The International Masters Angling Tournament, or The Masters as it is called, took place March 4 – 8, 2018 in Los Suenos Costa Rica. 87 fish were released in three days by 18 Masters!
Congratulations Dale Creamer. Master Angler 2018!
Angler Standings – 2018
| Position | Angler | Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | TOTAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dale Creamer | 235 | 120 | 155 | 510 |
| 2 | Chris Lazzara | 180 | 190 | 135 | 505 |
| 3 | Keith Beaty | 60 | 65 | 360 | 485 |
| 4 | Scott Rickert | 50 | 95 | 315 | 460 |
| 5 | Frank Bongiorno | 125 | 0 | 310 | 435 |
| 6 | Sam Peters | 260 | 0 | 135 | 395 |
| 7 | Pete Boinis | 0 | 95 | 255 | 350 |
| 8 | Eric McDowell | 70 | 0 | 220 | 290 |
| 9 | Carmine Galati | 115 | 0 | 160 | 275 |
| 10 | Miles Reis | 0 | 0 | 275 | 275 |
| 11 | Rudy Polselli | 225 | 25 | 220 | 270 |
| 12 | Rocky Franich | 175 | 0 | 85 | 260 |
| 13 | Rodger Comstock | 125 | 0 | 115 | 240 |
| 14 | Pat Healey | 95 | 0 | 90 | 185 |
| 15 | John Temple | 55 | 0 | 75 | 130 |
| 16 | Karen Comstock | 0 | 0 | 85 | 85 |
| 17 | Rich Lazzara | 80 | 0 | 0 | 80 |
| 18 | David Finkelstein | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Learn about The Masters
The Masters was founded in 1963 by John Rybovich and a group of his friends who were seeking a new way of testing an individual’s angling skills. An early association with John’s friend Ernest Hemmingway led to the selection of the Masters trophy awarded to each years winner. This trophy is a copy of “The Old Man and the Sea” accompanied by a beautiful bronze casting.
From the beginning, one of the most important aspects of The Masters has included the camaraderie of good friends, who are among the very best in sport fishing, participating in social events and competition.
With rules designed to test an individual anglers skill, The Masters angler earns points for releasing sailfish based on the time to release and for doing so using his own skill, with no help from the boat. Fish released quickly earn more points. A fish released in 30 seconds or less (yes, it does happen) is worth 100 points, while one released in 9 ½ to 10 minutes is only worth 5 points. After 10 minutes, the angler receives no points for the release.
Once a fish is hooked, the boat must not be moved in a manner to help the angler gain line to release the fish. The boat must essentially be kept in neutral, or dead boat conditions, with the captain only allowed to turn the boat to keep the angler the correct position to fight the fish.
Add to these challenging conditions, the fact that an angler can lose points when a line is broken and a competition is created where time is critical but pushing too hard for a quick release can decrease your score.
Masters anglers are invited to participate by existing members of the organization and must be approved by the Board of Directors.
