Should AOTY 2008 include panfish?

To quote a title from one of my son's books..."Fish is fish". 

I can't believe a bunch of guys who fish out of over sized tupperware containers can judge panfishing to be less worthy then rockfishing.

BTW, if you don't think panfishing is sporty or fun, your using the wrong equipment.  Time to go out and buy some new rods.  They make some really nice long ultralight rods now for panfishing.  A nice light weight fly-rod is also a blast.

Anyway, if you're still worried about you manhood and can't imagine being caught fishing for sunfish or crappie, take a kid with you for cover.

Brian

I particepated in the AOTY this year and found myself fishing 90% freshwater. So there was no chance of me winning with this format. I was thinking I could win one of the freshwater fish species thats why I tried. Did the folks who started the AOTY think about having a freshwater and a saltwater format. Maybe you might get more people to participate who might be more interested in one species of fish over the other. Maybe there should be a poll to see who is interested it that.
This is just my two cents. And I do think pan fish should be included. They are a lot of fun to catch.
A nice crappie would beat some of the bass that were checked in the AOTY this year.
 

Hi Yakers:

           Don't forget the pucker factor! I would rather catch 1 Butt  per year than a  sack full of panfish.
           I do at times catch my own bait and, have had fun doing so.
I love the smell of burning Drags, it remindes of Victory!
                                                                           Just my Spin
                                                                           Ernie

I was thinking I could win one of the freshwater fish species thats why I tried. Did the folks who started the AOTY think about having a freshwater and a saltwater format. Maybe you might get more people to participate who might be more interested in one species of fish over the other. Maybe there should be a poll to see who is interested it that.
This is just my two cents. And I do think pan fish should be included. They are a lot of fun to catch.
A nice crappie would beat some of the bass that were checked in the AOTY this year.

Year 1 started like this.....

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,23.msg104.html#msg104

is mahi mahi from hawaii a pan fish. i vote yes for pan fish. i vote yes to every fish. sharks i say no, to easy to catch. angler of the year. its hard to imagine this. putting up my sail fish against a pan fish. woops i cant be an angler of the year. hawaii doesnt count good luck you all. we need kayak records. we need salt water  and fresh water. how could angler of the year not include mahi and ono. we need world records, state records. we need true angler of the year. is there such a thing www.saltwaterkayakangler.com lets do it.

is mahi mahi from hawaii a pan fish. i vote yes for pan fish. i vote yes to every fish. sharks i say no, to easy to catch. angler of the year. its hard to imagine this. putting up my sail fish against a pan fish. woops i cant be an angler of the year. hawaii doesnt count good luck you all. we need kayak records. we need salt water  and fresh water. how could angler of the year not include mahi and ono. we need world records, state records. we need true angler of the year. is there such a thing www.saltwaterkayakangler.com lets do it.

I think there should be two categories: saltwater AOTY and freshwater AOTY.

If you catch a mahi mahi in NorCal, then you totally deserve to win AOTY!
PK

hell yeah. angler of the year for any nor cal that can catch a mahi in nor cal. how far to the continetal shelf. we used to catch tuna out of port san luis after a 12 hour boat ride. good luck just playing.  good luck to all norcal anglers of the year. i will be going for the same in the aqua hunter contest. merry christmas happy new year.

I vote NO for panfish in the AOTY.  How often do we see kayak fishing reports for panfish?  Not very often!!!

It seems like most of the saltwater anglers in this site are not in favor of bluegills....but lets think of the guys who live inland and have less access to salt water fishing....adding bluegills will at least give 'em a chance of collecting "some" points.

I thought that the purpose of this contest is to have fun and get fishermen target fish that they don't normally fish for.....

Just my 2 cents....

I vote NO for panfish in the AOTY.  How often do we see kayak fishing reports for panfish?  Not very often!!!

That is because I use secret lures at secret spots! 

 
 Got my Ringer

sure, let's put some sharks, panfish, catfish, mahi mahi, white seabass, carps, smelt, shad, pikes, Chiclids, arowana, etc... to blow bsteves & Bill's data base up... 

but now, chucke said "NO", so I'm having a second thought... (but Mooch said "yes" though...)
This confuses that heck out of me, but if it helps many people to participate then it's all good!    

  I've been a bit out of touch installing a new computer, but would like to apologize for my remark about sharks being trash fish. That was way too broad a statement, based on several decades of being plagued by the buggers in the Gulf Coast before meeting the local nuisance varieties. Yes, a leopard shark is a beautiful fish. A mako is, as well, and you could say the same for several others. I've fished for larger sharks on several occasions, but gave it up a good 25 years ago because the appeal, for me, diminished drastically after catching the first big one.
  Where they become trash is when you reach the dogfish, guitarfish, hammerheads, small sandies, and other dedicated bait-stealers that provide neither decent sport nor decent table fare. Isn't that what trash fish really means? I know lots of people would put ladyfish on that list, but I'd rather catch (and always release) one nice ladyfish than a boatload of dogfish. (It's a shame we don't have a few of those around here.)
  Either way, I don't want any part of any decent-sized shark on a kayak, C&R or not. I still think panfish should be counted. Even a decent haul on a sabiki rig should count for something. Like I said, they're fish. But I promise not to enter.

A newbie sounds off again....

Here’s 2 more of my cents worth,

I’ve read every one of the 58 replies (at the moment) here.  And I read all the response on the Rules and signup post.  Lots of questions and good discussion raised.

To me the main question is what the intent of the contest really is.

IMHO it is currently set up so that only a handful of the 1200+ members have any real chance of winning. (Yes I realize most of the “members” don’t participate on the site at all)

So you all have to decide what you want,

If you’d like more participation (a good thing?) something needs to be done about the format/rules. 

If you want to keep it as a friendly competition among a small group of fishing fanatics (absolutely nothing wrong with that) then leave it the way it is.

Also I’m not the most computer literate person around but I don’t seem to be able to find much info on the contest, like; does that $pot go to the winner, and the next 9 places get some sort of prize? I see the pot at $840, is that all the entry fees, or half of them or what?

Well you get my point.  Is that info out there and I’m just too computer challenged to find it?

I’m not a real competitive person but I wouldn’t mind throwing $40 into a contest where a portion of the money goes to a good cause like a kids fishing program or even the CSBA.

But I’m probably not going to throw $40 into a pot when I don’t have a chance of any kind of return like feeling good about where the money went.

I guess I better get down off my soap box now.

dale