• Sponsoring members and/or companies that sponsor an annual award may, at their discretion, create and design such award.
• Yearly award winners will be posted at the close of the fishing year on the website, www.iwfa.org and in any and all electronic publications.
• Any protests must be filed in writing to the Affidavit Committee Chairman and emailed with a delivery date not later than 10 days after the award list is published. Protests will be settled by the Officers and the Affidavit Committee Chairman within 10 days of receipt or January 31 of the current year, whichever comes first.
• Beginning in the 2006 fishing year, a member can only win one of the top trophies. The order will be the Crowninshield followed by Rybovich
• IWFA Club Records are exempt and may be won more than three times.

• There is a 2,000 point limit per division (general, spin, plug, fly) for all species.
• The Crowninshield winner is not eligible to win the Rybovich award during the same award year. The next angler with the most species will be eligible to win the Rybovich award.
• The award winner will receive individual Annual Species Award Certificates for species that qualified toward the Crowninshield Award; however, she will not receive other club species prizes. In the event the same member has won, wins or in the future wins the same species annual award outside of the Crowninshield Award, that absorbed annual species award is included as part of the 3 times you're out rule. The award winner is qualified to win all other annual awards not specified above, during the year of winning the Crowninshield Award.
• A member can only win the Crowninshield award a maximum of three times.
• The award winners name is inscribed on the Crowninshield trophy and is given the Crowninshield disc the first year the award is won. In the event of subsequent wins by the same member, the winner, in their second and third year, will receive a diamond on their disc in addition to their name being inscribed on the trophy.

• There are no minimum point requirements and fish can be caught from any of the four divisions (general, spin, plug & fly)
• In the case of a tie, the angler who caught the most species first will win.
• The Rybovich winner is not eligible to win the Crowninshield Award during the same Award Year.
• The award winner can also win individual species and other annual awards during the year of winning the Rybovich Award
• A member can only win the Rybovich Award a maximum of three times.
• The award winners name is inscribed on the Rybovich trophy and is given the Rybovich disc the first year the award is won. In the event of subsequent wins by the same member, the winner will receive a diamond on their disc in addition to their name being inscribed on the trophy.
• A minimum of 50 species is required to win this award.

The following designated species are eligible for special awards in 2024.

*Please note that all tiers and sponsored awards are subject to change each fishing year.

New Sponsored Species Awards

The 2024 winners of the annual species awards for the billfish listed below will receive a IWFA gold species disc.

1. Permit 
2. Tarpon 
3. Bonefish 
4. Red Drum 
5. Atlantic Snook 
6. Dolphinfish 
7. Largemouth Bass 
8. Striped Bass
9. Butterfly Peacock 
10. Tripletail
11. Walleye 

1. Spotted Seatrout
2. Rainbow trout 
3. Brown Trout 
4. Warmouth 
5. Grey Snapper
6. Smallmouth Bass 
7. Cobia
8. Northern Pike
9. Yellowtail Snapper
10. Black Drum

1. Bluegill 
2. Bluefish 
3. Flounder
4. Rock Bass 
5. Yellow Bullhead

• Minimum Points are required to receive each of these awards. The point minimums are determined by which point category a species falls:
• Point Columns 1, 2, 3 - 7000 point minimum
• Point Columns 4, 5, 6 - 6000 point minimum
• Point Columns 7, 8, 9 - 5000 point minimum
• If the species falls into multiple size categories due to weight or length parameters, then the minimum is determined based on the greater of the two in which it falls. For example, there are species that bridge this gap, i.e., Greater Amberjack, falls in to point columns 3 and 4. When this occurs, the point column minimum will be the greater of the two in which it falls. In this example, 7000 minimum points (which is point column 3) is required for an annual award, not 6000 (which is point column 4).
• Members may only win this award up to 3 times per species.
• The member who wins the Crowninshield cannot win an Individual Species Prize but will be awarded a certificate for each species that she wins.
• Members who win Annual Species Awards for one or more species in the same year will have the option of: 1) purchasing one of the IWFA sanctioned discs. This IWFA Species Commemorative Disc lists the species, and the number of species won in that year, or 2) The winner may purchase separate Species Commemorative Discs for each species.

• It is a time sensitive award with the time being local time of the geographic area/time zone where the fish was released. For example, a 9:00 am fish in the Bahamas will beat a 9:05 am fish caught in Australia and will be determined once the 24 hour period has passed in all time zones.
• The angler will have their name inscribed on the trophy and will receive a certificate.
• A member can only win this award a maximum of three times. 

• There is a 5,000 point maximum per species 
• This award is based upon the accumulation of points from Jan 1 through December 31 in the members’ third calendar year of membership 
• The member is awarded an IWFA sanctioned gold disc sponsored by the Ann Kunkel family

• Fleming points will be awarded based on how an angler places at the end of each tournament, with 50 Fleming points allocated to the winner, 49 points to second place position, continuing down, by one point respectively, to the 50th place or last place position. The winner will be the angler who accumulated the most total Fleming points at the end of the year.
• In the case of a tie, the tiebreaker will be determined by the person who attains the greatest Fleming points first. In the scenario where there are 3 tournaments, the winner is determined by the angler who had the most points after the second tournament.
• The winner of this award must have participated in at least two IWFA tournaments during the fishing year.
• There is no limit on how many times this award may be won. The award winner receives a disc. Subsequent award winners will receive a diamond in their disc.

• The award is calculated by accumulating the points from the top three point values of each species of fish. As an example, the three highest point bass which were caught and released on fly would be added to the same of each of the species.
• The eligible fish are taken from the entire IWFA General Species List.
• The angler that has accumulated the highest total points wins this award.
• The award can be won a maximum of three times 

• There is a maximum cap of 5,000 points per species.
• The award can be won a maximum of three times.
• The award winner will receive an Orvis fly rod and reel to commemorate this accomplishment

• There is a 5,000 point maximum cap per species from release points accumulated from the plug division.
• There is a minimum of 20,000 points required to win this award.
• This award may only be won a maximum of 1 time.
• The winner of this award receives Lew's rod and reel combo.

• Members must first receive 500 monthly awards to be eligible to participate in the program. 
• In the month following eligibility, a member may begin submitting Master Angler affidavits.
• Only fish caught after reaching the 500 monthly award status will qualify.
• Member must be current with their dues prior to the recorded date of the release. A member who allows their membership to lapse by more than 90 days must forfeit their previously reported releases.
• Angler must successfully catch 12 fish from the Master Angler Program Species List – three from each of the four tackle categories – Fly, Spin, Plug and General – for a total of 12. There is no set time limit for this to occur.
• Each species may only be entered in one tackle category and cannot be repeated in another. In addition, the angler may only count one fish from a group of species. As an example, the angler may only count one fish from the Bonito group of fish.
• All IWFA rules and tackle requirements must be followed. All fish must be measured, photographed and released alive.
• Each catch must be measured and photographed with a measuring device and submitted to the designated chair with the Master Angler affidavit. Exceptions to the measurement rule apply to fish listed as “Any Size”, tarpon and sharks. These lengths should be estimated due to fisheries rules and/or safety concerns. In these cases, a photograph in the water will suffice, provided the species of fish can be identified in the photo.

• Note: In the event that the angler was unable to record the catch with a photo, a signed and notarized statement from the angler and witness will be considered.
• The Master Angler will receive an award disc to be presented at the Annual Meeting, Luncheon, and Awards Ceremony.

• A certificate will be issued to members who set or break an IWFA Club Record during the year.
• Member can purchase an IWFA sanctioned award upgrade to commemorate a club record. If she exceeds her record for the same type of fish, she may purchase a disc or a diamond to be placed in her original disc.
• IWFA Club Records may be won more than three times. A revision as adopted by the Board of Directors, March 2009

• This award gives lifetime membership to a member that has been a member for 45 years and, or a member for 35 years and 85 years old, whichever comes first.
• A certificate will be given to the member and the member will be notified of her award prior to the next annual membership renewal date. 

* A junior angler may only win 1 of the 3 yearly awards per year. The order of importance is:  Fleming species award, and then top Salt/Freshwater angler awards. The top Service Project Angler award is open to all junior anglers who meet the requirements and may be won in conjunction with one of the yearly awards.