NWKA AOTY (angler of the year)

I'm trying to figure out how I'm gonna C&R a good size bass (if I catch one) and photo it without having to knock it out.

Not this year, my deficiency photoing caught and released bass has been well documented   Use whatever means necessary.

How soon they forget:  (Lo-budget Vanity Camera Mount a la Fishesfromtupperware)

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,2784.0.html

My concern was with getting the fish to stay put on the Hawg Trough for measuring.  Thus far, I've takin pictures after bleeding the fish out and using the cranial puncture immobilization method.

Keeping a bass still on that thing long enough for a picture, without hurting it seems like it might be a challenge.  I have no intention of keeping the bass unless it's obvious it won't survive when I put it back.

Wonder if a velcro strap or two would harm it.

My concern was with getting the fish to stay put on the Hawg Trough for measuring.  Thus far, I've takin pictures after bleeding the fish out and using the cranial puncture immobilization method.

Keeping a bass still on that thing long enough for a picture, without hurting it seems like it might be a challenge.  I have no intention of keeping the bass unless it's obvious it won't survive when I put it back.

Wonder if a velcro strap or two would harm it.

It's not too tough. Lip 'em good and hold 'm down on the trough for a bit with your other hand. It'll do it's first few flops but it should soon tire out. Then find your opportunity, scoot it's top lip against the end of the trough, get the shot, and get 'em back in the water. Bass are a pretty hearty fish so release really well.

This was a pretty wily one but swam off strongly.


Z

Three words for you:  "Use The Force"

Just one of the many things you'll learn on your way to becoming the next AOTY Champion.

-Spot-

My concern was with getting the fish to stay put on the Hawg Trough for measuring.  Thus far, I've takin pictures after bleeding the fish out and using the cranial puncture immobilization method.

Keeping a bass still on that thing long enough for a picture, without hurting it seems like it might be a challenge.  I have no intention of keeping the bass unless it's obvious it won't survive when I put it back.

Wonder if a velcro strap or two would harm it.

A quick word about measurements... don't post measurements like 10.2235047389938 inches unless you can prove to me that you can measure with a +/- precision of 0.0000000000001 inches which is about 1/10000 th of a Angstrom.  BTW, protons are about 1 Angstrom.

If you are using a hawg trough, the smallest mark is 1/4th inch and your uncertainty is actually 1/8th of an inch.  If you have a ruler with 1/8th increments, you can claim the nearest 1/16th inch.    Yes, I realize these fractions when convert to decimal have several more decimal places than they should, that's fine as they are pretty obvious.

If and when I see odd measurements like 10.2235047389938 on a hawg trough, I'm going to round that off to then nearest likely value 10 1/8th = 10.125 inches

Brian

Ahhhh man you took all the fun out of what little fun I could muster from that weak looking pathetic trout.  Do as may, you are the "nerd" on deck and numbers are your game. 

Its probably too late to change the rules, but something I'd like to consider for the future:

Point should be awarded to fish that it's legal to fish for, not necessarily legal for retention.

Case in point: Yesterday was the last legal day for Sturgeon retention on the Willamette.  You can still legal fish for sturgeon all you want.  However, you cannot legally keep sturgeon.  The Willamette will not reopen for retention until Nov. 1.  That leaves 26 days that the state says I can KEEP sturgeon, but at the same time the state says I can LEGALLY FISH them for 279 more days this year.  The only caveat being that I catch and release.

Although I understand where you are coming from, how would this be different than trying to get points for say fishing for oversized sturgeon of which you can legally catch, but not allowed to keep?   

that's a good point too.

Its will still be open in other parts of the state.  Some of the best sturgeon fishing of the year is coming up in a couple months and its nowhere near the Willamette.  Its a lot like trout early in the year, you many have to travel to find locations open to fish.

Yeah there are a lot of places that the reg book says "Catch and Release" and other places that say "closed waters"

Just so I'm sure about this:

A body of water that is open to the catch and release of a species but not open to retention= no AOTY points.

Example would be a lake that is open to catch and release for trout but said trout may not be kept, has no opportunity for trout points in the AOTY.

Right? 

If I go by the rule that says "ask yourself if you could've kept it, then it counts" then these trout would not count.

Sounds fair if everyone is playing by the same rules.

I spent the last hour looking for the answer but it wasn't really covered (that I could find)

Regarding rule #1
1. All fish entered must be caught from a kayak, without the aid of a powerboat and using methods deemed legal by the state in which they are caught.

My question: If I want to fish the Chicken Ranch (7 miles out of Newport) can I use a water taxi (powerboat) as long as they drop me off, I catch and land the fish without their assistance, and take the taxi back in?  I guess it's a fine line.  They would not assist in the catching or landing of the fish.

Thanks

Greg

Oh, and I've also been interested in taking up spearfishing lately.  How bout free-diving from a kayak to spear some fish?  Would that count since I'm not actually angling while seated in the kayak, but rather using it as my mode of transport and fish storage?

A body of water that is open to the catch and release of a species but not open to retention= no AOTY points.

Yes this is correct.