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.

By the time the celebrants arrived at the Portuguese American club on Saturday, the soup was hot, the chicken was cooking and the ice-cold drinks were ready.

Chefs Brian Patrick Hall of Oak Bluffs and Dylan Estrella of Edgartown were stirring their inaugural sopa, made with fresh linguica, beef and cabbage.

Commercial striped bass season opened on Sunday with mixed reviews from fishermen. Fishmongers, however, are happy to have the desirable fish in stock again for the Island’s many interested customers.

Striped bass is a highly regulated fishery, especially on the commercial side. Last year the season come to a quick end on August 9 when fishermen reached their allowable catch about a month after the season opened.

Tides will run higher and lower than normal this weekend and well into next week and it is tied mostly to two astronomical events.

Friday, July 12: Gray and muggy morning. Temperature rises to the 70s. Threat of rain but none arrives. Little sailboats decorate the waters near the Edgartown Lighthouse. A fleet of sailing dinghies zigzag in the outer Edgartown Harbor, passing around bright floating orange buoys. Farland Square in Oak Bluffs is bustling with pedestrian traffic in the late afternoon.