The Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation (SWF) has recently launched the Saskatchewan Master Angler Program.

James Villeneuve, Director of Fisheries with the SWF, explained what the program entails.

"So, the Master Angler program is about 18 months old now at this point, and it basically awards some of those big trophy fish that we have in the province and promotes catch and release angling."

"There's 23 different species that are eligible for the award and basically each species has a certain size that you have to reach and when you catch it, you take a picture of the length of the fish, and then you can submit it through the Saskatchewan master angler app and that gets you registered. Then as you progress and catch more species, you qualify for better awards."

Villeneuve said that they've had about 450 qualifying submissions so far from all over the province.

"But the highest here that's been reached is about 15 species, so there's still a lot of room for someone to be the first one to claim that prize."

He said that the app is available on both Android and Apple App stores, and it has all the rules and other useful information.

"Like maps of where the fish are available, so you know where you should be targeting some of those hard to get species, and that you can submit your catch right from there and all the rules are available on it as well."

Mark your calendars for free fishing weekend coming up over the Family Day weekend, from February 18th to 20th.

"Free fishing weekend is a great opportunity to get out if you're new to the sport and you want to try it. And honestly, you never know what you're going to catch."

"If you try it out, you could be bringing home one of those trophy fish on your first try. It's the luck of the draw sometimes and the more you get out, the better chances you have, but it's a great opportunity to give it a try for the first time." 

Villeneuve said you can find out more information on their website at swf.sk.ca or on social media.