California Fishing Passport Award Winners

four award pins for Passport categories: Coldwater, Warmwater, Ocean, and Shellfish

One of the primary goals of the California Fishing Passport Program is to recognize anglers' accomplishments with a number of different awards. This page lists all California Fishing Passport award winners for each award category. For information on California Fishing Passport awards and how to apply for them, check out our Awards page. If you would like to see your picture here, email us at passport@wildlife.ca.gov with a picture of you with your catch, certificate and/or pin after you have received your official award.

Recognition by Category

Featured Fishing Passport Award Winners

Warmwater Fishing (Inland) Achievement and Recognition

three images side by side, with a man holding a catfish in his boat, a Warmwter Angler Award certificate, and a man fishing with his daughter next to a pond

Warmwater Angler

at least 6 different qualifying fish

  • Tim McAroy
    Awarded 2010
  • Steven Shailer
    Awarded 2011
  • Starr Samsom
    Awarded 2015
  • Gregory Berhenke
    Awarded 2016
  • Margaret Stooksberry
    Awarded 2016
  • Kazunori Okada
    Awarded 2017
  • EJ Stowe
    Awarded 2017
  • David Shigematsu
    Awarded 2017
  • Randy Okuhata
    Awarded 2018
  • Aron Brooks
    Awarded 2019
  • David Brooks
    Awarded 2019
  • Ruby Bryant
    Awarded 2019
  • Tyler Lenart
    Awarded 2019
  • Andrew Simmons
    Awarded 2019
  • Karolina Simmons
    Awarded 2019
  • Ben Friedman
    Awarded 2020
  • John Cherry
    Awarded 2021

Accomplished Warmwater Angler

at least 12 different qualifying fish

  • David Shigematsu*
    Awarded 2017
  • Tim McAroy
    Awarded 2010
  • Andrew Simmons
    Awarded 2019
  • Karolina Simmons
    Awarded 2019
  • Ben Friedman
    Awarded 2020

Master Warmwater Angler

at least 25 different qualifying fish

  • David Shigematsu
    Awarded 2019

*Angler has also achieved Warmwater Angler status

Coldwater Fishing (Inland) Achievement and Recognition

three images side by side, two fly fishermen fishing in a bubbling river, a Coldwater Angler Award certificate, and a swimming rainbow trout hooked on a line

Coldwater Angler

at least 3 different qualifying fish

  • Harold K. Owens Jr.
    Awarded 2009
  • Shane Fusier
    Awarded 2011
  • Steven Shailer
    Awarded 2011
  • Azure Cohen
    Awarded 2012
  • Johnathan Leong
    Awarded 2012
  • William Evans
    Awarded 2013
  • Craig Reimche
    Awarded 2014
  • Ed Gomes
    Awarded 2015
  • Frank Burr
    Awarded 2015
  • Kazunori Okada
    Awarded 2015
  • Chris Halliday
    Awarded 2016
  • Gregory Berhenke
    Awarded 2016
  • Margaret Stooksberry
    Awarded 2016
  • David Shigematsu
    Awarded 2017
  • Randy Okuhata
    Awarded 2018
  • Andrew Simmons
    Awarded 2019
  • Karolina Simmons
    Awarded 2019
  • James Guth
    Awarded 2020
  • Randy Guth
    Awarded 2020

Accomplished Coldwater Angler

at least 6 different qualifying fish

  • Michael K. McVay*
    Awarded 2010
  • Jonathan Leong*
    Awarded 2012
  • Craig Reimche*
    Awarded 2014
  • Kazunori Okada*
    Awarded 2016
  • Azure Cohen
    Awarded 2016
  • David Shigematsu*
    Awarded 2017
  • Frank Burr*
    Awarded 2018
  • Andrew Simmons
    Awarded 2019
  • Karolina Simmons
    Awarded 2019
  • James Guth
    Awarded 2020

Master Coldwater Angler

at least 10 different qualifying fish

  • Nicholas Ciani
    Awarded 2018
  • Kazunori Okada
    Awarded 2018

*Angler has also achieved Coldwater Angler status

Ocean Fishing Achievement and Recognition

three pictures side by side, a pier with rods poking over the sides, an Ocean Angler Award certificate, and a young man fishing off the side of a boat on the ocean

Ocean Angler

at least 10 different qualifying fish

  • Erickson Nunes Marques
    Awarded 2009
  • Steven Shailer
    Awarded 2010
  • Tim McAroy
    Awarded 2010
  • Craig Reimche
    Awarded 2011
  • Azure Cohen
    Awarded 2011
  • Jack Halliday
    Awarded 2013
  • Ed Gomes
    Awarded 2015
  • Dylan Halliday
    Awarded 2016
  • Ethan Mayes
    Awarded 2016
  • Margaret Stookksberry
    Awarded 2016
  • Kazunori Okada
    Awarded 2017
  • David Shigematsu
    Awarded 2017
  • Thomas Smith
    Awarded 2018
  • Williams Evans
    Awarded 2019
  • Tyler Lenart
    Awarded 2019
  • Kim Fane Miller, Jr.
    Awarded 2019
  • Ben Friedman
    Awarded 2020
  • Antonio Ortiz
    Awarded 2021

Accomplished Ocean Angler

at least 25 different qualifying fish

  • Azure Cohen*
    Awarded 2012
  • Chris Halliday*
    Awarded 2016
  • Tim McAroy
    Awarded 2016
  • David Shigematsu*
    Awarded 2017
  • Kazunori Okada
    Awarded 2018
  • Tyler Lenart
    Awarded 2019
  • Robert Dengler
    Awarded 2019
  • Ben Friedman
    Awarded 2020
  • Craig Reimche
    Awarded 2021

Master Ocean Angler

at least 50 different qualifying fish

  • Ethan Mayes*
    Awarded 2018
  • Azure Cohen
    Awarded 2016
  • David Shigematsu
    Awarded 2018
  • Kazunori Okada
    Awarded 2018

*Angler has also achieved Ocean Angler/Accomplished Ocean Angler status

Shellfish (Inland and Ocean) Achievement and Recognition

three pictures side by side, an abalone diver measuring a red abalone on the seafloor, a Shellfish Expert award certificate, and a sucba diver holding a spiny lobster

Shellfish Specialist

at least 3 different qualifying species

  • Chris Halliday
    Awarded 2013
  • Timothy McAroy
    Awarded 2010
  • Steve Shailer
    Awarded 2010
  • Azure Cohen
    Awarded 2011
  • Jack Halliday
    Awarded 2016
  • Dylan Halliday
    Awarded 2016
  • Margaret Stooksberry
    Awarded 2016
  • Kazunori Okada
    Awarded 2017
  • David Shigematsu
    Awarded 2017
  • EJ Stowe
    Awarded 2017
  • Thomas Smith
    Awarded 2018
  • Robert Dengler
    Awarded 2019
  • Aron Brooks
    Awarded 2020

Shellfish Expert

at least 7 different qualifying species

  • Steven Shailer*
    Awarded 2010
  • Azure Cohen*
    Awarded 2012
  • Kazunori Okada
    Awarded 2018
  • Robert Dengler
    Awarded 2019
  • David Shigematsu
    Awarded 2019

Shellfish Master

at least 15 different qualifying shellfish species

— None at this time —


*Angler has also achieved Shellfish Specialist status

California Supreme Master Angler

California Supreme Master Angler Award

earned the title of Master Angler in at least two other California Fishing Passport award categories

  • Kazunori Okada
    Awarded 2018
  • David Shigematsu
    Awarded 2019

Office of Communications, Education and Outreach
P.O. Box 944209, Sacramento, CA 94244-2090
(916) 322-8911