“So 3 years ago my buddy Mark Wrabel invited me to this fishing derby … but I nearly died from a freak allergic reaction and ended up unable to go. The next September, my wife was due with my son and decided it best to stick on the mainland.

“So this past summer I was handed a copy of ‘The Big One’ and read it like a kid who got his latest copy of a Superman comic in the mailbox that day … and I was hooked.

“I showed up this September on the evening of the 2nd day of the 64th Derby having only learned how to surf cast a month before … within 20 minutes, I landed my first striper and couldn’t believe how incredible the experience was. That week I landed a dozen stripers, 3 Albies, and 1 freakin’ Blue that I was told could be caught ‘with a rope on a stick, they’re everywhere.’ No bonito, but hey, it’s only my first derby.

“During my stay, I fished with some of the greats: the immortal Shultz, Ranger Rick, Mark Wrabel, Clay and his wife, Peter Slikowski, and the phenom Keith McArt.

“On the Thursday Keith’s jeep broke down on the beach, I offered up the spot in my truck to get him out for stripers that night, and out for the albie run Friday AM. Mark Wrabel picked up the new starter in Vineyard Haven for him when making a run to the ferry terminal. This experience was one of the most incredible of my life … one that I hope to relive year after year.”