Brook Trout Caught During Angling Masters' Tournament Confirmed a World Record Catch by National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame

The Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame has awarded Manitoba, Canada angler, Tim Matheson, its Fresh Water Fish, World Angling Record for a 29-inch brook trout Matheson caught during the inaugural four-week "Fish'n Win" tournament produced by Angling Masters international and "The Fish'n Line" magazine.

Matheson, owner of Kenanow Lodge near Sherridan Manitoba, landed a brook trout that measured 29 inches in length with a girth of 21 inches during the October 2006 tournament held at Manitoba's Barbe Lake. After measuring and photographing the fish, Matheson and his fishing buddy released it back into the lake.

"As much as I love fishing, it wasn't worth the risk of killing that magnificent fish to have a world record," Matheson said. "So after measuring the fish and taking some pictures, we slid it back into the lake."

Estimated to weigh 15- to 16-pounds and convinced it was a potential world record fish, Matheson submitted photos and details of his catch to several sport fishing organizing bodies, one of them being the Hayward, Wisconsin-based Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame.

After reviewing Matheson's photos during its annual world record classification process, the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame awarded Matheson the number one position in its "Fresh Water, Catch and Release" category. The Matheson's brook trout broke was 4 inches longer than the previous record, which has stood since April 1995.

"Tim caught a great fish," said Emmett Brown, executive director for the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame. "But he also released it so it could thrill another angler some other day and also reproduce to keep the species alive."

Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame records are updated quarterly and are printed in each issue of the Hall's in-house magazine, "The Splash". For his record catch, Matheson will be listed in "The Splash" and in the Hall's annual record book. Matheson will receive an official Hall of Fame certificate and world champion shirt-sleeve and back patches.

Angling Masters International also awarded Matheson $1,000 as the winner of its inaugural "Fish'n Win" tournament. Scoring was determined by Angling Master's unique points system, which levels the playing field for different species and locations throughout North America.

For more information, interested individuals can
· Learn more about the Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame at
http://www.freshwater-fishing.org;
· Read about the catch - in Tim Matheson's own words - at
http://www.AnglingMasters.com/brooktrout;
· Review information about the tournament, winners and other details at http://www.AnglingMasters.com/fishnwin; and
· Download print-quality photos at http://media.AnglingMasters.com.

About Angling Masters International and AnglingMasters.com
Formed in 2005, Utah-based Angling Masters International intends to transform recreational fishing into a competitive sport available to any angler. Its online sports fishing community, AnglingMasters.com, is a Web 2.0 community where North American freshwater anglers of all interests and abilities can share their "I-caught-one-this-big" fishing stories. A strong believer of catch and release fishing and the idea that anyone can catch "the big one," AnglingMasters.com levels the playing field with its online, multi-species algorithm-based ranking system which allows anyone on any lake, river or stream to share and compare his/her catch with the fish caught by other anglers. To learn more, please visit www.AnglingMasters.com.

About National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame
A public service organization founded in 1960, The National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame (www.freshwater-fishing.org) is a non-profit museum and education organization dedicated to conservation and the sport of fishing throughout the world. The organization operates a program recognizing persons and organizations of outstanding achievement and accomplishment in the realm of fresh water fishing, and its Hayward, Wisconsin-based Hall of Fame museum houses a large collection of significant fishing and angling artifacts from around the world.