Angler of the Year 2017 (AOTY) - Kickoff and questions

I'm having trouble uploading my catch. Is there a max file size limit for the photographs?

Thanks

Bill

I'm having the same issue.

Strange, I just tried it and worked for me. How big are your files?

Tried both 494KB, 190KB and the original 2.21MB.

Mine was 1.7 MBs. I'm sure someone more technical will jump in, but you might try logging out and back in and/or clearing your cookies.

Tried all that with different browsers. Still not working for me.

Shoot, that should solve most image upload issues. If you get completely stuck please send the images to me (PM) and I'll see what I can do.

Has there ever been any talk about adding brown trout to the list of fish for AOTY? How come it’s not, but most others are? Brown trout are fun!


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Has there ever been any talk about adding brown trout to the list of fish for AOTY? How come it’s not, but most others are? Brown trout are fun!


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Brown's are excluded primarily because of their absence from Alaska water. On the other hand Brookies would be a welcome addition as they are found across the entire region.

Bummer.


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Has there ever been any talk about adding brown trout to the list of fish for AOTY? How come it’s not, but most others are? Brown trout are fun!

Brown's are excluded primarily because of their absence from Alaska water. On the other hand Brookies would be a welcome addition as they are found across the entire region.

Ahem.  Species 11, 12, 21 and 22 aren't even found throughout Oregon, species 23 is threatened throughout Oregon, and I haven't heard of many folks in Idaho or Montana catching species 1 through 7 in their local waters lately.  Not complaining, just saying.

Gonna have to disagree with you Tinker. Oregon is far better poised for many of those species you mention than other states.

Species 11 & 12. I'll give you those two. Sockeye is pretty much a Washington north species and Pinks are pretty much Puget Sound north only.

Species 21. Nearly all of the large Mackinaw entered in the tournament come from central Oregon lakes likes Odell and Crescent. Most Washington and even B.C. lakes don't produce the 15+ lb fish that Oregon lakes do. The only exception in the region is Priest and most of those fish are now stunted from overpopulation.

Species 22. Grayling must be on here for the Alaska anglers exclusively. There is really only 1 real kayak accessible population in the lower 48 that allows harvest and that is in Montana. Not a single entry has been submitted since AOTY began.

Species 23. News flash Bull Trout are threatened throughout Washington too. However, I would bet 90%+ of the entries for this species come from Billy Chinook in central Oregon. There are only a handful of streams in Washington where you can legally retain Bull Trout and most of those are so small they are not kayakable. Only 1 lake in WA state allows retention of Dolly Varden and it isn't governed by the state.

There is a lot about AOTY that doesn't make sense. As you pointed out the species composition doesn't make sense. There are many species more cosmopolitan that are excluded whereas others that are geographically limited or have limited harvest opportunity are included.

Additionally, the tournament is heavily slanted to coastal anglers. It is way easier to score points in the ocean than on freshwater. Folks will argue that it takes more skill to catch those species than perch, panfish, or walleye but I completely disagree. Banging a chunk of lead on a reef and picking up Cabezon, lingcod, rockfish, and greenling all on the same lure isn't any more skilled than running a worm under a bobber for perch and panfish IMO. Additionally, the low scoring per inch on Yellow Perch and panfish handicaps these species whereas apparently anybody can catch a 200 pt Cabezon. For example, there are nearly 40 Cabezon over 200 points whereas not a single Yellow Perch or Panfish in excess of 175 pts has been submitted. In fact to catch a 200 pt Yellow Perch would mean you likely broke the world record!

In the history of the tournament there has only been one time where all freshwater took first place (2014 Snopro). That in itself is telling. I personally wanted to do it again this year so I'd have some sort of platform to argue for change. If the point of tournament is to get more people involved the rules should be altered to make it more attractive to inland anglers and more equitable scoring across species.

Weird.  On the Cabezon and freshwater Perch points, it's like USP was reading my mind.  There are other situations where things seem a little off and might need a small points correction but nothing as dramatic as Cabs and Perch. 

The AOTY is always changing.  If you have something you think would make it more interesting, competitive, or enjoyable there will always be a thread where you can suggest things.  Making the contest more appealing to people and increasing participation would be awesome.

Some tweaks to the points could definitely be made for sure. If there's been no 200pt submissions then the points should be adjusted. Of course adjusting the points could lead to more participation in those fisheries as well, which could lead to a few 200pt submissions (not a bad thing.)

A lot of good thoughts/points above. I don't agree with all of it, but I'm glad people are talking. Keep it up!

Out with Bull trout and in with Browns then, lol. Give those none coastal fellas a chance [emoji6]


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Hey Casey, I just approved your chum. 18 points now, eh? Challenge accepted! 

Hey Casey, I just approved your chum. 18 points now, eh? Challenge accepted! 

Time to go Rainbow fishing.

Hey Casey, I just approved your chum. 18 points now, eh? Challenge accepted! 

Time to go Rainbow fishing.

The largest rainbow I've ever caught was last year's 16" I think. I may have gotten a 16.5". I tried broodstock stockers and everything. They don't like me!

Hey Casey, I just approved your chum. 18 points now, eh? Challenge accepted! 

Time to go Rainbow fishing.

The largest rainbow I've ever caught was last year's 16" I think. I may have gotten a 16.5". I tried broodstock stockers and everything. They don't like me!

If you come fish Rufus you should be able to break that curse.

Hey Casey, I just approved your chum. 18 points now, eh? Challenge accepted! 

Time to go Rainbow fishing.

The largest rainbow I've ever caught was last year's 16" I think. I may have gotten a 16.5". I tried broodstock stockers and everything. They don't like me!

If you come fish Rufus you should be able to break that curse.

That would be fun! I've got some other options that are closer than 6.5 hrs from home But the biggest obstacle after the curse is the same as always: TIME. I'm running out of weekends that aren't accounted for this year.