A Forbes Best Book of the Year

A Popular Mechanics Best Book of the Year

“Madcap . . . Essential reading . . . A classic fish tale and then some.”—The Boston Globe

“A roaring account … The Big One is a fun, two-fisted read.”—Cape Cod Times

On Martha’s Vineyard, guys have been known to take saltwater fishing to irrational extremes. Catching bluefish from a helicopter. Tossing M-80s overboard to scare off rivals. Riding out lightning storms in little boats. It figures that the island’s annual saltwater fishing tournament is not your standard two-bit weekend affair.

The Big One takes you inside five sleep-deprived weeks at the Vineyard’s Striped Bass & Bluefish Derby, the most celebrated striper fishing contest anywhere. For its hardcore devotees—zealous, addicted, borderline obsessive-compulsive—winning the derby is like slipping into the green jacket at the Masters, and guys go to great lengths to climb the leaderboard: scouting the beach with snorkeling gear, passing up shuteye like cramming undergrads, stuffing their catch before stopping by the weigh station.

The setting for all this action is the picturesque beach resort first propelled into the national consciousness when Ted Kennedy drove off the bridge in Chappaquiddick 40 years ago. Martha’s Vineyard is the backdrop for Jaws, birthplace of The Black Dog empire, vacation spot for the Clintons, summer home for the likes of Meg Ryan and David Letterman, and final resting place for John Belushi and JFK Jr.

But my book introduces you to a different side of the place, and a different bunch of islanders. It’s a story of Martha’s Vineyard after the glitterati go home.

So welcome, and thanks for stopping by. Wade through this site to learn more about the book and its memorable characters. Please check back every once in a while: I’m blogging here a bit about the Vineyard and the derby. And don’t forget to share your derby fishing tales and photographs: I’ll post the most entertaining ones here.