Astfalk wins Yellow Perch Appreciation Day tourney

North East, MD -- More than 130 people attended the second annual Yellow Perch Appreciation Day, Saturday, March 5, and Mark Astfalk of Elkton won the top prize in the fishing tournament. The event, sponsored by the Coastal Conservation Association and its Upper Bay Chapter, is held to celebrate the restoration of the yellow perch fishery and brings together recreational anglers, parents fishing with their youngsters, and state officials.
  Astfalk took the top prize of $250 with a perch weighing 21.8 ounces. Others winning prizes were Mike Windell, Wilmington, DE; second place and $200, 20.5 ounces; Eric Braley, North East, third place and $150, 19.4 ounces; Jason Curry, Port Deposit, fourth place and $100, 18 ounces; and Micaela Rodgers, Elkton, fifth place, 17.65 ounces. As a new CCA member, Rodgers’ prize money of $50 was doubled to $100.
  The Coastal Conservation Association Maryland (CCA MD) is one of 17 state chapters of the Coastal Conservation Association, which has 100,000 members nationally. CCA MD is an organization of recreational anglers fighting for Maryland’s marine resources and believing the sustainability of the resource must be the priority in any fishery management decision.