With incredible weather, the bait in thick, great fishing, overwhelming sponsor support, and near-record numbers of anglers, the 70th annual Martha’s Vineyard Derby was one to remember! The Scholarship Fund awarded $30,000 to deserving Island students once again this year, thanks to the registration fees we collect and our generous donors.
2015 GRAND WINNERS
Striped Bass: Boat Stephen J. Pietruska 41.98; Shore Mike Whyte 37.95
Bluefish: Boat Clinton Fisher 17.87; Shore Karen Altieri 15.65
Bonito: Boat Rob E. Coad 11.32; Shore Timothy Scott 8.99
False Albacore: Boat Fred Hoffman 14.22; Shore Donald Sicard 13.10
In addition to all the divisional award/prize winners listed, here is a list of the 2015 Special Awards handed out at the awards ceremony on October 18. Most of these awards are a simple plaque and honor the memories of past Derby greats.
Senior Grand Leader Awards
Madison Alwardt Memorial Award
Boat Stephen J. Pietruska 15.65 pounds
Shore Jack E. Creighton 13.38 pounds
Ray Metcalf Memorial Award
Boat Stephen J. Pietruska 41.98 pounds
Shore Janet M. Messineo 21.02 pounds
Arnold Spofford Memorial Award
Boat Rob E. Coad 11.32 pounds
Shore William E. Moody 6.20 pounds
Howie Leonard Memorial Award
Boat James C. Cornwell 9.54 pounds
Shore Peter M. Boyhan 11.40 pounds
The Wayne Jackson Memorial Award heaviest fish caught by a junior:
Brendan R. Morris Striped Bass 26.50 pounds
The Victor Danberg Trophies heaviest bluefish caught by a junior:
Dylan C. Kadison 13.14 pounds
Victoria T. Scott 15.36 pounds
The George H. Pye Award heaviest shore bluefish by a resident and non-resident senior:
Resident Ron Domurat 11.79 pounds
Non-Resident Jack E. Creighton 13.38 pounds
The James P. Catlow Memorial Award heaviest shore bluefish by a male resident:
Jack Livingston 15.46 pounds
The Thomas Nessa Memorial Award heaviest striped bass, first day of the tournament:
John M. Casey 24.82 pounds
The Bill Ashak Memorial Award largest shore bass caught by a junior:
Colby Zarba 19.49 pounds
The Abe Williams Memorial Award first all-tackle shore Grand Slam:
Shawn A. Emin 9/28/2015
The Albert Angelone Memorial Award first Junior angler to weigh-in a bonito:
Dylan C. Kadison4.38 pounds (9/13/2015)
Top Rod:
All-Tackle Boat – Mark Morris
All-Tackle Shore – Peter Shepardson
Junior Boat – Zak Potter
Junior Shore – Ava Fisher
Thomas McCauley Award: Anne Medeiros
MV Surfcasters Sportsmanship Award: Jim Wareing
Beaulieu/Loud Memorial Award: John, Colby Zarba
Robert “Huff” Langley Award: Owen Singer
Cutler Bike Shop Award: (boat) Emmett Athearn (shore) Jack O’Connell
David Furino Memorial Award: Mateo, Bailen Darack
Catch & Release Photo Award: Tim Sheran
Team Competition:
Boat 1: Buzzards Bay Outfitters (Jamie Simmons, Stephen Hansel)
Boat 2: Why Knot (Mark Morris, Brendan Morris)
Boat 3: FatFish.com (Bill Potter, Chesca Potter)
Shore 1: Surf Ninjas (Julian Pepper, Tim Scott)
Shore 2: Aqua Culture (Lenny Beford, Shawn Emin)
Shore 3: Bass Bros (Kevin Conley, Steven Conley)
SUP Writing Contest Winner: Phoenix Russell
Kayak Challenge Winners:
False Albacore: Zach Magid (Won Kayak)
Striped Bass: Julio Brito
Bluefish: Joseph Canha
2015 ROBERTO GERMANI CATCH & RELEASE AWARDS
Thanks to sponsors COSTA Del Mar, The Fisherman Magazine and Cheeky Fishing, the Roberto Germani Catch & Release Award was expanded even further this year! We had hundreds of release forms submitted. Congrats to our eight winners, drawn for each species, fly and all-tackle on Oct 18th. They each won a special release award prize package.
Fly Rod:
Albacore: Bob Dunn
Bonito: James Cafferty
Bluefish: Patrick Paquette
Striped Bass: Terry Horrocks
All Tackle:
Albacore: Jack Livingston
Bonito: James Joyce
Bluefish: Ed LePore
Striped Bass: Brian Adams
The Derby thanks everyone who sponsored, helped, donated, and participated this year and especially all who attended our Awards Ceremony at Farm Neck and helped set a new fund-raising record for our scholarship raffle and silent auction. We’ll see you next year, for the 71st Derby! Until then, tight lines to all and thank you.
