Vermont Master Angler Program 2017 Annual Report The Vermont Master Angler Program Vermont’s wealth of waters and abundant fish populations provide many opportunities to experience outstanding fishing. The Vermont THE VERMONT MASTER Master Angler Program recognizes the achievements of anglers who ANGLER PROGRAM catch trophy‐sized fish from Vermont waters and celebrates the fishes’ HIGHLIGHTS THE DIVERSITY OF accomplishments in surviving and growing to such exceptional sizes. FISH SPECIES IN VERMONT WATERS THAT OFFER UNIQUE The Master Angler program is a length‐based program that sets “trophy AND CHALLENGING ANGLING sized” benchmarks for 33 eligible fish species. While these trophy sized OPPORTUNITIES. fish are a challenge to catch, they are attainable for anglers that develop the necessary knowledge and skills. The Master Angler program encourages anglers to target species that haven’t traditionally been considered sport fish. To do so, they need to grow as anglers and improve their knowledge of fish habitat, behavior, and feeding preferences and develop new skills required to target and catch these species. Award Categories 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… Page 1 of 48 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" 2017 – By the Numbers 2017 was the eighth year of this popular program, and it had the highest number of entries received at 827. Overall participation (the number of individual anglers that submitted entries) was second highest overall, at 249 (behind 2012 when 289 different anglers participated). For more details, see Participation Trends, next page. While 96% (797) of the entries were submitted by Vermont anglers, the program also saw participation by non‐resident anglers from 11 other states: Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington state. Page 2 of 48 2017 Trophy Fish Entries A total of 827 trophy fish entries from 249 anglers were approved in 2017: 553 entries from 171 adult anglers (35 Master Angler award recipients) 274 entries from 78 youth anglers (12 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 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 Page 3 of 48 The Master Angler Program continues to appeal to anglers, adult and youth alike; however there appears to be a large turnover rate in participation. In recent years, slightly more than 50% of the adults and youth participating in the program each year are doing so for the first time ever. In 2017, 68% of the participating youth anglers were new to the program, while 49% of adults were first timers. At the same time, this also means that nearly half of the anglers that participated in previous years do not continue, or they “drop out” of the program, at least temporarily. The Master Angler Program offers as many personal challenges as anglers choose to take on, and the Department of Fish and Wildlife encourages participants to seek out opportunities to target different species and fish on different waterbodies. Learning to fish for new and different fish species on unfamiliar waters is challenging and exciting and encourages anglers to develop new skills and techniques, which adds to the excitement and enjoyment of the fishing experience. Youth Participants Adult Participants Year Total # # New % New Total # # New % New 2010 19 19 100% 72 72 100% 2011 48 42 88% 134 109 81% 2012 99 82 83% 190 131 69% 2013 61 33 54% 166 101 61% 2014 63 34 54% 165 87 53% 2015 64 36 56% 153 80 52% 2016 59 38 64% 149 80 54% 2017 78 53 68% 171 83 49% Species Breakdown Entries submitted to the Vermont Master Angler Program in 2017 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 one – rainbow smelt – had no entries. Species # Entries Species # Entries Species # Entries Smallmouth Bass 94 Chain Pickerel 31 Rainbow Trout 8 Largemouth Bass 80 Crappie 26 Channel Catfish 6 Pumpkinseed Sunfish 60 Bowfin 23 Longnose Gar 4 Bluegill 56 Landlocked Salmon 23 Brook Trout 3 Yellow Perch 56 Fallfish 22 Cisco (Lake Herring) 3 Rock Bass 52 Brown Trout 20 Pike‐Pickerel Hybrid 3 Northern Pike 46 White Sucker 16 Burbot 2 Lake Trout 40 American Eel 15 Lake Whitefish 2 Bullhead 36 Walleye 15 American Shad 1 White Perch 33 Carp 9 Muskellunge 1 Freshwater Drum 32 Redhorse Sucker 9 Total Entries 827 Page 4 of 48 Catch & Release The Vermont Master Angler Program accepts and encourages entries for caught‐and‐released fish. In 2017, 551 of the 827 (67%) trophy fish that were entered were released to grow bigger and be caught another day! There were 276 entered fish (33%) that were harvested. To See More Great Master Angler Photos, Visit the Vermont Master Angler Photo Gallery: https://anrweb.vt.gov/FWD/FW/MasterAnglerSearch.aspx Page 5 of 48 Locations – Where the Big Ones Were Caught Similar to the diversity of fish species seen in the 2017 entries, the waters from which trophy fish were caught was also varied. Trophy fish entries were received from 81 different waters around the state. As in the past, the most entries came from Lake Champlain. The following is a list of waters where 6 or more of the 827 entries were caught. 684 (83%) of the total number of entries came from these 17 waters: Waterbody Entries Entries Approved by Species Smallmouth Bass (45) Crappie (14) Pike‐Pickerel Hybrid (3) Lake Trout (36) Freshwater Drum (14) Carp (2) Largemouth Bass (35) Bullhead (12) Lake Whitefish (2) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (32) American Eel (9) Longnose Gar (2) Northern Pike (23) Walleye (9) Burbot (1) Lake Champlain 360 Bowfin (21) Bluegill (8) Fallfish (1) White Perch (21) Channel Catfish (6) Muskellunge (1) Yellow Perch (19) Rock Bass (5) Rainbow Trout (1) Chain Pickerel (15) Brown Trout (3) Redhorse Sucker (1) Landlocked Atlantic Salmon (15) Cisco (Lake Herring) (3) White Sucker (1) Freshwater Drum (17) Fallfish (5) Brown Trout (1) Rock Bass (13) Northern Pike (5) Largemouth Bass (1) White Perch (10) Smallmouth Bass (5) Longnose Gar (1) Otter Creek 83 Carp (7) Bowfin (2) Yellow Perch (1) American Eel (5) Redhorse Sucker (2) White Sucker (1) Bullhead (5) Bluegill (1) Walleye (1) Rock Bass (9) Chain Pickerel (2) American Shad (1) Bluegill (5) Connecticut River Fallfish (2) Brown Trout (1) Northern Pike (5) 38 Pumpkinseed Sunfish (2) Crappie (1) (Main Stem) Bullhead (4) Smallmouth Bass (2) Walleye (1) Largemouth Bass (3) Rock Bass (5) Lake Trout (3) Yellow Perch (2) Landlocked Atlantic Salmon (4) Smallmouth Bass (3) Brown Trout (1) L. Memphremagog 27 Chain Pickerel (3) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (2) Largemouth Bass (1) Northern Pike (3) Connecticut River Bluegill (20) 24 Pumpkinseed Sunfish (1) Rock Bass (1) (Retreat Meadows) Yellow Perch (2) Redhorse Sucker (5) Smallmouth Bass (2) Brown Trout (1) Bullhead (3) White Perch (2) Land. Atlantic Salmon (1) Winooski River 24 Fallfish (2) White Sucker (2) Northern Pike (1) Rainbow Trout (2) Walleye (2) Yellow Perch (1) Bluegill (6) Brown Trout (4) Northern Pike (1) Lake Bomoseen 20 Largemouth Bass (5) Smallmouth Bass (3) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (1) Bluegill (8) Smallmouth Bass (3) White Sucker (1) Lake Morey 20 Yellow Perch (7) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (1) Bullhead (5) Northern Pike (2) Smallmouth Bass (1) Pumpkinseed Sunfish (4) Lake Carmi 18 Rock Bass (1) Walleye (1) Yellow Perch (4) Monkton Pond 12 Largemouth Bass (9) Crappie (2) Bullhead (1) Stiles Pond 11 Bullhead