The Fishermen
There are many seasons that go with being a Vineyard angler. For one group, offshore fishing with a rod and reel is the pinnacle of summer. There is perhaps no greater sense of wonder than being 80 miles south of the Vineyard in a boat reeling in a giant tuna.
One hundred and thirty anglers participated in the 14th annual Martha’s Vineyard Fluke Derby last weekend, but the biggest winner of all was herself pint-sized. Ten-year-old Molly Mention of Vineyard Haven was named grand prize winner with her catch of a 9.47 pound fluke.
The Charles W. Morgan, the last of the wooden whaleships, will be refloated Sunday, July 21, at Mystic Seaport after an extensive and expensive restoration. A large crowd is expected at the Henry B. duPont Preservation Shipyard, which is on the grounds of the Mystic Seaport.
Gary Hoffer, 59, of Pawtucket woke up very early on Sunday morning to fish Lobsterville Beach.
“You need to go when it is convenient for the fish,” Mr. Hoffer said. “If you want to go fishing at 10:30 in the morning, you won’t catch a damn thing.”
Mr. Hoffer said he has been coming to the Vineyard for 38 years and fishing in the early morning for 30 of those years. While his wife Pamela, brother Jack and sister-in-law Deb slept, he soaked up the sunrise and the quietest hour of the day.
Cormorants are often considered the avian rats of the coastal streams and ponds. They can be seen lining the jetties and drying their wings in wait before going heading out into the waters to compete with local fishermen.
The northern most part of Oak Bluffs sticks into Nantucket Sound like a big thumb. There is a swift current moving in the waters off East Chop Beach Club and the Oak Bluffs Steamship Authority wharf. Swimming in this current are many kinds of fish, large and small. It is a fish highway, with schools of bait crisscrossing the water.