Fishing report
Gearing up
Four days, fifteen hours, 43 minutes. I can’t believe how much there is to do in the next four-plus days (as of time of writing this) before the 81st Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby begins at 12:01 am on Sunday. Harvest most of the basil, make batches of pesto, and freeze them. Harvest tomatoes for salsa and also to slow-roast and freeze to have tastes of summer throughout the winter. Harvest some of the apples, make applesauce, and put into a dozen or so travel containers for Derby snacks. And very important, harvest a bunch of eggplant to…
Counting down the days
Eight days, six hours, 36 minutes, and eight seconds. If you know, you know. In case you recently arrived on Martha’s Vineyard from another country, or another planet, the countdown to the 81st Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby has truly begun. Fishermen all over the Island are spooling reels with new line, changing…
Fair, friends, and fins
Wow! What a week we had last week. August tourists. August heat. Ag Fair. And … fins. Many of us were filled with unbridled joy when rumors of bonito from shore were confirmed and then witnessed. I, for one, grabbed my rod and spent almost every morning and some early evenings casting in and around…
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. This will mark the first time in history that anglers competing in the Derby will be allowed to fish the…
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…
Important Dates
- Sunday, Sept. 13, 12:01 am: Derby starts
- Sunday, Sept. 20, 6 am: Free Kid’s Day (O.B. Ferry Wharf)
- Saturday, Sept. 26: Bluefish
- Saturday, Oct. 3: False albacore
- 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
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