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I don't post here much but I'm a sucker for Derby talk....
This will be my 15th year fishing the Derby. In 1994 my father convinced me to join him on what was probably his 20th Derby trip at the time. He spent all those years staying in "the Maine house" - the guys from Portland Surfcasters. Had it not been for a business acquaintence that turned into a lifelong friend, he never would have started going, and neither would me or my brother. All the sentiments brought up by others are dead nuts on. I'm going down on 9/25 and my brother, a mutual friend and I have been emailing each other all week jabbering on about the Derby. It's definitely an additiction.
That Maine house has been a great place to learn about the island and the Derby "culture". A lot of those guys (many of you here know them) have been doing this since the late '60s when MV was a totally different place. Paul, Louie, Sonny, Pete, etc. These guys, although 30-50 years older than me, have provided invaluable info to me over the years that I've had the pleasure of their company.
I can't think of a better place to be in the fall, especially when it means getting to spend uninterrupted time with my brother and father. Our lives get so busy the rest of the year, it's great to spend a few days (or a couple weeks as it used to be before children) only concerned with one thing - fishing.
Several years ago I caught the albie sickness and since about 2000 have spent 90% of my Derby time dedicated to the pursuit of these speedsters. Most of our albie fishing is spent on East Beach where crowds are never a problem. On a Saturday afternoon you may run into a group of 4x4s and beachgoers having a cookout, but finding an open fishing spot is never an issue.
Good luck to all Derby participants. Maybe I'll get the pleasure of meeting some of you this year.
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