Angler Awards?

I keep seeing this pop up in conversation a great deal and was wondering, what sort of steps are needed to be taken to obtain one of these awards. and what does one look like?

here are the rules to the mater angler program. at this link..

http://www.eregulations.com/michigan...angler-awards/

here is what the patches look like. they are very similar to there just different writing then the cooperator patches for hunting i got my fist doe in 1994 and got the patch to prove it... but the master angler patches are similar as long as they meet he standards you get a patch. if they are over the record you get a broken state record and a award patch too boot...

http://www.michigan.gov/dnr/0,1607,7...7292--,00.html

A few years back, the state of Michigan wanted to make the progam a little bit easier. They had very few submissions under the old process for a couple of reasons. One, many people catch a large fish and want to release it. The old system, you had to take your fish to a registered scale, have it weighted, verified, have witnesses and so on. The other issue was finding a registered scale.

The new program allows you to simply take a photo of the fish (became easier with the new cell phones everyone has) and send it in to the DNR with the appropriate paperwork downloaded from the website. The picture must clearly show the fish (from head to tail) with the length (usually done on a ruler).

I've seen some of the certificates and patches and they look really nice. I've always said I would like to do it as I catch many master angler fish every year. In the end, I simply cross them off my own list in my head.

It is fun to carry the list with you. Gives you a new prospective about the fish you catch. Plus, it will make you laugh when you start comparing fish you catch to "stories" you hear. Common one is: I didn't bring one blue gill back under 9 inches..... or... all the crappies I caught were 15 inches or better.... (both of which are master angler requirments)

Some are hard, some are easy. Always fun to have a little scoreboard. Since I started keeping track, my daughter has more than I do! I must be doing something right.

In Michigan, they have the "10 pounder Club" for walleyes. Guys fish their whole lives for one and then get it mounted when they catch it. In Michigan, the master angler for walleye by weight is 11lbs, and by length (catch and release) is 29 inches. Looking over my data over the last two years (I keep track) I've released 27 fish that meet, one or both of the criteria.... not to bad if you ask me.

Keep a log book, you will have fun with it. Plus, it will help you tremendiously when you venture back the same spots.

exactly they made it easier, this year even more easier! now they include red ear and or pumpkin seed sun fish as being 9 inch max! for the catch and release. fun stuff if you ask me and worth the price of the licences for the catch and release guys... any ways happy fishing...

Thankyou for the responses, these sound like a lot of fun to get. Plus the friendly bragging rights too.