Skillful Angler Awards Program

Program History:

2010 marked the 28th anniversary of the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife's Skillful Angler Program. For more than two 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. The Skillful Angler Awards Program, originally designed to supplement the New Jersey State Record Fish Program, was expanded in January of 2004. The program now includes two additional categories and a photo requirement. There is a catch and release category based on length and a junior category for anglers under 16 years of age. A few new species were added to the list as well: bullhead, yellow perch, sunfish and striped bass caught in freshwater. Anglers qualifying for a Skillful Angler Award receive a certificate attesting to their achievement. Only one certificate per species will be awarded annually to each applicant. In 1983, the program began with 31 applicants. In 2010, 127 applications representing 25 different species were officially processed. Since the program’s modest beginning, the Division has granted skillful angler status to 3,068 anglers.

Click to enlarge

"Click" to see lists of the 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, or 2010 Skillful Angler Awards winners who caught the largest fish in each of the species categories.

Minimum Size Requirements for Skillful Angler Award:

Saltwater Species Species Adult Weight (lbs.) Junior Weight (lbs./ozs.) Catch and Release (inches) Black Sea Bass 4 3 20" Striped Bass 40 36 42" Black Drum 70 63 46" Bluefish 18 16 33" Cod 30 27 42" Dolphin 30 27 n/a Winter Flounder 2 1 lb. 8 oz 16" Fluke 8 7 27" Kingfish 1 8 oz 13" Mako Shark 250 225 n/a Blue Marlin 400 360 n/a White Marlin 60 54 n/a Pollock 25 22 lbs. 8 oz 41" Tautog 8 7 22" Albacore Tuna 50 45 n/a Big Eye Tuna 200 180 n/a Bluefin Tuna 500 450 n/a Yellowfin Tuna 120 108 n/a Tuna (other) 250 225 n/a Weakfish 10 9 30"

Freshwater Species Species Adult Weight (lbs.) Junior Weight (lbs./ozs.) Catch and Release (inches) Largemouth bass 6 4 21" Smallmouth bass 4 3 19" Striped bass hybrid 8 6 24" Striped bass 30 25 40" Bullhead 2 1 lb. 8 oz 14" Carp 25 20 35" Channel catfish 10 8 29" Crappie 2 1 lb. 8 oz 14" Muskellunge 20 15 40" Yellow perch 1 lb. 8 oz 1 13" Chain pickerel 4 3 24" Northern pike 10 8 34" American shad 7 5 24" Brook Trout 3 2 19" Brown Trout 8 5 25" Lake Trout 12 8 31" Rainbow Trout 5 3 lbs. 8 oz 23" Sunfish 1 12 oz 9" Walleye 6 4 lbs. 8 oz 24"

A brochure which includes the application form can be downloaded it from this Web site below.

Skillful Angler Awards Brochure - 14" x 8.5" (pdf, 66kb)
Skillful Angler Awards Brochure - 11" x 8.5" (pdf, 71kb)