Mike Raykovicz: Take advantage of New York’s revamped Angler Achievement Awards Program

The late Tom Yacovella, of Utica, N.Y., was a member of the New York State Outdoorsman Hall of Fame and a good friend of mine. When he and his wife, JoAnn, lived here in the Southern Tier, Yacovella and I often hunted turkeys together in both Pennsylvania and New York until he and his family moved to Utica.
Tom talked about taking a record brook trout. He eventually achieved this in 2009 when he successfully caught and landed a 5-pound, 4.5-ounce brook trout from Raquette Lake, in Hamilton County.