AOTY 2017 Suggestion Thread and other rule proposals

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.

Like I said I have no desire to re-hash anything. Just food for thought. I know I'm not the only one who thinks this.

I will be entering for first time next year and totaly stoked! Yahoo! 

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.

Like I said I have no desire to re-hash anything. Just food for thought. I know I'm not the only one who thinks this.

This is the only group I've come across that seems to care. It is off putting. I haven't entered a lot of nice fish just because I knew the pic would get rejected, and I entered a gross greenling just because it fit the rules that I probably otherwise wouldn't have bothered. It's not really about the fish under the current rules, it's about the picture. That sucks, and from the pole in the other thread most people want it to change.

I don't think that there is favoritism going on, but I understand why it looks that way to some people and it's because of the contest being about the picture and not about the fish.

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.

Like I said I have no desire to re-hash anything. Just food for thought. I know I'm not the only one who thinks this.

This is the only group I've come across that seems to care. It is off putting. I haven't entered a lot of nice fish just because I knew the pic would get rejected, and I entered a gross greenling just because it fit the rules that I probably otherwise wouldn't have bothered. It's not really about the fish under the current rules, it's about the picture. That sucks, and from the pole in the other thread most people want it to change.

I don't think that there is favoritism going on, but I understand why it looks that way to some people and it's because of the contest being about the picture and not about the fish.

I get that, but the pic has to be good and it has to be extremely accurate. I say that from first hand experience. I lost over the course of an entire season by less than 1/4 inch total length. I would have ended up in second place. Third was cool, but second would have just been a little better. So if the picture is questionable it needs to be downgraded or dq'd. A mouth slightly open can give at least a 1/4 inch boost. I am not saying that I lost due to an open mouth, but it could happen in the future. We want to prevent that from happening, therefore the rules are the way they are.

Right. AOTY is a picture contest, not a big fish contest. That's what I said.

It is a contest with somewhat strict rules. If it was an easy contest more people would finish closer to the top in points. Bottom line is it takes big fish with solid proof it is a big fish. You can not in any way have a chance to place in the top five with ten average fish. Or even 5 huge fish and 5 average fish. Cant happen. It is a big fish contest. Pictures are there to prove the size without any doubt.

My plans as of today are to not compete next year. I will however pay the $40 to enter because the funds go to a good cause. I do not have the time it takes this coming year to be a on the water 2 days a week for 52 weeks to finish top 3, or even top 5. I will however enter fish so I can be in the drawing at the end of the year, if we do that again, for a kayak.

Right. AOTY is a picture contest, not a big fish contest. That's what I said.

With the current rules it's still about catching big fish. It's also about taking a good photo of the fish. Before the mouth closed rule existed there were some competitors that would gripe and grief other participants because of the perception that some competitors were trying to increase the length of their fish by intentionally manipulating the mouth of the fish... a few years of petty behavior later... we have the strict mouth closed rule. The bottom line is that the guys who compete to win are the same guys who consistently catch a large diversity of BIG FISH. Most of the guys who compete to win have themselves had multiple fish rejected ( I know I have).

Anyhow, it's still a big fish contest as far as I see it. I don't really care whether the mouth is open or closed. I want a high participation contest with friendly rivalries, cooperation and competition where the guy or gal who catches the most big fish wins.

It should be noted that the mouth closed rule was established before all but one of us got suckered into being on the committee.

It is a contest with somewhat strict rules. If it was an easy contest more people would finish closer to the top in points. Bottom line is it takes big fish with solid proof it is a big fish. You can not in any way have a chance to place in the top five with ten average fish. Or even 5 huge fish and 5 average fish. Cant happen. It is a big fish contest. Pictures are there to prove the size without any doubt.

Kinda like life....put in the serious effort and you will reap the benefits of your labor. Not everyone can win, not everyone gets a trophy.

I agree that the current format puts too much emphasis on the quality of photos. We've sort of boxed ourselves (committee members AND participants) into an extreme black & white situation...which leaves no room for practicallity or common sense. So we often have to outright DQ fish due to slightly-open mouths and blurry pics, even if it didn't appear to give extra length or other advantages. In my opinion, that sucks. And this is supposed to be a fishing contest; not a photography contest.

Also, different topic, but the idea that the committee plays favorites or is biased pisses me off. I guess I understand the idea. However, it is flat out incorrect. I am extremely objective when reviewing submissions...because I take this shit seriously. (I have so much pride in the community we've built, this AOTY contest we support, and the work that people put into it) And that's my personal style--it's easy for me to tell a friend their submission was rejected because their fish pics suck or if he/she submitted a pic of their fish w/mouth open. Facts are facts. Unfortunately, in this case, there are a few people who repeatedly submit unacceptable pics. Going on memory, I estimate 12 fish were rejected this year...from a total of 6 members. Every submission that's borderline is discussed & voted by the committee.

While at the same time, I do feel bad for the people whose fish get rejected for minor issues (like mouth barely open or blurry pics). I think we all do. Nobody finds joy in rejecting someone's fish.
The hard part is finding that balance--between a fair/equitable contest while keeping it fun. That's why it is important to address this issue.

Going on memory, I estimate 12 fish were rejected this year...from a total of 6 members. Every submission that's borderline is discussed & voted by the committee.

I believe there were more actually.  Some people chose to delete fish after a rejection.  But I agree with PK's overall sentiment, and everyone knows I'm unbiased - I hate you all the same.

Also, as an example to what PK said as for favoritism, we would have rejected a fish from Matt Mayes based upon information we found from other sources.  Matt decided to delete the fish himself.  So that's an example of how we enforce our rules without bias.  I also personally rejected two of Archie's fish this year and I felt zero qualms doing it.

The rules that matter the most are:
1. Mouth closed
2. Pictures clear
3. Legal to keep
4. No assistance in landing fish either through mothershipping or netting/gaffing by others

I feel that its time to relax #1 so that it becomes less of a picture taking/fish positioning competition and that people can handle fish a little easier and hopefully release them quicker, but the measurements must be accurate -so I would like to be a little stricter on people who try to claim lengths that we can't verify.  That's the point of the hawg trough rules.  My primary concern is that we continue to be seen as stewards of our resource and sportsmen.  I tried to take a picture of a 21"+ rainbow the other day and was failing miserably, so I just gave up and released him instead of trying to continue to hold on to him for pics.