AOTY 2017 Suggestion Thread and other rule proposals

Hi All,

In addition to the rule proposals that I put up for vote, here are other potential rule proposals that the committee is considering.  Some of these are more of clarification of our current judging practices, others may have some consideration for you guys, but none are really worth "voting" on.  In addition, please feel free to use this thread as a sounding board for other ideas you have or potential suggestions you have for the committee.

Rule proposals:

• Catfish, Sturgeon and Cabezon may be measured belly down.  In general, we allow these three fish species to be measured with belly down on the trough.  The reasoning is that since the fish's mouth is on the underside of its head, placing the fish belly down will not allow the mouth to be open significantly, and will not increase the length of the fish. We propose spelling this out in the rules so that people understand this is an acceptable practice.
• Hawg Trough Extender Verification - there is a significant amount of different types of hawg trough extensions out there, it is difficult for us to ascertain their legality.  So we are proposing that each competitor submit a picture of a verified measurement for their trough and extender (such as Gimme Shelter extenders, plastic extenders, yardsticks, etc) for each fish they submit using an extension.  You wouldn't be required to take the picture of the extension and length verification every time, but could for example do it once in the beginning of the year and repost it every time you use the extension.
• Hash marks - due to glare, we often cannot tell the accurate length of the fish for certain boards.  While we generally downgrade fish to the closest visible hash mark, we are proposing to make this a formal rule so people know its there and voluntarily submit the lengths that they can prove. The rule would be that each fish will be required to be submitted at the closest visible hash mark only.  So for example, if your extension does not have a 1/4" hash, you have to voluntarily downgrade it to the previous hash mark instead of just guessing at it.  If you have bad glare in your picture, you should submit to the hash mark that is clearly visible.
• Hash marks must be marked on board.  This is a rule instituted by the Kayak Bass Fishing series and its a good one for the judges.  We often get fish pictures on boards that are not marked, and they are difficult for us to judge properly.  This rule may be controversial to some of you, so please feel free to comment as necessary.

Feel free to weigh in here on these proposals and suggest other ideas. As in the other proposals, please only comment if you are an AOTY competitor or honestly plan to be one in the future.

All good stuff there. I would also add lingcod as belly down.

All good stuff there. I would also add lingcod as belly down.

+2

All good stuff there. I would also add lingcod as belly down.

+3.  Will this get to page 11?

All good stuff there. I would also add lingcod as belly down.

+3.  Will this get to page 11?

Yes, please keep going.  We have discussed this before but are unsure about it due to the way Lings sit when belly down.  Because their lower jaw is often longer than their upper jaw, it may be difficult for us to determine whether the mouth is properly closed or not (for the mouth open or mouth slightly open) rule if the fish is shot from directly above.  as such, it is possible that allowing a ling to be pictured belly down may allow for some increased length.  I believe we only had one submission this year that was belly down and we discussed the fish when it was approved.  In that particular picture it was clear the jaw was completely shut, but it may not be so easy in other pictures.  That's why I'm hesitant to allow Lings to be officially measured belly down and may just keep it more on a case by case basis.  I prefer lings to be measured from the side.  Most lings submitted are kept fish, so we don't really give any slack to poor measurements on lings.  But if you guys think its really OK then we'll definitely consider it.

Number the current places on the leaderboard.

NWKA has this and I'm not sure why we never got it?

of course they also have 25 species and already allow SUP/canoe/hybrids and sails.

All good stuff there. I would also add lingcod as belly down.

+3.  Will this get to page 11?

Most lings submitted are kept fish, so we don't really give any slack to poor measurements on lings.

Either give slack on all fish.... or don't give any slack at all!!!! That's my .02 cents.
Also I see nothing wrong with the score board going all the way down. If you don't like being seen way down there Jim... Catch more fish 

Also I see nothing wrong with the score board going all the way down. If you don't like being seen way down there Jim... Catch more fish 

You didn't understand what I'm asking. I'm asking that all of the entered people be numbered just like NWKA's AOTY does.

It's much easier to see where you place on any given day.

Also I see nothing wrong with the score board going all the way down. If you don't like being seen way down there Jim... Catch more fish 

You didn't understand what I'm asking. I'm asking that all of the entered people be numbered just like NWKA's AOTY does.

It's much easier to see where you place on any given day.

Oh yea I misunderstood. Ill have to check it out.. And hopefully you know I just giving you a hard time about placement 

Also I see nothing wrong with the score board going all the way down. If you don't like being seen way down there Jim... Catch more fish 

You didn't understand what I'm asking. I'm asking that all of the entered people be numbered just like NWKA's AOTY does.

It's much easier to see where you place on any given day.

We can check if bsteves can do that for us.

Number the current places on the leaderboard.

NWKA has this and I'm not sure why we never got it?

of course they also have 25 species and already allow SUP/canoe/hybrids and sails.

They also don't care if the mouth is open.

bump to top - time to weigh in on these rules if you want, we'll be doing new rules at beginning of dec.

Either give slack on all fish.... or don't give any slack at all!!!! That's my .02 cents.

I would say there seems to be some inconsistencies on how fish are evaluated by the committee.

I have no interest in "calling people out", it would just be nice to have some consistency to maintain the integrity of the competition.

Either give slack on all fish.... or don't give any slack at all!!!! That's my .02 cents.

I would say there seems to be some inconsistencies on how fish are evaluated by the committee. Is it favoritism? I don't know, but there are certain members that seem to get fish disqualified quite often and others that don't, even though their entries should not pass either...

I have no interest in "calling people out", it would just be nice to have some consistency to maintain the integrity of the competition.

if you feel there is inconsistency, please feel free to PM any of the committee members.  We try to keep the approvals consistent but as we have several people approving, sometimes things may slip through the cracks.  Generally, any borderline fish are approved by committee vote. 

Either give slack on all fish.... or don't give any slack at all!!!! That's my .02 cents.

I would say there seems to be some inconsistencies on how fish are evaluated by the committee. Is it favoritism? I don't know, but there are certain members that seem to get fish disqualified quite often and others that don't, even though their entries should not pass either...

I have no interest in "calling people out", it would just be nice to have some consistency to maintain the integrity of the competition.

That is a biased opinion it appears. If there is any question on a fish being legit or not it goes to committee. If it fails it was a bad picture. If it passes it was good. There has been no grey area this year. If the fished failed the picture sucked and the person who took it should review before releasing the fish to swim free. If the fish was dq'd and it was dead there is zero excuse for a bad picture. Bottom line, take good pictures and you will be fine.

If we messed up send the pic in question to any of us to review.