The Reality of the Master Angler Program Climb

The Manitoba Master Angler program was a fun pursuit back in the day and it still is to an extent. It made fishing literally a game of Pokemon where you could get badges in the mail if you earned certain achievements. Of course that drove us to pursuing many unique species and lead us to many new fisheries.

To preface, I think it’s an excellent program that has done our province’s anglers and tourism industry a lot of good. It defines what a trophy fish is and gives anglers a benchmark to achieve. Resorts and outfitters can use the program to showcase how good their fisheries are. It also does give anglers a form a reward for getting as many species as possible or multiple master anglers of a species. There is a ranking system which gives anglers a way to compete against each other.

I myself have reached the top 100 anglers in ranking recently. It was a nice achievement but I have slowed down my pursuit for the last couple years. I still register fish if they help my ranking. I’d like to share my experiences with the program and shine a light on some realities that people don’t really realize.

The Climb

There are quite a few species that are easily knocked off the list. Catfish, sunfish, bullheads and crappies are easy trophies close to Winnipeg. Then there are species that are locally available but take a bit of time to catch masters for a specialist like walleye and bass. Then there are species like rainbow trout which are a little bit far for a day trip but you can catch a few masters with a few trips. Then there are species like tiger trout in very few select lakes. Finally there are fish like arctic grayling which are far beyond the means of your average angler.

Chances are if you fish a lot in Manitoba, you probably know of some people personally who have committed to the climb. They are fishing every weekend, doing very long drives and fishing for species your average angler would never care about. For some it’s an obsession to be number one.

It’s a lot of hard work to drive across the province and visit many lakes, especially when many of the greatest fisheries are hours away. Lots of gas and vacation was burnt in my attempts. Many attempts resulted in failure. This is not factoring all the wear and tear on the gear.

Was it Worth it?

I think it was a great journey to try to climb the ranks. I learned so much about multispecies fishing. I’ve seen so many amazing sights throughout the province. Plus it was a lot of fun being able to catch new species.

I still like multispecies fishing a lot but at the same time I started to realize it was a crazy amount of work to get all the badges. At some point I had to ask myself if it was worth it. I was getting older and time and money was starting to become more precious. Those crazy trips of driving all night for a difficult species started to lose their appeal. Getting a high rank was just out of the question.

This is not to say I don’t participate anymore. I still register fish if they help my ranking and I still like adventures. Though I don’t pursue badges as hard as i used to anymore. I don’t feel the need to be rank one or even really high ranking. All it does is send a message to everyone else that I have lots of time and money on my hands, which I kind of do already. I feel like it’s just time to take things easy.

The Dark Side

Having been involved in the program for so long, I have learned that some have a crazy obsession with being rank one.

Unfortunately fraud is a thing that people use to get ahead. I’ve talked to people throughout my journey and learned about the actions of some of the top ranked anglers. Some things included buying measurement shots, paying people to give their extra lines and registering out of province fish. Yes I’ve talked to someone who actually was approached for these requests.

Some people have an obsession with making the lives of approvers absolute hell. I guess there are ways to improve ranking by submitting the most fish possible but it seems like a crazy endeavor.

Conclusion

I think that it’s a fine pursuit to climb the master angler program as a personal challenge. Having seen the reality of what it takes to be rank one, I don’t see it as the pinnacle of fishing achievements anymore. I fish a lot better than people ranked above me while being higher ranked than some people who are better anglers than me. It’s more of a testament of willpower and finances than fishing skill.

Though there is no doubt that receiving badges I earned legitimately still feels good. I have nothing against the program though my views of it have changed over time. I don’t think I’ll ever reach rank one ever in my life but I will still enjoy trying to become a better multispecies angler.