Teen Earns FishMD Master Angler Title

Nate Choinski caught a 31-inch Chesapeake Channa in the Susquehanna River near the Conowingo Dam in 2024. (Photo courtesy of Matt Choinski via Maryland DNR)

Harford County teen Nathan Choinski has earned a Master Angler Milestone Award under the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ FishMaryland program. He is the 20th Master Angler since the program began in 2019.

The award recognizes recreational anglers who catch 10 trophy-sized fish of different species in Maryland.

Nathan started fishing during the COVID pandemic after his friends urged him to fish with them, and they also told him about the Master Angler program. The group was fishing a small pond and worked on catching award-sized bluegill sunfish and pumpkinseed sunfish.

As Nathan fished more, his dad started taking him and his friends fishing at other locations.

The lower Susquehanna River and the Conowingo Dam pool became his favorite location, and he caught many of his award fish there. He likes casting paddletails and other lures to catch striped bass, smallmouth bass, walleye, Chesapeake Channa, and blue catfish in those locations. He also caught one small flathead catfish there.

When he started fishing, Nathan was not yet 16 and could fish legally without a license. He is now in 10th grade and bought his first fishing license in March 2025.

An award-winning striped bass is the favorite fish he has caught; it gave him a long fight before he could bring it in.

Read more about Nathan’s qualifying catches here.

FishMaryland is the state’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.