The winner of last year’s fishing derby, Allan Albert, 48, of Saint Francis, Maine, said he will be competing in this year’s derby and offers a piece of advice to all would-be challengers:

“You gotta go if you want to catch ’em. You can’t catch them on the couch,” said Albert, who caught a 20-pound muskellunge last year from his local Glazier Lake after warm weather caused last year’s fishing derby to be held state-wide.

Muskellunges are commonly referred to as “muskies.”

Albert said he used shiners he had caught himself with a trap as bait for his prize-winning catch.

A registered Maine guide and amateur carpenter, Albert said he was with two fishing buddies when he caught the winning fish. They are Bill Southworth, a disabled Vietnam veteran and Kim Masse, who holds the current Maine muskie record with a 27-pounder he pulled from Glazier Lake in 2004.

“He hired me to take him fishing two years back, and we became great friends,” Albert said of Masse.

As a guide, Albert takes people through the great Maine wilderness. He commonly is hired by fishermen and hunters eager for deer, bear and moose.

Albert has no intention of sitting out this year’s competition.

“We plan on gathering up a group of guys and traveling to Sebago Lake,” he said, adding, “if there’s any ice down there this year.”