The 2026 Massachusetts Guide to Fishing, Hunting, and Trapping Laws is now available. The release coincides with the availability of next year’s fishing and hunting licenses. This year’s guide features 14-year-old Kyler Leslie from Petersham on the cover. He caught a 39-inch, 15-pound northern pike from the Connecticut River on March 6, 2024. The photo was selected by Troy Gipps, editor of Massachusetts Wildlife magazine, who works with MassWildlife staff to update the guide each year.
In 2024, Kyler and his 11-year-old brother, Ryker, tied for the Angler of the Year award in the youth catch-and-release category of MassWildlife’s Freshwater Sportfishing Awards Program. Both caught 23 out of 24 eligible species in the program.
Gipps contacted Kyler’s parents, Michael and Tina Leslie, to get permission to use the photo. The family was asked not to share the news until the guide was published. Ryker also kept the information private for almost two months…