2015 AOTY Prize Kayak

Sweet, thanks for adding that option Jim!  I guess if I had to choose between the original two options, I'd prefer the "raffle kayak" option.  But I can understand how some folks don't think they've "won" AOTY unless they receive something with significant monetary value. Personally I'd be satisfied with just getting the cred and maybe a plaque/trophy (doesn't mean I'd turn down the kayak though  ).

Chris, you are definitely in the running this year & one to watch in future years but I would like you to remember this isn't just about you. There are guys who have been playing & trying to win for many years now. I imagine if you dedicate yourself to winning & it takes you years to do so, like it did Bird/02B/ATD & myself, you might then have a different definition of your personal satisfaction. The whole raffle thing is extremely disrespectful to those individuals still trying, after years of hard fishing & sacrifice, to finally reach their goal.

So please don't continue to disrespect the past & future AOTY's by posting what you guess they're thinking re: winning. You will only really know what you yourself think about the subject......after you've won.

Sorry for the disrespect Jim, and others.  Sometimes I get ahead of myself and don't re-read my posts before I click 'Post'.  You're right in that I should not speak for others.

You make winning AOTY sound like something worth much more than winning a kayak.  Let's be realistic here: there are people who sign up for tournaments just so they can win 'stuff'.  Not everyone, but you know there are people out there who do.  I was not singling out every past and future AOTY winner and saying what they were thinking.  That's why I voted for the "raffle prize + kayak to AOTY winner" category in the poll, so we could get the best of both worlds in terms of participation and promoting competition.

I'll still sign up next year regardless of who receives the kayak.

Big Jim I think you have done a wonderful job managing AOTY and don't think you should change anything. I think that by attaching it to PIF and going with the raffle you restored a warm and fuzzy feeling that AOTY has been missing for a few years. I assume that you want it to grow so I would open the poll to all since I don't feel any members opinion is worthless and it might encourage them to play/donate. If you go back to the old format I wish you luck. 

1 kayak for AOTY champ, 1 kayak for DOTY champ, and 1 kayak to be raffled. Keep the ticket-per-species rule.

Seems like we could use some of the proceeds from entry fees to purchase 2 kayaks for prizes...maybe even straight donations. But at the very least you'd think we could get 2 yaks at discounted prices, considering there are so many sponsored anglers in NCKA nowadays. Practically everyone has some kind of yakfishing industry affiliation in their signature...but what good is it if they don't want to donate a prize for the greatest year-long kayak fishing tournament in CA? It's a good opportunity to get free marketing & exposure for them too...and they get a full years' worth of advertising for their kayak.

Problem solved and there would still be thousand$ going to PIF. Guarantee it would increase participation!

1 kayak for AOTY champ, 1 kayak for DOTY champ, and 1 kayak to be raffled. Keep the ticket-per-species rule.

Seems like we could use some of the proceeds from entry fees to purchase 2 kayaks for prizes...maybe even straight donations. But at the very least you'd think we could get 2 yaks at discounted prices, considering there are so many sponsored anglers in NCKA nowadays. Practically everyone has some kind of yakfishing industry affiliation in their signature...but what good is it if they don't want to donate a prize for the greatest year-long kayak fishing tournament in CA? It's a good opportunity to get free marketing & exposure for them too...and they get a full years' worth of advertising for their kayak.

Problem solved and there would still be thousand$ going to PIF. Guarantee it would increase participation!

+1 to pats solution. Whatever is good for the organization and in keeping with our values as a group.

If someone competes in AOTY solely for the prize, then they are wasting their time and money.  I like the idea of the top prize going to the winner. That being said, mickfish is right about the warm and fuzzies being absent for the last few years. When I started AOTY I thought it was a just for fun kinda competition, and boy was I wrong.

I guess it comes down to what kind of tournament we want to have. I don't feel that making AOTY more fuzzy wuzzy takes away from my 3 year AOTY chase, but all things being equal I would like to see the winner take a big prize to recognize their big effort.

Jim, thanks for the effort!

All, I think the kayak prize is more of an AOTY thing than a DOTY thing, and I'm a first year DOTY guy, so take my comments with that in mind.

The way I see it, if you're more concerned with getting another kayak than improving your angling skills, catching big fish, and bragging rights among your fishing peers, you've got your priorities mixed up.....

In all honesty, I want a new kayak, you want a new kayak, he wants a new kayak, she wants a new kayak. But I, and I hope the same goes for everyone else, don't want a new kayak at the expense of resentment and detrimental envy within a generally friendly and welcoming community.

Some of the biggest DOTY fish have been pulled just feet from me, even some from "my" (humble) spots. Am I envious? YES! Am I resentful or at all hesitant to continue diving "my" spots with others? Hell no! Would it be different if I was a real contender, and the cost of sharing spots and diving with others could be not winning a kayak? I'd rather not know... There are reasons that some of the most "successful" fisherman are lone wolves.

Having fun, building relationships, improving our skills, and friendly competition should be the focus of AOTY/DOTY. Leave the anger, resentment, and higher stakes for the for-profit competitions.

When I look back at the past winners, I remember the BEST that NCKA has to offer.  I have no idea what they won.

Chuck, Sean, Allen, Patrick, Jim, Adam, Bird ... you guys are the best fishermen I know.

And Craig, you are the second best fisherman I know.   

-Allen

EVERYBODY likes to win stuff. There's nothing wrong with it until people start suggesting that there is.

Someone posted recently that "all AOTY winners immediately sold their kayaks for the cash". This was completely false as most of us still have ours & use them.

& then these choice words were just posted by 'Jeremy'.


", if you're more concerned with getting another kayak than improving your angling skills"


I actually think all of the guilt tripping going on re: prizes is what's THE NEGATIVE. Not the actual prizes going to the people who place.

What do you think motivates these kinds of posts?  Something to think about.

Nobody that won did it for the kayak.  But then I'd be speaking for you all.  Tell me I'm wrong.

-Allen

I fished AOTY competitively in 2010 and 2011.  Winning a kayak was not motivation or on my mind at all.  I fished it for the personal challenge and because it looked like folks were having fun.  That said, it was great winning the Hobie as it has opened-up new ways to fish.  Had a bunch of great adventures with friends, spent a lot of time in special places I love, met a bunch of folks, and fished for species I had never chased or had really cared to chase.  Life has gotten a lot busier since those years and in hindsight I’m amazed at how much fishing I did during those 2 years. At the 2011 AOTY awards ceremony someone jokingly asked for a speech, but all I had to say was “FISH HARD, HAVE FUN!”  That’s what it was, and still is, all about to me – great adventures with friends in magical places chasing quality fish and experiences.  So many great memories and fun times. 

I support Pat’s proposal for 3 kayaks – Hobie for AOTY winner, second kayak for DOTY, and third for AOTY/DOTY raffle.  A little something for everybody.  Along these lines this is why I like the small plaques for the 20 biggest species – gives recognition to more folks who might only fish for 1-2 species, or those who get to celebrate a memorable hawg they caught that year.

I was gunning for the kayak. That is the prize. That BEING the prize had a lot of stuff that went along with it. Don't speak for other people at all. You don't know. That's total bs. The kayak is the trophy. Concerned with angling skills? You don't have to have a hive inventory of skills. Just a few. Some luck and bring in the right place at the right time.

Personally I think that the bragging rights of Angler Of The Year is a huge score and something to be very proud of, like other shave said.  And for me it was always a personal challenge first, before becoming a competition for prizes.  That said, a Kunz Gaff or a Picsean Plaque are the two prizes that I have sought after most.   

Sean's plaques are nice, and I would really like a Kunz gaff too. Some day for the later.

I was gunning for the kayak. That is the prize. That BEING the prize had a lot of stuff that went along with it. Don't speak for other people at all. You don't know. That's total bs. The kayak is the trophy.

Considering that NEITHER of us have won it, we BOTH don't know.   

-Allen

I was gunning for the kayak. That is the prize. That BEING the prize had a lot of stuff that went along with it. Don't speak for other people at all. You don't know. That's total bs. The kayak is the trophy.

Considering that NEITHER of us have won it, we BOTH don't know.   

-Allen

I REALLY wanted that Hobie in 2013, but the prize wasn't why I signed up for AOTY.  Heck, I didn't even know what the prize was my first year. For me AOTY was about the challenge more than anything.  In 2013 I had the win in the bag pretty early, but I still wanted to beat Salty's score from 2012 (I was in awe of his performance that year) so I kept fishing hard up until the last week of December. 

I agree with Craig that the kayak is a trophy, but the plaque will be on my wall long after I sell my Revo 13 and the memories will be with me for a lifetime.