- Division of Marine Fisheries
Dating back to the historic Governor’s Cup, anglers have competed each year to catch the largest saltwater fish in Massachusetts. This year marked the first opportunity to battle for a spot on the Commissioner’s Cup, the newly unveiled trophy display that will feature annual winners of the Angler of the Year title. The “Commissioner’s Cup,” a one-of-a-kind steel sculpture commissioned from the amazing Cape Cod artist, Steve Swain, was inspired by the diversity of popular saltwater fish in Massachusetts waters. The Cup will be installed as a display in Foxborough’s Bass Pro Shops at Patriot Place in 2026. But first, on January 10, it will make an appearance at the Massachusetts Saltwater Fishing Derby annual award ceremony at the New England Boat Show in Boston in a celebration of the top anglers of 2025.
At the upcoming award ceremony, dozens of anglers will make their way to the podium to be recognized for their winning catch in the Weigh-In and Catch & Release divisions and in the Adult and Junior categories. Two anglers have already been announced as Anglers of the Year, and they’ll be honored at the event with custom-made trophies of their favorite species replicated from the Commissioner’s Cup display. This year, Griffin Sabolevski captured the Junior Angler of the Year trophy, featuring the iconic striped bass. His leaderboard catches included false albacore, scup, striped bass, and weakfish. Nicholas Rhodes will take home the adult Angler of the Year scup trophy for landing leaderboard catches for cod, yellowfin tuna, bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, and swordfish. Red Top in Buzzards Bay won the 2025 Top Shop distinction for being the most voted-for tackle shop on derby entries.
With the completion of the 2025 Derby, we’re excited to look ahead to the 2026 season. We want to continue growing the free, year-long, state-wide derby, with more opportunities, more visibility, and more excitement! We’ll continue to make improvements so that competing for a leaderboard spot is more fun and easier than ever. The Derby will continue to have two divisions, a Catch & Release Division where anglers submit a length measurement, and a Weigh-In Division where anglers submit a weight. Each division has more than 30 eligible species, giving everyone a great chance to get their name up on the leaderboard. We’ve made it easier to use your own scale, and entries just take a minute with DMF’s online forms. Share your big catches and stories along the way—we’re looking forward to highlighting participants on social media throughout the season.
As you begin planning your 2026 fishing trips, keep an eye out for the coming announcement of when the Commissioner’s Cup display will debut in its new home at Patriot Place’s Bass Pro Shops, then come see it in person! In the meantime, we hope you’re looking forward to enjoying another season of world-class fishing in Massachusetts.
By The Recreational Fisheries Program
