$515 to $10 in 0.14 ounces (aka: another tale of Derby heartbreak)

[BasicPatrick]

When you register for the MV Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby you can pay an extra ten dollars and enter the "Special Saturday Events" or "pool". Each Saturday there is a bonus $500 for the largest of the designated species for that day from a boat and $500 from shore and on the fifth Saturday the winners are chosen by drawing.

Yesterday was "Striped Bass Saturday". Last year Leo (Drumcorpsfan) was a member of the crew staying at the shack and won Striped Bass Saturday. Although the bassin has been very very tough and the weather was horrible (SE wind 15-30 & heavy rain most of the day; many of us were trying to keep the Striped Bass Saturday Title at the Basic Fishin' Shack.

The final weigh in for the day was 8-10 pm and at 8:15 I landed a decent fish on a live eel. The digital scale I keep in the truck was bouncing in the wind between 21 and 23 pounds. Surely not the biggest for the day but respectable and worth weighing in for the Grand Slam and Team Competition. After about twenty minutes of tring to get one more fish and wondering if we would have enough time to make the weigh in; Fishermom, SurfPirate and myself headed for Derby HQ.

I will admit I was hoping for a decent showing for the special day but experience told me the fish was not big enough to contend for the special event....or though I thought.

We arrived in Edgartown about 9pm. When I approached the scale and declared the fish to be from shore; long time weigh master Charlie asked me if I was in the "pool". After my fish was recorded as an official 23.55 pounds and It was confirmed that I was in the "pool"; Charlie told me he had just weighed a twenty five pound fish but the angler was not in the pool, thus I was now the leader for the $500 with just a little over an hour to go. Pictures were taken and my fish was gutted to confirm there was no foul play. The wait was on...oh goody.

I began to become anxious and both teasing and words of ecouragement were coming from fishermom and others that were also at the weigh station. SurfPirate, who normally complains that I ask him to tell me the time way too much; began to report to me as each and every second ticked by. Of course, I bega to have hope the fish might hold up.

The inevitable happened with nineteen minutes to go. A man walked into Derby Headquarters and placed yet another decent shore caught Striped Bass up on the scale. Unfortunately for me, the digital scale settled on the very painful weight of 23.69 pounds or 0.14 pounds more than my own.

In just seconds my $515 fish ($15 for secind place daily & $500 for the Striped Bass Saturday) and more importantly my victory was reduced to just another 23 pounder and a $10 third place daily.

I stuck around (partly in shock) for the final few minutes and congratulated both the winner of Striped Bass saturday and Fishermom who by the way won the women's weekly award for boat bluefish.

This is what I call a classic example of Derby fishing at it's best.

Tonight I will return to my spot & More will be revealed