2015 AOTY & DOTY!!!

As it currently stands, there are 8 saltwater categories, 8 freshwater categories, and 4 anadromous categories. Seems like a good balance. Adding or removing additional categories might throw off the balance.

Doesn't the 120' depth restriction severely hamper the petrale sole fishing?

Starry flounder and petrale sole are both managed as federal groundfish, so they have the same season & depth restrictions as RCG. But that's just one reason why adding flounder as a category was vetoed. ID issues is another potential problem when considering many of the flounder species look very similar (and only certain species can be harvested at certain times of the year, from certain depths, etc).

Doesn't the 120' depth restriction severely hamper the petrale sole fishing?

Nope, it does make it more difficult, but I  have caught them in both Trinidad and Shelter Cove less than 120ft.  Also one of the Humboldtuna.com members has done the same out of Humboldt bay.

Is there any reason why the flounder/sole/dab fish won't be added?

+1 on the sails.  It's not kayak or man powered once the sail is in use.

Your adding even more number of species to DOTY which already has more species than AOTY , but your keeping the number of species the same in AOTY when both CCKA and NWKA both have more species than NCKA in AOTY.

Again AOTY favors people living south of Mendocino.

You want sanddabs added to AOTY? I thought you only fished for species that made your reel scream. You got some kind of mutant dabby up north? 

No not sand dabs specifically, but all other flatfish besides halibut which some  I catch on a regular basis like petrale sole, sand sole, sand dabs or starry flounder.  I have yet to catch one at 14" which is the trophy mark for Kayak Wars, but I have caught some at 13"+

Flatties are fun but they're not a fish people usually target, in my experience they're always a by-catch, which is awesome but a ton of luck goes into it. It would make things interesting to have them on AOTY but I don't think participants would go out of their way to go on flatfish missions

The flattish are far from luck and easy to target.  Just get off the rocks and target the bottom of a Sandy or muddy area.  Dabs, sand soles, and starry flounder can all be found in less than 100ft.  Petrale sole and the other soles tend to be deeper.  Also that would give us a species to target here up north when rockfish is closed.  Not to mention I was fucked this year by the closed Pacific Halibut season in August.  Now in 2015, we will be lucky if it's even open for 3 months which is another reason to bring back flounder category.  Most fish besides Rockfish, salmon and pacific halibut that will even have you contending for a top spot in AOTY, are 3 hrs or more from us.  Just look at where all the top size, bass, catfish, trout, wsb (5hrs+), sturgeon (4hrs), and  striped bass.

ALL of the salt water fish are over 3.5 hours from me. So what is the difference then. We all have to travel for some species no matter what if you want to be a contender.

As it currently stands, there are 8 saltwater categories, 8 freshwater categories, and 4 anadromous categories. Seems like a good balance. Adding or removing additional categories might throw off the balance.

Doesn't the 120' depth restriction severely hamper the petrale sole fishing?

Starry flounder and petrale sole are both managed as federal groundfish, so they have the same season & depth restrictions as RCG. But that's just one reason why adding flounder as a category was vetoed. ID issues is another potential problem when considering many of the flounder species look very similar (and only certain species can be harvested at certain times of the year, from certain depths, etc).

It works fine for CCKA and NWKA, but NCKA can't handle it?  I  have caught 200ft starry flounder as well as petrale sole.  I wasn't able to get a 200pter this year in less than the groundfishdepth, but I did catch a Petrale worth 169.5pts in CCKA.
Who on the AOTY committee lives north of Sonoma?  Probably no one.  The reasons given are funny at best.  Petrale Sole is easily identified from other flatfish.  As far a s the depth restrictions and such, it's a rule that you have to obey DFG laws anyways what's the big deal.  Salmon has more laws that you folks down south are always bringing up the same questions about the laws.  As time goes I am losing more and more interest in participating in AOTY or NCKA since it caters to members south of Mendocino.

As time goes I am losing more and more interest in participating in AOTY or NCKA since it caters to members south of Mendocino.

Right Rob, that's why we added Pacific Halibut as its own species, because of all the Pacbutts hanging off Monterey.   

Dude, keep in mind population demographics.  Humboldt Co. has a total population of ~135K and Mendocino Co. has a population of ~87K.  It's not about catering to anyone.

-Allen

I hear you, Rob. But you seem to do pretty well despite those perceived 'disadvantages' of living in Humboldt. The fishing up there appears to be really productive. Just imagine if all of these other hundreds of talented anglers fished Trinidad, Shelter cove, and the Cape every wknd...  Every region has it advantages & disadvantages. If you had to choose the perfect region for AOTY specifically, it would probably be the north bay. But would you personally want to move there? I know I wouldn't haha!
I hope you still compete in AOTY next year man! Your reports are epic and often catch some amazing fish.

Btw the committee has discussed this stuff and voted; I'm not making these decisions in a closed room (I'm just the only one replying to this thread at the moment haha).

Pat quit being nice.

Rob quit the bitchfest.

There i feel better now.

The way I see it Craig is this. There are only couple species that the sail could possibly benefit if the angler used it. 1 is Salmon, but over the last few years the biggest Salmon have all been caught by a paddler/pedaler. 2nd is Pac Hali. They are a long way out there usually, but only a couple guys here are fishing for them anyway, and it really is not a big point fish in general, although it could be. 3rd is WSB. They can be a long way out there too. But as stated before, the majority of WSB were caught by paddlers/pedalers. One could argue that pedals are unfair too. Do we disallow them? How much of an advantage is a sail? Personally I really don't care if I compete against them or not. All the fish we fish for are close enough to paddle too anyway. I know someone will disagree with me here. Oh well. How does it get policed anyway? It can't be. It is on the honor system. This is what we decided to do for 2015.

Thanks to the AOTY crew for all their work, without you guys there would not be a competition.  Looking forward to my first 200 pt fish in 2015!….Poseidon willing.

Aaron

Overall fish changes look good.

I'm in the no sails camp.

Sorry if this offends folks but very dissapointed to see the big fish plaques replaced with a frickin beer glass.  Frat house cheesy IMO and if I was lucky enough to win one it would end up in the cupboard along with the pile of other monogrammed beer glasses from beer companies, restraurants, beer/wine festivals, first marriages, high school reunions, senior proms, and bowling leagues. 

AOTY is one of the premier kayak fishing events and deserves more class.  The plaques are great for hanging in man caves, offices, garages and homes, and bring back good memories of good fish during those long work days. They also are cool for guys who can't fish alot but score a nice fish every now and then so they can be recognized.  Dissapointed to see things move in this direction.   

All good points. Much appreciated & noted. John, if you win one of the Big Fish categories next year, I'll trade you one of my old plaques for your pint glass. Because I'd much rather have that. 

This is the farthest thing from a kayak that I could find Craig.

I think allowing the sails is lame if it has to be registered it shouldn't be allowed as it is no longer a Kayak. I would rather see rowboats allowed than Sailboats.

The way I see it Craig is this. There are only couple species that the sail could possibly benefit if the angler used it. 1 is Salmon, but over the last few years the biggest Salmon have all been caught by a paddler/pedaler. 2nd is Pac Hali. They are a long way out there usually, but only a couple guys here are fishing for them anyway, and it really is not a big point fish in general, although it could be. 3rd is WSB. They can be a long way out there too. But as stated before, the majority of WSB were caught by paddlers/pedalers. One could argue that pedals are unfair too. Do we disallow them? How much of an advantage is a sail? Personally I really don't care if I compete against them or not. All the fish we fish for are close enough to paddle too anyway. I know someone will disagree with me here. Oh well. How does it get policed anyway? It can't be. It is on the honor system. This is what we decided to do for 2015.

I agree with everything you said. I think allowing sails will continue to be a non issue. Only one person/Raydon even entered any sail caught fish in the previous TWO YEARS OF AOTY SAIL DIVISION COMPETITION. KW has been allowing them & I haven't heard of anyone using them to any advantage over kayaks without sails. There are several other kayak sail manufacturers besides Hobie so people with non Hobie kayaks can fit their boats with sails if they want to. I will be amazed if someone can place in the top five with ALL sail caught fish. I seriously doubt there will be any effect on the competition as a result of allowing sails but...... if some sailor will step up & prove me wrong......well that would be pretty cool.

I agree with what John said about the big fish plaques. The pints are really cool & I would like to have a couple someday. But glass breaks & there goes the cherished trophy. I understand these decisions have already been made but hopefully if enough people weigh in the small plaques can be brought back at some point.

Hey I hear & agree with you that in principle the sail changes the nature of the craft. But historically it's been a non issue & I think we can also both agree with RacinRob that IF someone wanted to step up & try to win or place with their sail caught fish they can go ahead & try.

I doubt I will enter any sail caught fish if I play next year.

All good points. Much appreciated & noted. John, if you win one of the Big Fish categories next year, I'll trade you one of my old plaques for your pint glass. Because I'd much rather have that. 

Good to know Pat.  Next time the carnival comes to town I'll take a roll of dimes and see if I can flip'em into the beer glasses to win a few for you.  Hey, maybe I'll get lucky and win a matching ashtray or cereal bowl too!