Ranks & points

The whole formula, with the real numbers. A ranking system nobody can read is a ranking system nobody trusts.

Why not just weight?

Because a weight board is won by whoever can afford the biggest boat, and everyone else stops playing. Here are two real catches, scored:

A 5 lb 2 oz perch — 80% of the world record, on a lure, released

87 Points

Trophy Score 80% · Lure · Released

A 224 lb bluefin — 15% of the world record, trolled, released

54 Points

Trophy Score 15% · Trolling · Released

The perch wins. That is the entire point: every species is worth targeting, and skill beats access.

The formula

Points = base × species × class × method × line × release × repeat × evidence, then flat bonuses. Every figure below is read live from the scoring engine, so this page cannot go out of date.

Factor	Range	What it means
Base score	0 – 120	Your Trophy Score against the record for its own species, curved so an exceptional specimen pulls away from an ordinary one.
Species	×0.75 – ×2.55	How hard the fish is to find and beat, computed from difficulty, fight, scarcity and a log-damped size term.
Class	×0.74 – ×2.02	Absolute size, on a log scale. A 400 kg fish outscores a 4 kg one — but each tenfold step is worth a fixed amount, so this never becomes a weight board.
Repeat	×0.22 – ×1.00	Your first of a species pays full. Your fiftieth pays a third. Fish what you like; just don't farm one pond.
Method	×0.75 – ×1.35	Fly beats lure beats bait — the same split the IGFA has used for eighty years.
Line class	×1.00 – ×1.35	Fish weight against line rating. Beating a fish heavier than your line is the oldest respected feat in the sport.
Release	×0.45 – ×1.15	Released fish score 15% more. A threatened species that is kept scores less than half.
Evidence	×0.00 – ×1.00	Unverified catches score 90%. Rejected catches score nothing at all.
First of this species	+25	The first time you ever land that species.
Personal best	+15	Your heaviest of that species so far.
Record class	+40	At or above 90% of the world record.
Photographed	+10	A photograph is evidence, and evidence is worth something.
Position logged	+8	A position on the map, blurred or exact.
Fully measured	+5	Weight, length and girth all recorded.
Bonus ceiling	≤ 50%	The bonuses together can never exceed half the score they are added to. Otherwise a small fish with a photo, a pin and a tape measure beats a genuinely good one logged in a hurry — and the board ends up ranking form-filling above angling.

Method multipliers

This is not snobbery about tackle. It is an attempt to score difficulty, and a fly in a fish's mouth is harder to arrange than a bait.

The ladder

Fifty ranks across thirteen metals, and the metals get rarer as you climb. The early rungs are a season; the last one is a career.

Each rank has ten grades — I through X — so there is something to climb every few catches instead of once a season. Five hundred rungs in all, and the medal shows exactly which one you are on.

#	Tier	Grade	From	Anglers here
1	Deckhand	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	0	13
2	Bait Runner	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	1,050	0
3	Shore Hand	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	2,200	0
4	Line Tender	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	3,300	0
5	Dawn Caster	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	4,500	0
6	Angler	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	5,700	0
7	Rod Hand	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	6,900	0
8	Tide Reader	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	8,100	0
9	Creek Walker	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	9,400	0
10	Shore Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	10,750	0
11	Estuary Hunter	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	12,000	0
12	Inshore Hunter	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	13,250	0
13	Weed-line Runner	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	14,500	0
14	Flats Stalker	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	15,750	0
15	Specimen Hunter	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	17,000	0
16	Surfcaster	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	18,250	0
17	Reef Runner	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	19,500	0
18	Kayak Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	20,750	0
19	Mangrove Hunter	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	22,000	0
20	Rockhopper	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	23,000	0
21	Sport Angler	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	24,250	0
22	Wreck Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	25,500	0
23	Jig Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	26,750	0
24	Popper Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	27,750	0
25	Fly Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	29,000	0
26	Trophy Hunter	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	30,000	0
27	Master Angler	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	31,000	0
28	Offshore Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	32,000	0
29	Drop-off Hunter	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	33,500	0
30	Pinnacle Hunter	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	34,500	0
31	Canyon Runner	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	35,500	0
32	Big Game Hunter	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	36,500	0
33	Blue Water Hand	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	37,500	0
34	Current Rider	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	38,500	0
35	Deep-drop Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	39,500	0
36	Deep Water Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	40,500	0
37	Marlin Master	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	41,500	0
38	Grand Slam	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	42,500	0
39	Shelf Runner	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	43,500	0
40	Abyss Runner	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	44,500	0
41	Tournament King	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	45,500	0
42	Record Chaser	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	46,500	0
43	Record Holder	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	47,500	0
44	World Champion	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	48,500	0
45	Hall of Fame	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	49,500	0
46	Legend	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	50,500	0
47	Colossus	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	52,000	0
48	Titan	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	53,000	0
49	Leviathan	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	54,000	0
50	Poseidon	I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X	55,500	0

Species prestige

Every species carries a value from 25 to 400, computed from its difficulty, fight, scarcity and record weight — never typed in by hand.

Highest prestige

Lowest prestige

Even the lowest still scores. A perfect fish of a common species beats a poor fish of a rare one.

Species medals

Earned on your personal best Trophy Score for each species, so the collection measures quality and not just quantity.

Platinum 90%+ Gold 70%+ Silver 45%+ Bronze 20%+

What is deliberately not rewarded

No bonus for endangered species — that would pay anglers to hunt the fish least able to survive it.
No bonus for booking a charter. That would just be an advertisement wearing a leaderboard.
No bonus for fight duration. Trivially inflated, and a long fight on a released fish is bad for the fish.

Every score is recomputable from the stored facts of the catch. If these rules change, the entire history is rescored to match — nobody keeps points earned under a rule that no longer exists.