BALTIMORE, MD—A 15-year-old angler from Forest Hill has become the 16th — and third youngest — person to earn a Master Angler Milestone Award from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ FishMaryland program.

Luca Tucciarella achieved the milestone Nov. 17 when he caught a 38.25-inch northern pike in Loch Raven Reservoir, the department announced on Wednesday.

The FishMaryland program recognizes anglers who catch and submit entries for 10 trophy-sized fish of different species in Maryland. Tucciarella is the third youth angler to reach the milestone since the program began in 2019.

Tucciarella said he started fishing with his father at a local neighborhood pond when he was 3 or 4 years old.

“After the first time he took me fishing, I realized it was something that I would enjoy for a very long time,” he said in a statement.

His father told him about the Master Angler program earlier this year, and Tucciarella said he thought it would be “a cool challenge to pursue.”

“I wanted to pursue it because it’s an award that recognizes a passion that I’ve had my whole life,” he said.

Tucciarella’s 10 qualifying catches included a 36-inch carp, a 12-inch brook trout, a 34.5-inch flathead catfish, a 79-inch sand tiger shark, a 15.25-inch bullhead catfish, an 11-inch rock bass, a 44-inch blue catfish, a 22-inch largemouth bass, a 25.75-inch chain pickerel and the 38.25-inch northern pike.

He said he has a particular interest in fishing for the invasive Chesapeake Channa, also known as northern snakehead.

“Snakehead fishing has always interested me because of where they live, the different techniques used to catch them, and how hard you have to set the hook,” Tucciarella said in a statement.

His second-largest qualifying catch was a blue catfish that was 44 inches long. The exact weight of the fish was unknown because Tucciarella’s scale maxed out at 50 pounds.

“It was an awesome fight that lasted over 10 minutes and I caught it on 20-pound test braided line,” he said.

Tucciarella said the hardest fish to catch was the northern pike.

“My dad said he didn’t think I would catch a pike, let alone one that was over 38 inches long,” he said in a statement. “I’ve been trying to catch a pike for the last four years.”

This article was written with the assistance of AI and reviewed by a human editor.

Photo: Angler Luca Tucciarella caught a 38.25-inch northern pike in Loch Raven Reservoir on Nov 17, 2024, on his way to earning a Master Angler Milestone Award under the Maryland Department of Natural Resources’ FishMaryland program. Photo by Vincent Tucciarella, used with permission by Maryland DNR.