right, walks with Sherry Ann Mele to receive the Roland Perreault and Huff Langley Memorial Award. —Paul Bagnall
  • David Gerhardt after his key opened the lock. —Nicholas Vukota
  • David Gerhardt with his new Jeep Gladiator. —Nicholas Vukota
  • David Gerhardt with his new Jeep Gladiator. —Nicholas Vukota
  • David Gerhardt with his new Jeep Gladiator. —Nicholas Vukota
  • Winners congratulate each other. —Paul Bagnall
  • The Beaulieu/Loud Memorial Award went to the Kurth family at this year’s Derby awards ceremony. —Paul Bagnall
  • From left to right, Lisa Belcastro, Kevin Lord, David Gerhardt and his gator blue, Captain Sandy Fisher, and John Piekos at Headquarters celebrating a fintastic day on the water. —Bill Robinson
  • David Gerhardt holding the new Boat Bluefish Grand Leader, a true gator at 21.01 pounds. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Weighmaster Mike Cassidy prepares to put David Gerhardt’s huge bluefish on the official Derby scale. —Lisa Belcastro
  • We weighed David Gerhardt’s bluefish on two different scales on the boat, but there’s only one scale that matters: the Derby scale. It’s official: 21.01 pounds! —Lisa Belcastro
  • Just off the Chappy shore, Capt. Sandy Fisher got David Gerhardt on what would soon become the Boat Bluefish Grand Leader. —Lisa Belcastro
  • David Gerhardt arrived on Monday from New Orleans to visit his fishing buddy Kevin Lord. On Tuesday, David reeled in this beauty. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Fish on! David Gerhardt on the rod before we knew what was on the end of the line. —Lisa Belcastro
  • A wonderful day on the water aboard Tenacious. Capts. Ed Smith and Eddie Smith got us on great fish. Ursula Kreskey with a daily fourth-place blue, Lisa Belcastro, Cole Metell with his first-place daily blue, and Oliver Valdes. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Michael Blanchard caught his first weighable fish of the 2026 Derby and tried hard to make it look bigger than Dave Balon’s ten-pounder. LOL. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Cole Metell reeled in his first-ever Derby fish, winning a first place daily for his 15.20-pound bluefish. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Ursula Kreskey, 86, still cranking with the best of them, with her fourth place daily bluefish. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Bruce Dew landed a gator blue on Bluefish Super Sunday to win not only Super Sunday but also claim the Shore Bluefish Grand Leader title with less than two weeks to go. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Lenny Bedford reeled in the new Shore Bonito Grand Leader on the first day of Week 4. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Jackson Munson took the Shore Bonito Grand Leader position on Monday and held it throughout Week 3, winning the Weekly Shore Bonito prize. —Cameron Maciel
  • Calidore Robinson holds his weighable bonito beside dad Bill Robinson, who caught the only shore albie during Week 3. —Zachary MacDonald Baird
  • JR Thomas on Oct. 1. —Courtesy JR Thomas
  • Johnny Rogers and his mom Jeanne celebrated his Shore Triple Crown on Sunday night. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Kevin Seger was all smiles weighing in a small bluefish after fishing through nor’easter. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Oliver Valdes landed his first albie in three years during a weekend of stormy weather. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Angie Fisher reeled in the new Shore Grand Leader False Albacore while live-lining off Memorial Wharf. —Courtesy Angie Fisher
  • Doug Asselin held the leading bluefish position for two days with his 11.18-pound blue. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Zachary Horrocks caught a gorgeous 8.81-pound bonito on the flyrod to lead the Boat Bonito Flyrod division. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Ben Ciciora landed the new Shore Bluefish Grand Leader on Sunday afternoon. —Ben Ciciora
  • Dave Balon, best teammate ever, put a 6.99-pound blue on the weighmaster’s scale for his first 2026 Derby weigh-in. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Tyler Poole casts for bigger fish to up his Triple Crown and “Team Tongatapu” totals. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Sal Tummino fished hard on Monday, covering nearly every inch of the South Shore. His efforts paid off with this 12.86-pound beauty that put Sal atop the Senior Shore Bluefish Grand Leader division at the time. —John Piekos
  • JR Thomas fishes the Derby, mid-September. —JR Thomas
  • Charlie Hall of Kismet Outfitters at State Beach fishing for the Derby. —Domenick Pandiscia
  • Isabella DeFoe, 5, caught an 18-inch black sea bass to become the 2026 Grand Overall Winner for the largest fish caught in the Kid’s Derby. PHoto credit: Lisa Belcastro
  • The Kid’s Derby crew has been together over twenty years. From left to right: Ron McKee, Lela Gilkes, Paula Sullivan, Cooper Gilkes, and Mike Cassidy. —Molly Reed
  • Miles Anderson, 6, won the 6-and-under division with his 17-inch black sea bass. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Molly Reo was as colorful as the sunrise catching her scup. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Quinn DeBettencourt couldn’t have been any cuter with her big black sea bass. Quinn went on to finish second in the 6-and-under division for her 17-inch sea bass. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Ana Julia Garfela caught one of the dozen flukes weighed in. Ana Julia went on to finish third in the 10 to 14 age group with a black sea bass. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Isabella DeFoe, 5, caught an 18-inch black sea bass to become the 2026 Grand Overall Winner for the largest fish caught in the Kid’s Derby. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Abby Buckley is all smiles as she carries over her first-ever fish. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Cuteness alert: Miles Ward caught the first of two pufferfish. —Lisa Belcastro
  • If you want to know what happy looks like, fish with Finn McDonald. Finn finished second in the 7 to 9 age group. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Who’s cute: Payton Hoggan or her baby shark? Yes, you are now singing, “Baby shark, doo-doo, doo-doo, doo-doo.” —Lisa Belcastro
  • Felix Hall, 8, took the early lead in the 7 to 9 age group, and held onto until Coop tooted the truck horn to end the competition. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Hayes Rubertone reeled in the smallest, but hungriest, fish. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Colby Vought, 12, reeled in first place in the 10 to 14 age group, with Tristan Rubiton, 10, catching second place, and Ana Julia Garfela, 10, jigging into third place. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Sherry signs her Derby weigh-in slip for her 19.91-pound false albacore. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Sherry Countryman with the new state record for false albacore. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Committee Member Dave Balon fills out the official Grand Leader form with Sherry Countryman. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Cooper Fersen cuts open Sherry Countryman’s Grand Leader Boat False Albacore for inspection. —Lisa Belcastro
  • Derby Chairman Joe El-Deiry and Cooper Fersen with Sherry Countryman’s Grand Leader Boat False Albacore. —Lisa Belcastro
  • A fisherman silhouette at State Beach. Fishermen at State Beach. —Domenick Pandiscia
  • Fisherman at State Beach. —Domenick Pandiscia
  • Fisherman at State Beach. —Domenick Pandiscia
  • Fishermen at State Beach. —Domenick Pandiscia
  • Fisherman at State Beach. —Domenick Pandiscia
  • Sam Bell, winner of the 2025 Derby grand prize, calling friends on his new 22-foot Sisu boat. —Nicholas Vukota
  • Sam Bell with Derby committee members and Eastern Boats Works owners. —Nicholas Vukota
  • Sam Bell ecstatic after winning a new 22-foot Sisu boat made by Eastern Boats. —Nicholas Vukota
  • Steve Amaral and his dad Gus holding two huge bass at Derby weigh-in during the 1975 Derby. Steve’s bass weighed in at 45 pounds, 12 ounces, besting his dad’s 39-pound, 2 ounces.
  • Ten-year-old Ed Amaral cheers on dad Gus Amaral as he weighs in the first bass of the first Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass Derby in 1946.
  • Two of the founders of the Derby, Al Brickman (far left) and Ben Morton (far right), pose at Martha’s Vineyard Airport with members of the Northeast Airline’s flight crew holding a striped bass, 1960s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • A model wearing a sash advertising Derby sponsor Northeast Airlines in front of headquarters, 1957. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Four-time grand prize winner Serge de Somov, affectionately nicknamed “The Count” and “The Mad Russian,” shows off a bass at Derby headquarters in the 1960s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Lieutenant Governor Elliot Richardson (R) talks surfcasting with Derby veteran Dick Hathaway (left), 1965. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • (Left to right) Steve Gentle, Leo Convery, and Nelson Smith show off the results of a night’s fishing on the dock at Edgartown, 1950s or 1960s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Former Martha’s Vineyard Times editor and outdoor columnist Nelson Sigelman ready for the surf. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Henry Cronig (left) examines a fish caught by Percy Burt (right) in 1958. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Cooper Gilkes showing off a striped bass in front of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce, then co-sponsors of the Derby, 1950s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Wayne Coutinho standing on a fishing boat, displaying a striped bass, 1970s or 1980s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Lori Vanderlaske displays a world-record-setting bluefish she caught with a fly rod during the 50th (1995) Derby. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Three fishermen take a break from the beach to share a tailgate lunch, early 1960s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Three boys hold up their fish at Derby headquarters, 1950s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Young fishermen crowd Oak Bluffs Wharf on Kids Day, 1980s or 1990s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Veteran fisherman Bob Willoughby in a cap covered with years of Derby buttons, 1995. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Man fishing from a rocky beach with a baby in a backpack carrier, 1980s or 1990s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Winthrop B. “Sonny” Norton relaxes beside his beach buggy while waiting for a bite, early 1960s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Clayton Hoyle with an old-school surfcasting rod and reel he designed and built himself, 1940s-50s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Weighmasters Dennis Arnold (left) and John Crews (right) at the filleting table outside the weigh-in station, 1990s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Lennie Reid with a false albacore, 1978. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Al Doyle with his grand-prize-winning 44 lb. 15 oz. bass in 1977. Doyle also landed the grand-prize winning bass (42 lb. 14 oz.) in the third Derby in 1948. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Gloria Norton displaying a bass at Derby headquarters, 1955. —Courtesy M.V. Museum
  • Janet Messineo holding up a fish on the dock, 1990s. —Courtesy M.V. Museum