Each year, MassWildlife recognizes anglers who catch exceptional freshwater fish in waters open to the public. If you submit the largest or longest fish in an eligible species category, you will get a gold pin and a plaque, and you’ll also be honored in a MassWildlife awards event.
Log onto https://www.mass.gov/service-details/gold-pin-winners to see all of the 2020 winners in the Adult Catch & Keep, Youth Catch & Keep and Catch & Release categories. You will notice that there were 13 gold pins awarded to local or out-of-area anglers who caught fish out of local waters.
Usually, MassWildlife has a ceremony which is held at the MassWildlife Field Headquarters in Westborough, MA, and it presents gold pins and plaques to the lucky anglers commemorating their great feats. This year, due to COVID-19, they are having everyone send in pictures and then do an online ceremony.
Adult Catch and Keep local gold pin winners
A note from MassWildlife: Catch-and-keep affidavits for fish caught when this category was closed (March 16, 2020 – July 6, 2020 due to COVID-19) that meet the requirements will be issued bronze pins; however, these entries will not be eligible for a gold pin.
Brook Trout – 4 lbs 5 oz caught out of Stockbridge Bowl by Joshua Christman of Pittsfield
Carp – 21 lbs 1 oz caught out of Pontoosuc Lake by Brandon Murray of Pittsfield
Carp – 21 lbs 1 oz caught out of Laurel Lake by Joshua Christman
Northern Pike – 27 lbs 11 oz out of Lake Buel by Heather Newalu of Agawam
Smallmouth Bass – 5 lbs 11 oz out of Onota Lake by Joshua Christman
Sunfish – 1 lb 7 oz out of Richmond Pond by Joshua Christman
Tiger Trout – 2 lbs 12 oz out of Onota Lake by Crystal Taylor of Pittsfield
There was a new state record in the Catch and Keep category. It was a 9 lbs 10 oz Bowfin out of Taunton River in Taunton by Andrew Langley of Peabody
Youth Catch and Keep local gold pin winners
Crappie – 1 lb 3 oz out of Ashmere Lake by Gabriel Christman of Pittsfield
Smallmouth Bass – 4 lbs 6 oz out of Onota Lake by Scout McKnight of Peru
Sunfish – 1 lb 2 oz out of Richmond Pond by Alice Christman of Pittsfield
Tiger Trout – 1 lb 1 oz out of Goose Pond by Alice Christman
White Perch – 1 lb 5 oz out of Pontoosuc Lake by Gabriel Christman
Catch & Release local gold pin winners
Northern Pike – 43 inches out of Onota Lake by Neil Daigneault of Holyoke
There were eight new state records in the Catch & Release category last year as follows: Brown Trout – 32 inches out of Littleville Reservoir in Huntington by David Desimone of Amherst; Chain Pickerel – 28.75 inches out of Leverett Pond, Leverett by David Desimone; Channel Catfish – 34.50 inches out Connecticut River in Easthampton by Jason Montanez of Springfield; Channel Catfish – 34.50 inches out of Connecticut River, Hatfield by Kenneth Langdon of Montague; Crappie – 18.25 inches out of Putnamville Reservoir, Danvers by Thomas Melanson of Danvers; Lake Trout – 34 inches out of Wachusett Reservoir by David Desimone; Smallmouth Bass – 23.50 inches out of Wachusett Reservoir by Zachary Aquino of Attlesboro; Tiger Trout – 23.00 inches out of Westfield River in Russell by David Desimone.
Please note that the Catch & Release category is still a relative new category and there will be fairly frequent state records reset for a while yet.
Anglers of the Year
The local Adult Catch & Keep Angler of the Year winner was Joshua Christman. The Youth Catch & Keep Angler of the Year winner was Philip Prieus of South Hadley. There was a tie for the Catch & Release Angler of the Year. The winners were Andrew Langley of Peabody and David Desimone of Amherst.
Eight of the above listed 13 gold pin fish were caught by Joshua Christman, his 7 year old daughter Alice or his 5 year old son Gabriel. And, of course Joshua was named an angler of the year. Wow! Congratulations.
Readers may recall that Alice was the Youth Catch & Keep Angler of the Year in 2019, having been awarded 16 bronze or gold pins out of 22 species included in the program. Her picture is featured on page 17 of the 2021 Mass Official Freshwater fishing, hunting and trapping laws. That’s her on the top right- hand corner.
2021 Youth Turkey Hunt
The Youth Turkey Hunt Program introduces youth to the world of hunting. After completing program requirements, young adults (aged 12-17) can hunt on a special day (this year it is April 24) with a licensed adult hunter. The youth turkey hunt seminar provides hunters with specialized turkey hunting training and reinforces concepts from Basic Hunter Education. Young hunters will have the opportunity to practice all aspects of a safe hunt.
This year’s Youth Turkey Hunt Program will be different from previous years. Changes have been made to ensure the safety of volunteers and youth participants in accordance with COVID-19 guidelines. The traditional seminar has been broken into 2 parts with online options and smaller in-person class sizes. All new participants are required to complete both parts of the seminar. If you have a youth who wants to participate in the 2021 Youth Turkey Hunt Day, click onto the 2021 Youth Turkey Hunt | Mass.gov page for all the details. There are pages of instructions and information to participate in this program. Don’t delay! The online seminars begin on March 16 and run into April.
So far only Lee Sportsmen’s Association has been listed as participating in the program. Other club locations and dates have not been finalized, so check back in March for the full list of club dates and times.
To participate in the youth turkey hunt, new participants must be 12-17 years of age and fulfill the following:
1.Graduate from a Basic Hunter Education Course (before the day of the hunt). As of this date, all Basic Hunting Courses are being held at the MassWildlife Headquarters in Westborough, and unfortunately all the courses scheduled there through April have already been filled up. Be sure to keep checking for new courses.
2.Obtain a firearms identification (FID) card. This step is only required if the participant will be 15-17 years of age on the day of the youth turkey hunt and wishes to hunt with a shotgun.
3.Submit the New Participant Registration Form. This form registers the new participant in the mandatory youth turkey hunt online seminar and field day.
More Information Sessions
Over the last couple of weeks, I have been inundated by phone calls, emails and face to face questions regarding the proposed outdoor sporting fee increases. It was surprising how many people lacked information on how we got to this point as well as MassWildlife’s lack of authority to change certain hot button items such as Sunday hunting, crossbow regulations, etc.
Fortunately, MassWildlife has scheduled 3 additional information sessions in March about the proposed license increase. Now is your chance to ask questions, make comments, and learn more about its programs, how it is funded, and why a license increase is needed by attending a virtual information session. The dates and times are as follows:
Tuesday, March 9 at 6:30 PM, Wednesday, March 17 at 6:30 PM and Thursday, March 25 at 6:30 PM.
Click onto: http://mass.gov/info-details/masswildlife-funding and there, you will find the zoom links to the new information sessions and important background information about MassWildlife’s programs, its funding, and the proposed new license fees. You owe it to yourselves to attend these information sessions and get your questions answered.
Incidentally, Jason Zimmer, DFW District Supervisor Southeast Wildlife District Massachusetts is on a podcast wherein he discusses this topic among other things. He discusses some of the common misunderstandings surrounding regulations vs statues. You can listen to the podcast on You Tube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnTAoU_pbD57UPTeHCEyoKg) or the podcast site (HuntSuburbia). I listened to the podcast on HuntSuburbia and found it very informative. Allow yourself some time for it is about 1:45 hours long. Most of the information which deals with the fee increases is on the first half hour of the podcast, but all of the other subject matter was so interesting I listened to the whole thing.