Dick’s Bait and Tackle

We spoke with Steve from Dick’s Bait and Tackle who said the action has been steady in many locations but the sharks have not yet gone. The night before our conversation he and Doug got sharked five times while chunking for blues off one of their favorite beaches. Dana and Steve Norman returned to the Vineyard to fish the Derby and caught five over slot stripers and some sea bass. They didn’t find any contest eligible blues but enjoyed a great trip. Steve’s son Chris fished with a friend off Nantucket and scored a Derby leading 17.28 pound blue that only lasted one day on the leaderboard until an 18.74 replaced it the following day. Sounds like the glory days of blue fishing off Nomans in the 70’s when if you had a few 16-pound blues on poppers it was no big deal. As a point of information for those who might not live on the Vineyard or have not fished the Derby, both Steve and his son Chris have won the Derby grand prize.

There have been numerous changes in the leader board for the Derby standings as our friend Doug from Dick’s Bait and Tackle had his surf 11.8-pound blue knocked off this week as some bigger blues made a showing around the island. Gators in the 14- to `15-pound class were caught from the South Side around Norton Point. The area around the Menemsha jetties has been giving up some bones and blues but they have been sharked and one large seal is also claiming hooked fish. Steve and Doug have been losing bass and blues to sharks hooked on the beaches they frequent for night fishing. A few Spanish mackerel have been caught in and around Edgartown Harbor along with some bones in the 4- to 5-pound class. Get your Derby pin and weigh your fish in at the shop.