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Martha's Vineyard Surfcasters
Martha's Vineyard
Surfcasters Association
P.O. Box 3053
Edgartown, MA 02539
Author: Created: 7/6/2011 7:37 PM RssIcon
Another MVSA Blog by Dave
By dbalon on 10/30/2014 3:27 PM
Enclosed is the latest October 2014 MVSA Newsletter. Get all the latest information now that everyone is back in stride after the 69th Martha's Vineyard Bass & Bluefish Derby!

Click on the link below to download the official copy....Enjoy!

2014 October 2014 MVSA Newsletter.docx
By dbalon on 10/26/2014 8:01 PM

MVC waters down request for solar lights on new state fishing pier

MV Times
By Janet Hefler
October 22, 2014

Acting on a request from the state Division of Marine Fisheries, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission (MVC) last month approved modifications to the Oak Bluffs public fishing pier that will include bait-cutting surfaces on the railing and a hand-operated water pump. But the MVC scaled back a request to place solar powered lights along the length of the pier, which has become a popular stroll.

The MVC review sparked some sharp exchanges among the commissioners. Several commission members disagreed on whether the improvements were significant enough to require a public hearing, and whether the addition of lights is necessary.


Click here to read the entire article.
By dbalon on 10/26/2014 10:25 AM
Re-post of Stripers Forever, MD DNR 2014 YOY Striper Report
October 23, 2014
http://www.stripersforever.org/

MD DNR 2014 YOY Figures

MD has just released the 2014 young of the year figures for striped bass. The graph below shows the arithmetic mean numbers:

SB YOY 2014 GRAPH AM

The 2014 number is 11.02. This is sure to be a great number for the spin doctors. Looking at it positively this may be the best of the last three years, but in reality this is another very mediocre number and certainly not one that will allow continuing harvesting striped bass at current levels. One of our SF board members once said that a classic sign of a species in trouble is when both the lows and the highs of spawning success are in decline. The average of the last 3 years is now about 5.9 which is only slightly better than the levels experienced during the crash of the late 70s and 80s and just half of the long term average of 11.8 taken from 1957 through 2014.


Click here to read the full report.
By dbalon on 9/6/2014 5:34 PM
The August edition of the MVSA Newsletter is now out and packed with great information. It has all kinds of great info on the Agriculture fair from August. updates on the OB fishing pier, the MVSA In-House derby results and much more!

NOTE: Don't miss the impressive list and past history of the MV Derby accomplishments by MVSA members.

Click on the link below to download it.

Enjoy!

2014 August MVSA newsletter.docx
By dbalon on 9/2/2014 12:25 PM

Martha's Vineyard Magazine
By Rip Cunningham
September 2014

Where have all the Stripers gone?

The most important game fish in local waters is in deep trouble. The writer, a renowned fisherman and longtime conservation columnist for Salt Water Sportsman, thinks he knows why.

Scuttlebutt and bad news have the tendency to travel faster than good news or the real facts. That’s human nature and nowhere is it truer than around the docks, where all anglers become possessive about their favorite quarry. When something changes for striped bass, New England’s premier sport fish, and that change is perceived to be bad news, you can be sure the sky will soon be predicted to fall.

Read the full article by clicking here.

By dbalon on 8/25/2014 11:53 AM

We recently received an update from state environmental officials regarding the fishing pier. Plans have been underway to address some “enhancements” to the pier and while not coordinated much outside of their agency it is beginning to go through the formal approval process.  Club President Don Scarpone and David Nash have been meeting with Ross Kessler who is the Public Access Coordinator for the fisheries department and the lead on this part of the project.  Ross is very motivated to make some additions to the pier but we will have to see how the various approvals work out.  He has already gone to the town Conservation Commission and the Martha’s Vineyard Commission. Don and Dave went with Ross on an inspection of the pier and we talked about the design of some of the changes and where on the pier items could be placed.  

They received a “no approval necessary” to go ahead with the installation of some lifesaving rings as well as some fish nets.  We believe the nets donated by Steve Morris will be acceptable so it should just be matter of installing them now.

Not so easy is the addition of the other items on the list Ross brought to the commission.    The permit the state received contained a very specific restriction on lighting.  Reflectors are allowed but not lighting so Ross is working to identify lighting that is very, very low impact.  We suggested to Ross that he look for available lighting that would be solar powered and perhaps have a short battery life so the lights only serve a safety function rather than lighting things up too much.  What fisherman doesn’t carry a flashlight or headlamp anyhow?  We thought maybe the lighting would also have a benefit in attracting bait.   The filet station that many Surfcaster members have suggested is actually a greater problem because filet stations are specifically prohibited by state law.  Bait cutting stations are not prohibited however so that is what they are applying for and they have actually looked to Don for help in designing and installing once approval is obtained.    The bait cutting stations they are suggesting are, of course, smaller than a filet table and will have running water from a hand pump.   

We all met with the LUPC committee of the Commission last week and a meeting is scheduled for the full committee on Sept. 4.  Ross will have more detail on the lighting and bait cutting station parts of the proposal and what is likely to happen at that meeting is that the commission will vote to either require a full hearing or vote that the changes do not require a permit change.  The latter however is very unlikely and Ross is prepared to go through the formal hearing process but that would not likely occur until late fall.

By dbalon on 7/31/2014 8:26 PM

MV Times

July 30, 2014

The 18-acre property on the north shore of Martha’s Vineyard contains the remnants of an old brick factory.

The Trustees of Reservations (TTOR) announced Monday it had received the historic brickyard property in Chilmark, a gift from the estate of Flora Epstein. The 18-acre property on the north shore of Martha’s Vineyard is adjacent to TTOR’s Menemsha Hills Reservation property to which it will be joined by a future trail.

The red brick chimney, a familiar landmark for boaters, is all that remains of the former brick factory. The property is inaccessible to the public from North Road.

Read the entire article by clicking here.

By dbalon on 7/14/2014 1:14 PM

The book includes all 25 of Ray Ellis’s Derby paintings as well as stories about the Derby and the Vineyard.  Proceeds to benefit Derby Scholarship Program. Come down to Edgartwon Books and share in the excitement!

Here is the summary posted on the Edgartwon Bookstore website:

Summary below by Edgartown Bookstore
http://www.edgartownbooks.com/events/

Fact, Fiction or Food @ Five presents The Martha's Vineyard Striped Bass and Blue Fish Derby' Association's "An Amazing Story of the Vineyard's Derby"

Captain Ed Jerome presents his newly published book, "An Amazing Story of the Vineyard's Derby: Twenty-five Years of Paintings, History, and Fishing." 

Ed was elected president of the non-profit Derby corporation in the year of 1987 and he has been at it since. His life long friend Ray Ellis has been at his side through the years painting countless masterpieces, a career that has taken him to seven continents. Together, along with many other contributing authors,  they have created this historically brilliant book. 

Come out and meet Captain Ed Jerome and other authors and learn about the rich history of the Vineyard's Derby!

By dbalon on 7/8/2014 4:36 PM
There will be a fishing contest/beach cookout this coming Sat,  July 12, on East beach.  Lines in the water at 4:00PM and food will be served at 5:30PM.  Lure prize for the largest bluefish and bass landed.  The club will provide grill food.  Please bring along a salad or desert to share as well.  Don will have the new club t-shirts for sale at the outing.
By dbalon on 6/24/2014 1:35 PM
The official ribbon cutting ceremony for the Oak Bluffs fishing pier was held on June 19th, at 11:00 a.m. It has been a long process to get the pier off the ground, built and completed but it is ready for public use now. Special thanks to Dave Nash and everyone else involved in driving this approval process to completion. Everyone will get to enjoy their hard work for the future.

Come check it out and take a few casts. You never know, you might just catch the fish of a lifetime!

Thanks to Phil Horton for this picture of the ribbon cutting ceremony. Click on the link below.

Pier Ribbon Cutting.doc
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