Monkton Angler becomes 12th FishMaryland Master Angler

Ben Halfpap, of Monkton, poses with a blue catfish he caught. Halfpap was the 12th person to become a Maryland Master Angler. Submitted Photo/ DNR

Ben Halfpap is first to nab all three invasive species in pursuit of designation

Ben Halfpap, of Monkton in Baltimore County, has earned a Master Angler Milestone Award under the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ FishMaryland program. The award recognizes recreational anglers who catch ten trophy-sized fish of different species in Maryland. Halfpap is the 12th Master Angler since the program began in 2019. 

Halfpap targets a variety of fish species in Maryland’s tidal and non-tidal waters, including invasive blue and flathead catfish and Chesapeake Channa (Northern snakehead) in the lower Susquehanna River and Potomac River, striped bass in the lower Patapsco River and Baltimore harbor, Chesapeake Channa on the Eastern Shore, and land-based shark fishing on the ocean beaches. Halfpap is the first Master Angler to have caught all three of Maryland’s invasive fishes at trophy size in his pursuit of the award.

“I have been fishing since I was five years old, but I didn’t get really serious about fishing until 2020,” said Halfpap.

The FishMaryland program includes dozens of species from both salt and freshwater. Halfpap submitted entries for all ten catches and received individual certificates for each catch. Halfpap caught and released his tenth FishMaryland eligible fish, a sand tiger shark, on a Maryland ocean beach, and his Master Angler certificate was awarded on July 12, 2024, about two weeks before his 21st birthday on July 31.  

Halfpap’s qualifying catches, in order, were:

• Chesapeake Channa (northern snakehead) – 32 inches
• Blue catfish – 42 inches
• Flathead catfish – 41 inches
• Channel catfish – 30 inches
• White perch – 13 inches
• White catfish – 21 inches
• Striped bass – 45 inches
• Hickory shad – 18.25 inches
• Carp – 30 inches
• Sand tiger shark – 84 inches

“I always have good things to say about the FishMaryland program, and I learned a lot about fishing for a diversity of species in Maryland’s waters, including fishing for carp in tidal rivers, which I had not done much before,” Halfpap said. “I have always been a multispecies angler, but while working towards the Master Angler milestone, I expanded my range of target species even further”. 

FishMaryland is Maryland’s recreational fishing award program and is a fun way to explore year-round recreational fishing and enjoy affordable, accessible, diverse, and high-quality fishing opportunities. More information on the Master Angler Milestone Award and the FishMaryland program is available on the program’s website.