The Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby

The Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby, or more popularly know simply as "The Derby," is one of the oldest and most prestigious fishing tournaments on the east coast. In less than two weeks, the 66th annual Derby will begin, drawing anglers from across the world to the waters of Martha's Vineyard. Though the Derby was started as a way to generate off season revenue by an advertising executive and the ferry company, it is now run by a non-profit committee, with all the proceeds going to scholarships for local kids. All prizes are donated, including the grand prizes, an Eastern boat and Chevy truck. I won't give too much of a background, because authors David Kinney and Robert Post have given excellent descriptions and stories in their works "The Big One," and "Reading the Water." I recommend giving each a read.

The Derby is more than just the hunt for a trophy fish that will lead to some really cool prizes. It is a combination of passion, comraderie, skill, luck, and most importantly, fun. Though I've been a fan of the Derby all my life, this fall will mark only the third Derby that I've registered for. For some reason my parents didn't let me miss school to travel with my old man to fish the Derby every year like he did (I think this will be his 35th consecutive year). Now that I've been out of college for three years, I am taken over by Derby fever each fall.

Though it began as a primarily shore fishing tournament, the Derby has transformed to suit a variety of anglers. Whether you are the hardcore wetsuit-clad surfcaster; the daytime bait soaker; the dedicated fly fisherman; or the boat/shore/light tackle/somewhat serious surfcaster like me, the Derby has what you're looking for, even if you never weigh in a fish. The history, the pursuit, the luck, the skill, the heartbreak, the success; in the the end it all results in a truly spectacular experience.

I am heading to the Island on 9/16 for the entire week, and can hardly wait. If you haven't experienced what the Derby has to offer, I highly recommend checking it out. There is no place I'd rather be between September 11, 2011 and October 15, 2011. Plus, I hear they have trucker hats this year.

Check out the Derby website and Facebook page for more info. I'll do my best to post updates, reports, and more while I'm there.

Wire leader or no wire leader? That is the question.

I hate to lose lures. For some reason, the thought of losing even a $3 bucktail jig really upsets me. I know that it is best to fish your jigs or plugs close to the bottom for bass, so I’m ok with the occasional lost lure if I’m flirting with the bottom, but when I’m cut off by a bluefish, I just really feel bad about it.

This past weekend, I was able to get out in the boat in Boston Harbor with my brother and father. We got out later than anticipated, but stumbled upon a school of mackerel that seemed content feasting on juvenile herring. I decided to fish the outside of the school with a small soft plastic shad hoping there may be some stripers around feeding on either the herring or mackerel. My brother put on the sabiki and tried getting a few macks to live line. It didn’t take long for me to hook up, but it wasn’t with a striper, or even a big optimistic mackerel, but rather with a ten pound bluefish. After a short fight, the razor sharp teeth found my 20lb mono leader and that blue was gone. In the meantime, my brother hooked up with a few mackerel that were nailed by a bluefish or school of bluefish on the way in. There was only one little hook left out of 6 on the sabiki rig.

Being the hopeful angler that I am, I still felt there would be bass hanging around this bait. I fixed up another rod with a 40lb mono leader and a slightly larger soft plastic and got back to work. A few casts later I hooked into a much better fish. After some good runs I got the fish to within sight of the boat. Turns out it was another bluefish, this time around 15 lbs. I could see that my line was in the danger zone near the corner of the blues jaw. As I reached to grab the fish, one quick move parted the line and off went my second lure for the day. I was upset.

I decided that even though there had been no surface action and no blitzing fish that I was going to put a wire leader on and a topwater plug with a single siwash. By now the bait had dispersed and it was looking pretty disappointing. We came across a small commotion on the surface, which looked like a mackerel going after a juvenile baitfish. I decided to toss out my newly tied wire leader and topwater to see if there were any bluefish around. It didn’t take long before I had an explosion on my plug. I didn’t get a good look at the fish, but I assumed it was another good sized bluefish. After a couple good runs and some give and take, I got a glimpse of the fish. It was a nice bass.

That was all I caught for the rest of the morning. I need to learn how to take better pictures. This fished pulled the boga down to just below 20lbs. Something about the way it is held, or maybe it’s the white shirt, but to me, the fish looks small. Or maybe it is the crappy cell phone used to take it. I’m still bitter about losing the soft plastic shads, even though it only cost about $1.50.

Deep Water Near Shore for Summer Stripers

Targeting stripers in the heat of summer from shore can be tricky. One way to improve your odds is to find deep water close to shore. Now this doesn't have to water that is 60 feet deep, but look for areas where depths of 15 feet or more can be found close to shore.

One spot that I've had some success at on the North Shore has water that is between 15 and 20 feet deep immediatly off the rocks at low tide. This also means that as the tide rises there are some great points and troughs for bass to hunt prey and still have some deep water nearby. The image on the right shows a rocky outcropping at low tide. I was standing on a similar point and had depths of more than 10 feet right off the tips of my toes. This creates an excellent bass habitat, but also presents a safety concern. I encourage not wearing waders in such scenarios as one false step, or slip, can land you in some deep water. I prefer to fish these areas in the summer, which also allows me to wear a bathing suit, neoprene socks, and studded wading boots. This way, if I happen to fall in, I will not have to worry about waders filling up with water.

A great way to target areas like this is with bucktail jigs. I almost always carry Andrus Jetty Caster bucktails between 3/4oz and 1 1/2 oz, regardless of where I am fishing. Match them with a pork rind strip and you've got a deadly bass catcher. I stick to three colors: white, black, and yellow. Usually white will work day and night, but sometimes black seems to produce better on really dark nights. I really only use yellow if the water is murky or if fishing white water. Yellow seems to stand out better in these circumstances.

Here is a football of a fish taken at the spot pictured above on a 1oz bucktail near the bottom of the tide. Make sure you remain safe on the rocks, pick a good landing spot before you begin fishing, and keep an eye on the tide, swells, and current.

Find deep water near shore and you should find some fish. These areas are filled with prey, both of the fish and crustacean variety. Low light or no light periods are the way to go this time of year. Tight lines.

Beat the Heat with some Lunker Largemouth

Just when striper fishing starts to slow, fishing for their freshwater counterpart - the largemouth bass - heats up in Massachusetts. From mid-July through August largemouth fishing can be very good. One of the reasons largemouth activity increases during this time frame is the abundance of dragonflies. For some reason, largemouth love to eat dragonflies. I equate it to the love (or hatred) that stripers have for eels. You will often see dragonflies buzzing around areas loaded with lily pads and largies will shoot through the cover to slurp the dragonflies down. Quite a site to see.

Despite the warm temps, bass will get active during this time. Fishing a topwater frog or salad spoon across the lily pads is a sure way to draw strikes. My preferred method of pulling large bass, however, is to focus on the edges of lily pads and fish a weighted presentation. My favorite bait is actually the 3in chigger craw by Berkley. I feel that this bait mimics a dragonfly that has somehow managed to get trapped in the water and is slowly sinking presenting an easy meal for a largemouth. This tactic has produced numerous five pound and larger bass for me this summer.

When striper fishing gets slow, or moves to a strictly nocturnal affair, go down to your local pond and try some largemouth fishing. If you see dragonflies buzzing around, you're in a good spot. I would target these areas with weedless frogs or texas-rigged chigger craws, creatures, and rubber worms.

Don't forget a good pair of polarized shades either. Sometimes you'll spot a big largie cruising the shallows that will readily take a soft plastic pitched their way.