ST. PETERSBURG, Pa. (EYT) — A local writer was recently recognized as an award recipient during the 2021 Outdoor Writers Association of America (OWAA) Excellence in Craft Contests.

Andy Whitcomb, of St. Petersburg, was awarded first place in the category of Magazine Humor, with his Kayak Angler column, “Box Scores.”

The OWAA Excellence in Craft Contests is an annual awards program that recognizes and honors the best work of outdoor communicators who are members of OWAA. The Outdoor Writers Association of America is the oldest and largest association of professional outdoor communicators in the United States.

“I’ve really enjoyed writing a humor column for Kayak Angler magazine,” wrote Whitcomb, who has been writing this column since 2016.

“It has given me an outlet to share some goofy fishing thoughts and observations. For example, baseball is well known for its many statistics; ‘Box Scores’ is a fun attempt at trying to recognize the potential for addition statistics in recreational fishing.”

Whitcomb is an avid angler and father of two, currently chasing steelhead, pike, and smallmouth bass in western Pennsylvania. He has a bachelor’s degree in Zoology from Oklahoma State University, and experience as a fisheries research technician with OSU, Iowa State University, and Michigan State University, as well as from assisting at fish hatcheries in Colorado and Iowa.

Since 2011, he has contributed over 450 blog posts for the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation’s www.takemefishing.org, sharing a unique perspective on all things related to fishing.

He has also appeared in two recent issues of Bassmaster magazine.

“I’m fortunate that my family supports my fishing/writing habit. Being recognized by my peers with an OWAA award helps validate the time-consuming efforts and certainly assists with motivation to try again in future contests.”