At 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, fishermen were lined up half-way down the Edgartown dock for the final weigh-in of the 77th Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby.
The derby began on Sept. 11 and now the final night had arrived, with the award’s ceremony scheduled for Sunday at Farm Neck Golf Club, beginning at 1 p.m.
Big bluefish were coming in right up to the last moment, although no lead changes for overall winners in each category took place on Saturday night.
“It’s been a remarkable derby this year” said derby committee chairman Phil Horton. A self described “numbers man,” Mr. Horton said that there were 1,869 weigh-ins before the final night, and over 3,100 registrants.
“We’ve had some enormous bluefish,” he added.
But it wasn’t only blues coming in Saturday evening. Bob Garrison won a hearty applause for his 9.71-pound bonito, which catapulted him onto the senior leaderboard.
“It’s my best one in a long time,” he said, before returning home to call his son and smoke a victory cigar.
False albacores were also present. Ronan Murphy, fishing in the mini junior category, brought in his first ever albie. When asked about his secret to success he was at first elusive.
“I don’t know,” he claimed, but went on to give a tip for less successful fishermen. “Look for a wave that is not normal.”
Colton Stedman needs two hands on Saturday night.
— Ray Ewing
Not everyone in line agreed that it had been a good fishing season.
Tommy Teller, who has been fishing the derby since it began in 1946, was a bit downbeat, even as he held up a 13.5-pound bluefish caught off Wasque.
“The fishing’s been terrible this season,” he said, “This is the best day I’ve had all season.”
Mr. Teller brought the fish in to town on his tricycle, which, he says, makes it much easier to find parking. Following his weigh in, he dropped the blue in a bucket on the back of his rig and pedaled off into the night.
Another derby vet, Janet Messineo, also had a hard time bringing in fish this year. She said she found more luck mentoring young fishermen.
“I call myself the slingshot and they are my pebbles,” she said. “I load ‘em in and they go ‘bing’ and shoot off.”
One of her pebbles, 13-year-old, John Cho, brought in a 15.01-pound bluefish Saturday, caught at a spot on Chappy which Ms. Messineo helped him find.
By 8:30 p.m., the weigh-ins had slowed to a trickle. For weigh master Mike Cassidy, it is always a bittersweet moment.
Mike Cassidy announces the end of the 77th derby.
— Ray Ewing
“By the second week each year, we always feel worn out, but then the next three weeks go by so fast,” he said. “On Saturday morning, every year, I always feel sad that its closed.”
Even as the line dissipated, the crowd grew, hoping for a final glimpse of a big, shimmering bluefish, or to check out the grand prize boat parked out back of the weigh station, ready to be given away at Sunday’s award’s ceremony. A few board leaders lingered as well, hoping to get a final confirmation of their place at the top.
There were no last-minute weigh-ins Saturday night. The closing of the station was very orderly. Committee members lined up on the same ramp where thousands of fishermen had over the course of the season. Then they brought out the two ancient bells that signify its end.
The crowd counted down from 10, two kids rang the bells, and the sliding door was closed at 9 p.m. An army of organizers would arrive the next morning to disassemble the setup.
A few minutes after the bells were rung a group of fishermen departed to cast for some squid. The derby may be over, but the fishing never ends.
