ANNAPOLIS — Landon Derbyshire of Eden has earned a Master Angler Milestone Award under the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ FishMaryland program.
Landon is the 13th Master Angler since the program began in 2019 and the second youth angler to win the award, having met his qualifications at age 15. The award recognizes recreational anglers who catch 10 trophy-sized fish of different species in Maryland.
He targets a variety of saltwater and freshwater fish, including invasive species, along the lower Eastern Shore, Chesapeake Bay, and Atlantic Ocean.
“I got into fishing because my dad took me pond fishing when I was around five and I really enjoyed it,” he said.
The FishMaryland program includes dozens of species from both salt and freshwater. Landon submitted entries for all 10 catches and received individual certificates for each catch. He caught and released his 10th FishMaryland eligible fish, a sand tiger shark, on a boat just beyond the breakers off of a Maryland ocean beach. His Master Angler certificate was awarded on Aug. 27, about two weeks before his 16th birthday.