72-Inch Tarpon Caught and Released on Martha’s Vineyard – On The Water

From 12:01 a.m. on Sunday, September 15 until Saturday, October 19, life on Martha’s Vineyard will be much different. The annual MV Derby, which has taken place each autumn since 1946, began in the wee hours on Sunday morning, captivating the community as it does every year. For just over a month, local shore and boat anglers compete to catch the largest bluefish, bonito, and false albacore. Unfortunately for Rich Mann, Tony Dagostino, and Jared Strobie, silver kings are not on the eligible species list; the trio landed a 72-inch tarpon on Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday night.

This is not the first time a tarpon has been caught from shore around Cape Cod and the Islands, and it certainly won’t be the last. Just last summer, a land-based shark fisherman caught a 5-foot-long tarpon on the south side of Cape Cod. And, more recently, though distant from Cape, a Rhode Island surfcaster caught and released a tarpon of similar size after it ate a live eel intended for striped bass.

And it’s not just tarpon that appear to be slowly trickling north into Massachusetts waters. Less than a month ago, a 34-inch, 12-pound red drum was caught in the rips off Monomoy Island. Maybe someday down the road we’ll be sight-casting red drum and tarpon on the Brewster Flats? Not that that’s necessarily a good thing.

Whether it’s the warm, late-summer water temperatures that brought this tarpon to the Vineyard, or the above average presence of finger mullet around the upper Cape as of late, there seems to be an undeniably common trend in southern species (slowly) migrating into New England waters.

When contacted for comment, Strobie, who photographed Mann and Dagostino with the Vineyard tarpon, responded, “Can we do a little later? Bones (bonito) just started breaking.” His response is a testament to the dedication of anglers participating in the MV Derby and, to be honest, I wouldn’t blame them if they can’t find the words to describe what it feels like to reel in such a fish with two feet on New England sand.

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