This year marks the 39^th anniversary of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife's Skillful Angler Program. For almost four decades the Division has been recognizing anglers who catch fish of "not quite record" size but large enough to have tested the angler's skill and be worthy of recognition in each of the freshwater and marine species categories.

The Skillful Angler Program is designed to supplement the New Jersey State Record Fish Program. Significant changes were made in January of 2015. Although the program's three divisions remained the same (Adult, Junior, and Catch and Release), there are now categories creating more opportunities for qualifying fish to earn the angler a series of personalized certificates:

• Specialist Angler - catch five qualifying fish of the same species within one year
• Master Angler - catch five qualifying fish of five different species (saltwater and/or freshwater) within one year
• Elite Angler - catch 10 or more qualifying fish of 10 different species (saltwater and/or freshwater) within one year
• First Fish - catch your first fish of any species

FRESHWATER

• Trout Slam - catch one each of rainbow, brook and brown trout
• Bass Slam - catch one each of small and largemouth bass
• Panfish Slam - catch one each of sunfish, crappie and yellow perch

• Inshore Slam I - catch one each of a qualifying Striped Bass, Bluefish and Fluke within one calendar year
• Inshore Slam II - catch one each of a qualifying Black Sea Bass, Tautog and Weakfish within one calendar year
• Offshore Pelagics Slam - catch one each of a qualifying Bluefin Tuna, Bigeye Tuna, Yellowfin Tuna and Dolphin within one calendar year
• Marlin Slam- catch one each of a qualifying White and Blue Marlin within one calendar year

INTERESTING FACTS:

The total number of applications received in 2021 was 174 applications which is a 58% increase from 2020 which had just 110 applications . The most frequently entered species by skillful anglers in 2021 (junior, adult, and catch and release categories combined) were Crappie with 24 applications, followed by Sunfish with 21 applications. Christopher Pereira led anglers with 23 applications submitted followed by Frank Ruczynski with 18 applications submitted. Christopher Pereira also led anglers with 10 different species submitted with Duane Chapman submitting 8 different species.

The following is a breakdown of applications received per species (by categories):

FRESHWATER:

ADULT
Bullhead Catfish (1) and Rainbow Trout (1)

CATCH AND RELEASE
Atlantic Landlocked Salmon (2), Bowfin (2), Bullhead Catfish (9), Common Carp (3), Chain Pickerel (19), Crappie (24), Hybrid Striped Bass (16), Lake Trout (1), Largemouth Bass (11), Muskellunge (2), Northern Pike (2), Rainbow Trout (2), Smallmouth Bass (12), Striped Bass (1), Sunfish (21), Walleye (14), White Perch (2), Yellow Perch (12)

JUNIOR
Common Carp (1) and Largemouth Bass (1)

SALTWATER:

CATCH AND RELEASE
Black Drum (1), Bluefish (2), Kingfish (1), Striped Bass (1)

The Catch and Release Category had the greatest number of entries with 160 applications, followed by the First Fish Category with 10 applications. Adult and Junior categories both had 2 applications each. Freshwater applications remain the most popular with 169 applications while Saltwater only received 5 applications.

• First Fish: Alexander Berlin, Paislee Beswick, Eli Cadoff, Hannah Cameron, Carter Helle, Brandon Hemple, Ross Reibarkh, Desirae Schafer, Jackson Schoenig, and Edwin Torres
• Specialist Angler: Duane Chapman, Alex Lowe, Christopher Pereira (2), Christopher Reutlinger, and Frank Ruczynski (2)
• Master Angler: Duane Chapman, Christopher Pereira, and Frank Ruczynski
• Elite Angler: Duane Chapman, Christopher Pereira, and Frank Ruczynski
• Bass Slam: Shawn Aughey, Russell Beverly, Duane Chapman, Christopher Pereira, and Arek Sokol
• Panfish Slam: Christopher Pereira and Christopher Reno

FRESHWATER:

ADULT CATEGORY:

Bullhead Catfish: 2lbs 6oz. caught by Richard Golom of Brick, New Jersey on June 12th. Richard was fishing from his boat on Manasquan Reservoir when he landed the fish at 12:30 PM. Five-pound test was used with a 5 weight Fly rod and reel with a wet fly as the lure. The catfish measured 19 inches long with a girth of 12.50 inches.

JUNIOR CATEGORY:

Common Carp: 21lbs 9oz. caught by Noah Younger of West Orange on June 20th. Noah was fishing from his boat on the Passaic River when he landed the fish at 5:20 PM. Forty-pound test braided line was used with a Quantum medium-heavy casting rod and an Abu Garcia Revo baitcasting reel with a LIVETARGET 3.5"� Bluegill lure. The carp measured 33.50 inches long with a girth of 22.25 inches.

Largemouth Bass: 7lbs 1oz. caught by Aidan Danubio of Wayne on March 21st. Aidan was fishing from his boat on Packanack Lake when he landed the fish at 2:08 PM. Forty-pound test braided line was used with a Quantam medium-heavy casting rod and an Abu Garcia Revo baitcasting reel with a LIVETARGET 3.5"� Bluegill lure. The bass measured 22 inches long with a girth of 15 inche

CATCH AND RELEASE CATEGORY:

Bowfin: 26" caught by Nicholas Zemlachenko of Phillipsburg on August 2nd. Nicholas was fishing Mantua Creek from shore when he landed the fish at 6:30PM. Thirty-pound test braid was used with a spinning rod and reel with a chunk of cut bait.

Bullhead Catfish: 17" caught by Joel Prussin of Lafayette on August 5th. Joel was fishing from shore on Ryker Lake when he landed the fish at 10:00 AM. Thirty-pound test was used with an Ugly Stick spinning rod paired with a Shimano spinning reel with a hot dog as bait.

Common Carp: 36" caught by Michael Paternostro of Pequannock on June 13th. Michael was fishing from shore at Pompton Lake when he landed the fish at 8:40 AM. Twenty-pound test was used with an Ugly Stick spinning rod paired with an Okuma spinning reel with a Live System boillie as bait.

Chain Pickerel: 25.75" caught by Duane Chapman of Lake Hopatcong on April 16th. Duane was fishing from his boat on Canistear Reservoir when he landed the fish at 3:30 PM. Ten-pound test line was used with a Fenwick rod paired with a Pflueger reel while using a jerkbait.

Crappie: 16" caught by Christopher Reno of Toms River on June 23rd. Christopher was fishing from his kayak on Manasquan Reservoir when he landed the fish at 5:00 PM. Fifteen-pound braid was used with a Duckett Ghost rod paired with a Penn reel.

Lake Trout: 31.50" caught by Duane Chapman of Lake Hopatcong on March 14th. Duane was fishing from his boat on Merrill Creek Reservoir when he landed the fish at 3:00 PM. Fifteen-pound test was used with a Fenwick rod paired with a Pflueger reel while using a blade bait.

Largemouth Bass: 22.50" caught by Dominick Cataline of Wayne on April 13th. Dominick was fishing from shore at Shepherd Lake when he landed the fish at 12:27 PM. Ten-pound braid was used with a Tsunami casting rod paired with a Quantum casting reel while using a crawfish jig.

Muskellunge: 50" caught by Christopher Pereira of Hopatcong on April 7th. Chris was fishing from his boat on Furnace Lake when he landed the fish at 5:30 PM. Fifty-pound braid was used with a Tsunami rod paired with a Penn reel while using a swimbait

Northern Pike: 37" caught by Justin Lerner of Basking Ridge on May 22nd. Justin was wading the Passaic River when he landed the fish at 3:30 PM. Thirty-pound braid was used with a St. Croix rod paired with a Penn reel while using a spinnerbait.

Rainbow Trout: 23.50" caught by Joel Prussin of Lafayette on October 24th. Joel was fishing the Paulinskill River from shore when he landed the fish at 9:30 AM. Eight-pound mono was used with an Ugly Stick spinning rod paired with a Mitchell spinning reel while fishing with a Gold #2 Mepps Aglia spinner.

Salmon, Atlantic Landlocked: 22.25" caught by Christopher Pereira of Hopatcong on March 27th. Chris was fishing Merrill Creek Reservoir from his boat when he landed the fish at 6:00 PM. Six-pound test was used with a Fenwick rod paired with a Pflueger reel while fishing with a jig.

Smallmouth Bass: 21.50" caught by Luke LeDrappier of Berkley Heights on October 9th. Luke was fishing Merrill Creek Reservoir from his boat when he landed the fish at 11:47 AM. Twelve–pound test was used with an Ugly Stick rod paired with a Cabelas reel while fishing with a keitech rigged on a jighead.

Striped Bass Hybrid: 26.13" caught by Luke LeDrappier of Berkley Heights on November 6th. Luke was fishing Lake Hopatcong from his boat when he landed the fish at 10:00 AM. Ten-pound test was used with an Ugly Stick rod paired with a Penn reel while fishing with chicken liver.

Sunfish: 11" caught by Xavier F. Starrs of Columbia on October 1st. Xavier was fishing Lake Genevieve from his boat when he landed the fish at 4:42 PM. Twelve-pound test was used with a Shakespeare Durango spinning rod paired with a Piscifun Red-2000 Series spinning reel while fishing with a shad colored Strike King Pro Model Series 5XD Crankbait.

Walleye: 28" caught by Nick Massa of Chatham on April 1st. Nick was fishing the Raritan River from shore when he landed the fish at 6:45 PM. Four-pound test was used with an Ultralight Ugly Stick spinning rod paired with a Daiwa Ballistic spinning reel while fishing with a soft plastic.

White Perch: 14.75" caught by Frank Ruczynski of Bridgeton on December 14th. Frank was fishing Cedarville Lake from his Kayak when he landed the fish at 11:50 AM. Six-pound test was used with a Shimano rod paired with a Shimano reel while fishing with a Berkley Powerboat Power Minnow rigged on a jighead.

Yellow Perch: 15.63" caught by Jack Duncan of Lebanon on October 31st. Jack was fishing Merrill Creek Reservoir from his boat when he landed the fish at 10:00 AM. Eight-pound test was used with a conventional rod and reel while fishing with a Rapala lure.

SALTWATER:

CATCH AND RELEASE CATEGORY

Bluefish: 37" caught by George Horvath of Bordentown on May 25th. George was fishing Manasquan Inlet from shore when he landed the fish at 1:15 PM. Thirty-pound braid was used with a spinning rod and reel while fishing with A-17 Ava diamond jig.

Kingfish: 14" caught by Steve Moreyra of Clifton on September 15th. Steve was fishing the Raritan Bay from the Keansburg fishing pier when he landed the fish at 5:05 PM. Fifteen-pound braid was used with a Penn Fierce medium-light spinning rod paired with a Penn Fierce 2000 spinning reel while fishing with bloodworms as bait.