Congradulation to the AOTY top 10 2008

Also a big congrats to the Top 10. And great last-minute push by Bungle and FisHunter to jump ahead of Mooch into the 10.

Funny thing is that I got a PM from Guirtarzan (a week before the new year) saying ".....brother beware, Fish Hunter and I are gunning for your spot "   

It's all good....I know where they live

Man Sean, you set the new mark of greatness this year @ 1700 pts!

This was never part of the plan.  Early in the season as the Leepins went out of the gates hot, I remember Shimmy saying "its gonna take 1500 to win this year"...well as everyone kept swinging and swinging it just kept getting higher and higher.  Like any fishing tournament you have to have skill, a good strategy, and a little luck.  As it turned out for me in 08 I had all three...luck in particular!  I caught my personal best cabby and halibut when I simply was trying to get a fish for the card...those are the fish that really won it for me.   It'll be fun to watch 09 and see if this new bar is durable, or just part of a natural progression as the sport grows along with the competition.

When I grow up I wanna fish like SBD!!!

The secret of my fishing success is to actively AVOID growing up!!!  I f you don't have a little creativity, and aren't willing to take some risks (things most grown-ups seem to lack nowadays) I don't think you do what you need to do to win.  Besides your new kid is gonna need someone FUN to play with!

 

I tried to make the top 10 real hard. HUGE PROPS to the top ten and to everyone who participated.
I cannot tell you how many times I saw a change in the standings and said, "Sonavabitch! So and so got a sturgeon...or halibut....nice job." 
One thing I will definitely not do this year is be so cavalier about points.
I had a bigger trout than I posted and a bigger LMB than I posted thinking I would do better. I was too cocky on the trout and didn't check the battery on my camera on the LMB.
Neither would have made a difference in making the top ten but I think this year EVERY point possible will be needed.
I am looking forward to yelling Sonavabitch a lot this year.
Wait a sec...I just read the sturgeon report from SteveS.....Sonavabitch!....SteveS got a sturgeon........nice job. 

Awesome work Sean et al! 

You guys set a great example of what's possible in an AOTY for your northern couterparts!

Congrats to the new Champ, and all of the Top Ten! 

You definitely deserve it Sean, all your hardwork truly paid off.  It sure was fun trying to chase you down at the end, we fished for five species in december with some pretty nasty weather, but boy was it a blast!  The idea was to keep our success (or lack there of) a secret, while feeding some of our mutual friends little tidbits knowing they would get to you, hoping you would exhuaust some WAF and give us a chance at stopping a repeat in 09!

The best was fishing alongside Dad all year, he was the man with plan.

He led, I followed... 

The idea was to keep our success (or lack there of) a secret, while feeding some of our mutual friends little tidbits knowing they would get to you, hoping you would exhuaust some WAF and give us a chance at stopping a repeat in 09!

It worked like a charm.  Unfortunately your plan for 09 was foiled after I called Shimmy and he quickly reloaded my WAF account with some *bling* for the best wife on earth.  Welcome to WAF 101  ...

Congratulations to the TOP TEN!

Like Tote, I did what I could...fished hard, but fell a little short...

You men truly earned you spots among the best of the year. You have shown you are dedicated to "The Madness" and I thank you for your inspiration.

Fish on brothers,

Slammer

Congratulations SBD master yak fisher!!!! ....And congrats to the rest of the boys who made top ten..WTG, I hope to be in that caliber in the near future!!! See you on the water..Andy

The idea was to keep our success (or lack there of) a secret, while feeding some of our mutual friends little tidbits knowing they would get to you, hoping you would exhuaust some WAF and give us a chance at stopping a repeat in 09!

It worked like a charm.  Unfortunately your plan for 09 was foiled after I called Shimmy and he quickly reloaded my WAF account with some *bling* for the best wife on earth.  Welcome to WAF 101  ...

Now You Have Done It Sean!!! I opened that post with my GF sitting next to me!!!!! Looks like I might have visit Shimmy ....luckily I only came in third!

ps.........Beautiful Work

Also a big congrats to the Top 10. And great last-minute push by Bungle and FisHunter to jump ahead of Mooch into the 10.

Funny thing is that I got a PM from Guirtarzan (a week before the new year) saying ".....brother beware, Fish Hunter and I are gunning for your spot "   

It's all good....I know where they live

Dude, the crazy thing is that you finished out of the top 10 with 1151 points! You only had 1 less point than 2007. But in 2007, that was 5th Place. It's just crazy to see how much the competition increased in the last year! At this rate, it will take 1400 to crack the Top 10.
This will only be my second year, but I can tell AOTY is gaining serious momentum.

He said he was gonna do it...and he did it! WTCall it and to make it happen Sean! You deserve it BIG TIME!  many of last minute plans need to be made to do what you did and then to acttually hook your target is whole different CanO'Worms.... (IMO)
1700+pts. is outa my realm of reality. Once again... GoodJob oh'SilentOne   

Also a big congrats to the Top 10. And great last-minute push by Bungle and FisHunter to jump ahead of Mooch into the 10.

Funny thing is that I got a PM from Guirtarzan (a week before the new year) saying ".....brother beware, Fish Hunter and I are gunning for your spot "   

It's all good....I know where they live

love you when you're mad, Mooch! 
I thought I broke the Top-10 after a (what I thought was LMB 3in. upgrade) but it turned out to be 10pts. short and my heart just dropped....then the sturg' did it for Real_.

I am IN and looking forward to another TOUGH YEAR, with the regulars and a few others that will be *New to the FUN and Hookin'......it's gonna be EVEN TOUGHER than before!
which reminds me of a lil'saying:

if you want to BEtheBEST, you got to BEATtheBEST!

Congrats Sean, and everyone else in the Top Ten! You guys all ROCK!

I'm glad I could do my part in insuring your success by not getting ANY AOTY points  but be assured that I will be trying much harder this year! (barringnegativeeffectsonWAFpointsandapprovalthatis)