The Vermont Master Angler Program Vermont’s wealth of waters and abundant fish populations provide many opportunities to experience outstanding fishing. The Vermont The diverse and abundant sport Master Angler Program recognizes the achievements of anglers who fishing opportunities enjoyed each catch trophy-sized fish from Vermont waters, and celebrates the clean year by anglers across Vermont are a water and healthy habitats that allow these fish to survive and grow to direct result of fisheries management such exceptional sizes. and restoration activities conducted by the Vermont Fish & Wildlife The Master Angler program is a length-based program that sets Department. These activities are “trophy sized” benchmarks for 33 eligible fish species. While these funded through fishing licenses and trophy sized fish are a challenge to catch, they are attainable for the Federal Aid in Sport Fish anglers that develop the necessary knowledge and skills. Restoration Program with money generated by user purchases of The Master Angler program encourages anglers to target species that fishing equipment and motor boat haven’t traditionally been considered sport fish. To do so, they need to fuels. The department’s fisheries grow as anglers and improve their knowledge of fish habitat, behavior, management and restoration and feeding preferences and develop new skills required to target and projects help maintain and restore catch these species. healthy aquatic ecosystems, clean water, and good habitat, benefitting anglers by supporting and providing Award Categories quality sport and recreational fishing opportunities across Vermont. The program offers two award categories for adults and youths: Trophy Angler: Anglers catching a fish exceeding the minimum qualifying length in any of the 33 species categories receive a certificate commemorating their catch. Their names and catches are also included in the Vermont Master Angler Annual Report, posted annually on the Vermont Fish & Wildlife website. Master Angler: Anglers demonstrating the skill necessary to catch multiple species that all exceed the minimum qualifying lengths, in the same calendar year, are recognized as “Vermont Master Anglers” and receive a lapel pin at the end of the year. To qualify for the annual Vermont Master Angler Pin, an individual angler must submit qualifying entries for 5 or more species within a calendar year. Meet the authors… 1 Eligible Species and Qualifying Lengths Minimum Fish Species Minimum Qualifying Lengths Fish Species Qualifying Lengths Adult Youth American Eel 24" 19" Adult Youth American Shad 22" 18" Northern Pike 36" 30" Bass, Largemouth 20" 18" Perch, White 13" 11" Bass, Rock 10" 8" Perch, Yellow 13" 11" Bass, Smallmouth 19" 17" Pickerel, Chain 24" 19" Bluegill 9" 8" Pike-Pickerel Hybrid 30" 24" Bowfin 28" 23" Pumpkinseed Sunfish 9" 8" Bullhead 14" 12" Salmon, Landlocked Atlantic 24" 20" Burbot 22" 18" Smelt, Rainbow 9" 8" Carp 34" 27" Sucker, Redhorse 21" 17" Channel Catfish 30" 24" Sucker, White & Longnose 19" 16" Cisco (Lake Herring) 13" 11" Trout, Brook 15" 13" Crappie, Black & White 13" 11" Trout, Brown 22" 18" Fallfish 15" 12" Trout, Lake 30" 25" Freshwater Drum 26" 21" Trout, Rainbow 23" 19" Gar, Longnose 36" 30" Walleye 25" 20" Muskellunge 36” 30” Whitefish, Lake 22" 18" 2019 – By the Numbers 2019 was the tenth year of this popular program, and it had the seventh highest number of approved entries at 725. Overall participation (the number of individual anglers that submitted entries) was sixth highest overall, at 237. Despite lower participation this year, 2019 saw the most Master Angler award recipients in the history of the program at 49. For more details, see Participation Trends, next page. While 95% (690) of the entries were submitted by Vermont anglers, the program also saw participation by non-resident anglers from 10 other states or provinces: Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Pennsylvania, Quebec, Texas, and Virginia. 2 2019 Trophy Fish Entries A total of 725 trophy fish entries from 237 anglers were approved in 2018: • 479 entries from 158 adult anglers (36 Master Angler award recipients) • 246 entries from 63 youth anglers (13 Master Angler award recipients) Participation Trends Number of Entries Approved for Adult and Youth Anglers Year # Approved Entries Adult Youth 2010 200 164 36 2011 488 346 142 2012 799 520 279 2013 686 477 209 2014 790 486 304 2015 734 475 259 2016 747 496 251 2017 827 553 274 2018 798 565 233 2019 725 479 246 Number of Unique Anglers by Category Number of Master Angler Pins Awarded Year Adult Youth Total Year Adult Youth Total 2010 72 19 91 2010 6 2 8 2011 134 48 182 2011 13 8 21 2012 190 99 289 2012 32 13 45 2013 166 61 227 2013 24 12 36 2014 165 63 228 2014 23 12 35 2015 153 64 217 2015 25 10 35 2016 149 59 208 2016 30 17 47 2017 171 78 249 2017 35 12 47 2018 167 69 236 2018 33 11 44 2019 158 63 220 2019 36 13 49 3 Species Breakdown Entries submitted to the Vermont Master Angler Program in 2019 were a testament to the wide variety of fish species and the diversity of angling opportunities available in the state. Of the 33 fish species eligible for entry in the program, only four (American shad, cisco, muskellunge, and pike-pickerel hybrid) had no entries. Species # Entries Species # Entries Species # Entries Smallmouth Bass 83 White Perch 31 American Eel 10 Largemouth Bass 64 Bullhead 30 Longnose Gar 10 Pumpkinseed Sunfish 52 Crappie 23 Redhorse Sucker 10 Bluegill 48 Freshwater Drum 18 Brook Trout 8 Yellow Perch 47 Carp 17 Landlocked Salmon 8 Rock Bass 45 Bowfin 16 Rainbow Trout 5 Lake Trout 42 Walleye 16 Burbot 1 Chain Pickerel 33 Brown Trout 14 Lake Whitefish 1 Northern Pike 33 Channel Catfish 14 Rainbow Smelt 1 White Sucker 32 Fallfish 13 Total Entries 725 Catch & Release The Vermont Master Angler Program accepts and encourages entries for caught-and-released fish. In 2019, 489 of the 725 (67%) trophy fish that were entered were released to grow bigger and be caught another day! There were 236 entered fish (33%) that were harvested. Catch and release rates have remained remarkably consistent over the life of the program! Total Number # Harvested # Released Year of Fish Entered (% Harvest) (% Release) 2019 725 236 (33%) 489 (67%) 2018 798 260 (33%) 538 (67%) 2017 827 276 (33%) 551 (67%) 2016 747 285 (38%) 462 (62%) 2015 734 308 (42%) 426 (58%) 2014 790 311 (39%) 479 (61%) 2013 686 251 (37%) 435 (63%) 2012 799 324 (41%) 475 (59%) 2011 488 173 (35%) 315 (65%) 2010 200 64 (32%) 136 (68%) Andrew Massari of Whitingham, VT with one of the largest brown trout ever entered into the Master Angler Program, measuring 31” and weighing 16-lbs. Andrew released the fish. 4 Happy Angler Gallery! To See More Great Master Angler Photos, Visit the Vermont Master Angler Photo Gallery: https://anrweb.vt.gov/FWD/FW/MasterAnglerSearch.aspx 5 Locations – Where the Big Ones Were Caught Similar to the diversity of fish species seen in the 2019 entries, the waters from which trophy fish were caught was also varied. Trophy fish entries were received from 90 different waters around the state. As in the past, the most entries came from Lake Champlain. The following is a list of waters where 5 or more of the 725 entries were caught. 605 (83%) of the total number of entries came from these 19 waters: Waterbody Entries Entries Approved by Species Smallmouth Bass (36) Chain Pickerel (15) Crappie (9) Lake Trout (36) Carp (13) Longnose Gar (7) Largemouth Bass (31) Bluegill (12) American Eel (6) White Perch (24) Freshwater Drum (11) Landlocked Salmon (6) Lake Champlain 331 Pumpkinseed Sunfish (24) Walleye (11) Brown Trout (3) Yellow Perch (23) Bullhead (10) Rainbow Trout (2) Northern Pike (17) Channel Catfish (9) Burbot (1) Bowfin (15) Rock Bass (9) Lake Whitefish (1) Bluegill (11) Yellow Perch (3) Chain Pickerel (1) Connecticut River Crappie (7) Largemouth Bass (2) Channel Catfish (1) 45 Fallfish (6) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (2) Smallmouth Bass (1) (Main Stem) Northern Pike (3) Walleye (2) White Perch (1) Rock Bass (3) Brown Trout (1) White Sucker (1) Smallmouth Bass (12) Redhorse Sucker (2) Rock Bass (6) White Sucker (2) Crappie (1) Otter Creek 40 Freshwater Drum (5) American Eel (1) Walleye (1) Carp (4) Bowfin (1) White Perch (1) Bullhead (3) Channel Catfish (1) Bullhead (8) Smallmouth Bass (5) Winooski River 33 White Sucker (8) American Eel (2) Freshwater Drum (1) Redhorse Sucker (7) Fallfish (2) Lake Trout (4) White Perch (3) Rock Bass (2) Northern Pike (3) Yellow Perch (3) L. Memphremagog 21 Smallmouth Bass (1) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (3) Chain Pickerel (2) Smallmouth Bass (6) Freshwater Drum (1) Walleye (1) Lamoille River 16 Fallfish (2) Redhorse Sucker (1) White Perch (1) Longnose Gar (2) Rock Bass (1) White Sucker (1) White Sucker (7) American Eel (1) Rainbow Trout (1) Lewis Creek 15 Smallmouth Bass (6) Rock Bass (10) Bluegill (1) Chain Pickerel (1) Echo Lake (Plymouth) 14 Pumpkinseed (2) Bullhead (6) Yellow Perch (2) Rock Bass (1) Lake Carmi 13 Pumpkinseed Sunfish (3) Northern Pike (1) Yellow Perch (5) Smallmouth Bass (2) Rock Bass (1) Lake Morey 13 Bluegill (4) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (1) Connecticut River 12 Bluegill (8) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (4) (Retreat Meadows) Largemouth Bass (4) Smallmouth Bass (2) Rainbow Smelt (1) Lake Bomoseen 9 Rock Bass (2) Berlin Pond 7 Largemouth Bass (3) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (3) Yellow Perch (1) Fallfish (2) Smallmouth Bass (2) Brown Trout (1) Harriman Reservoir 7 Rock Bass (2) Monkton Pond 7 Largemouth Bass (4) Pumpkinseed (2) Northern Pike (1) Lake Hortonia 6 Largemouth