{"id":42127,"date":"2024-08-05T16:50:46","date_gmt":"2024-08-05T20:50:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/?p=42127"},"modified":"2024-08-05T16:52:23","modified_gmt":"2024-08-05T20:52:23","slug":"monkton-angler-becomes-12th-fishmaryland-master-angler","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.maryland.gov\/dnr\/2024\/08\/05\/monkton-angler-becomes-12th-fishmaryland-master-angler\/","title":{"rendered":"Monkton Angler becomes 12th FishMaryland Master Angler"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Blue<\/a>

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<\/p><\/div>\n

Ben Halfpap is first to nab all three invasive species in pursuit of designation<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Ben Halfpap, of Monkton in Baltimore County, has earned a Master Angler Milestone Award under the Maryland Department of Natural Resources\u2019 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Halfpap targets a variety of fish species in Maryland\u2019s 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\u2019s invasive fishes at trophy size in his pursuit of the award.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cI have been fishing since I was five years old, but I didn\u2019t get really serious about fishing until 2020,\u201d said Halfpap.<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Halfpap\u2019s qualifying catches, in order, were:<\/span><\/p>\n