Island recreational anglers can now land fluke without breaking the law. The recreational season for fluke opened on Wednesday and the word along the shore is encouraging. Commercial fishermen have been dragging for fluke for weeks with positive results.

This is the first summer recreational fishermen were restricted from catching fluke at the start of the fishing season. They are pretty salty about it, but commercial fishermen have been dealing with openings and closings for decades.

Fishing tournaments seem to stick on the Vineyard. Invite a group of anglers together and hold a fishing derby and their fun tends to come around again, a year later. That is how the Martha’s Vineyard Striped Bass and Bluefish Derby was started by the chamber of commerce and they are now entering their 64th year.

New legislation will be filed in the state house this month making way for a state recreational saltwater fishing license. State Representative Tim Madden said he plans to cosponsor the legislation and that is a good idea for all local fishermen.

“The federal government is mandating that there be a recreational saltwater license. This one, a state version is better, because it keeps the money here,” Mr. Madden said.

Local fishermen landed more than 100,000 pounds of fluke this summer at Menemsha. The landings by 10 small draggers and about five handline fishermen represents one-seventh of all the landings made in the state. The state quota for fluke was 702,614 pounds.

The report on local landings came out of a state fisheries public hearing held in Tisbury on Monday afternoon.

Vineyard commercial fishermen scored a key win in the struggle keep them from being squeezed out of the groundfish industry yesterday when the New England Fishery Management Council voted to adopt the sector system, granting the Vineyard its own sector.

The vote came after three days of meeting in Portland, Me. The meeting was attended by a small group of Vineyard fishing activists.

Summer weather finally kicked in this week, with temperatures in the 80s. The ocean is still cool, and that is having a positive impact on fishing.

Ed (Bonito Eddie) Lepore called this week to say he had been out looking for bonito without result. And he knows of others who are equally frustrated. “The water is too cool, so the fish are late,” Mr. Lepore said.

An uninvited guest named Bill was the talk of the waterfront on Wednesday afternoon.

No, this was not former President Bill Clinton, for he is welcome.

The concern was Hurricane Bill, spinning in the Atlantic as a category four hurricane, more than a thousand miles away. While forecasters appear confident the storm will stay safely at sea through the coming weekend, the storm’s significant size and power still are of concern to local mariners with big or little boats.

Fish Story

Charles A. Bartholomy, a seasoned professional fishing captain and former syndicated outdoor columnist, presents Fish Story Extraordinary on Friday, July 17, at 4 p.m. at the Federated Church Parish House in Edgartown

Mr. Bartholomy combines corporate and political intrigue with an American CEO’s quest for success in Cuba’s annual Hemingway Blue Marlin Tournament in his latest book, The Blue.

Tomorrow, flyfishermen from around the Island and beyond will gather for the 18th annual Martha’s Vineyard Rod and Gun Club flyrod catch and release tournament. Registration is at the regional high school cafeteria from noon to 3 p.m. Entry fee is $35. Fishing begins at 7 p.m. and continues until 2 a.m. Sunday.

In years past as many as 200 fishermen have participated in the one-night contest and caught and released hundreds of striped bass.

The effects of climate change and commercial fishing on the marine ecosystem will be the focus of this year’s Menemsha Fisheries Development Fund’s series of programs at the Chilmark Public Library.