Fast start to the Vineyard Derby this year
 

https://mvderby.com/

19 shore bones caught the first day! Unreal! Over 300 fish weighed in already. An 18+ lb gator leads the boat blues already. Wow! Is this the year the bluefish record falls?

Patrick P with a nice bluefish today!

Nice shore bass this morning. Sadly, Ed Jerome passed away today..
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

What???? Very sad. Only met him half a dozen times but he was just one of those guys who you couldn't help but respect.

seems to put a pall over the Derby this year, just as things were starting to look good too.

I am shocked and saddened to hear of Ed Jerome's passing. I got to know him a little bit when I fished all 5 weeks of the derby in 2005. I was lucky enough to land a fish that year that put me into the mix and the best part of that experience was my interactions with Ed leading up to and during that year's ceremony and whenever I saw him thereafter. I've always been an off islander, but always felt like a Vineyarder when I shook his hand. His leadership of the derby set the standard that those that follow should strive to maintain.

Not only was Ed a great chairman but he was also a top charter captain. My days spent hunting choppers during the derby often followed what I had heard from reliable sources were his specific techniques. He often put his passengers on big blues during the heat of the derby.

My condolences go out to Ed's family and close friends. They must be devastated at the sudden loss of such a man. May the memmories he created and the principles he lead by remind us all of what is truly important in life. I haven't been to the derby in 10 years but I miss him already and I'm greatly saddened to know that I won't see him some day when I hopefully visit and fish the derby again. Rest in peace Ed. You will be missed by so many for so long.

I did not know him well but Ed was a pleasure to talk to.

R.I.P. sir~