As some of you may know, The Scale Master was originally produced in 1984, nearly 30 years ago. The product came about through the love of fishing and the happenstance of this family being in the industrial scale business. Father and son worked together to produce an elite, precision instrument that could be used in any location around the world to document the pride of the fisherman, his catch. Mike Leech, past President of the IGFA, was one of our earliest and staunchest supporters. As was Pam Basco, IGFA Trustee Emeritus. The list could go on. When everyone is doing something they consider fun; good minds together can create incredible things. Since that time, The Scale Master Dual Range Tournament Fishing Scale has gone through many updates, & revisions and is relied upon by countless international tournament organizers, weigh stations, world record fishermen, captains, outfitters and the person hoping to have a good fish story to tell and be able to prove it!

What got me thinking about all this history was a Scale Master that came in a couple of weeks ago for annual service & certification. It was originally purchased in 1986 and used by Mariner’s Point in Huntington Beach, CA. Imagine having anything these days lasting 27 years. There are still a few oldies out there, and one was even up for auction from the personal collection of the late Billy Pate. So, finally, to make a long story short, we at IWS Scale Master would be interested to know.

Where in the World is your Scale Master?

So if you have a current model or a Classic ScaleMaster, send us a picture of your Scale Master II, Scale Master MiniPro or Tournament Master being used to weigh a fish. We’ll include the picture and your story in our “Tracking the Scale Masters around the World’s Page on our web site www.iws-scalemaster.com!!! Remember, IWS Scale Master is a supporter of catch and release, but when that isn’t possible, it’s nice to be prepared!

Tight lines and good luck fishing!

It was a frantic phone call, late in the day here in San Diego, on May 30th from Bermuda. No names were exchanged, but I could hear a lot of noise & commotion in the background. The caller frantically said his Scale Master was reading overload as they were trying to weigh a fish. What could he do? He sounded intent, on edge. We determined he had a Scale Master II, one our dual range tournament scales, and that he had it in the low range. Easy fix. In this case, they were weighing something over 200# and needed to switch the scale into the high range. I told him to press the range button to get rid of the decimal point. After that, all was good and we signed off. I could hear the relief in the callers voice. All in a days work and I was happy IWS-ScaleMaster was available for Customer support at any time.

The next day, going thru my Facebook feed, I read a story about the 10th Grander of the year weighed in Bermuda via granderwatch.fishmonster.com. We at IWS are always interested in the triumphs that take place in the fishing world; whether for World Records, tournaments or recreation. I read the article of this epic 1289# Blue Marlin. Then the light bulb went off! This was THE fish the frantic caller was trying to weigh the day before. The photos showed what a big beauty this was and how it dwarfed the Bertram Seafari. I saw the ScaleMaster II in its yellow case in the posted pictures and video from SaltWater Sportsman this was the scale that weighed the Blue Marlin!

I guess the moral of this self-promoting story is don’t leave the dock without a Scale Master and if you do.make sure the dock, marina, weigh station or another Captain has one when you pull back in. You just never know when you are going to need a Scale Master!

The “Olympics of Sportfishing” is back. The IGFA Offshore World Championship is just around the corner, and we at ScaleMaster, the Official Weigh Station for the tournament, couldn’t be more excited to see what all you fishermen hook in those warm waters down off Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. Anglers come from far and wide to participate in this event.

Here is a message from our President, expressing her continued enthusiasm for this fishing competition. “IWS ScaleMaster is thrilled to be a sponsor of the annual IGFA Offshore World Championship where our ScaleMaster II has been used to weigh all fish brought to the docks over these many years. Many friends and World Records have been made around the world since we started in 1984 and we look forward to our continued partnership with a keen eye on conservation, catch and release and sustainable fishing. Thanks to Dan Jacobs and Lynda Wilson for their tireless efforts and continued support along with the IGFA and many, many others. To all the teams, good luck fishing!”–Giesela Muccillo.

LOS CABOS – IGFA Offshore World Championship
Time: May 13, 2012 at 6pm to May 18, 2012 at 7pm
Location: Los Cabos
City/Town: Los Cabos BCS
Organized By: IGFA

Photo courtesy of http://www.igfaoffshorechampionship.com/offshore_championship