NWKA AOTY (angler of the year)

Ok.  I am in! I figure I have a shot at 11 of the 20 species...more if I can fish outside of Alaska. 

One clarification.  When it says without the assist of a powerboat, you mean between the time you hook it and land it?  Can I take a water taxi out to a camping spot for example and then fish from my Yak and it still counts?  Pretty popular thing to do in Alaska. In one way it extends the range as per the discussion on the Adventure Island, but then again with the strictest interpretation, if you live on an Island, Nothing would count unless you can prove you paddled your kayak to the Island versus having a ferry deliver it for example. 

I'm Okay with any rule.  Just want to clarify so I don't submit a catch I shouldn't.  I'm thinking my interpretation might be that from the time you launch to the time you land you can't have an assist.  I.e. you can use a power boat to get to a beach or an Island camping spot, but you can't launch or get retrieved by a power boat on your fishing trip. 

One final question.  How do you tell the difference between steelhead and rainbows?  The Kenai River is loaded with Big non-steelhead rainbows that can reach 30 pounds.  They are resident fish that never go to sea though there are rumors that a steelhead population does exist.   I guess it maybe doesn't matter since its all a catch and release fishery and I understand the rules say you have to be able to "retain it".

I figure if I can catch all the species, I can muster 1000 to 1200 points.

The Power Boat clause means you can not launch from a mother ship. If you use a water taxi to get to a camp ground that is allowed so long and you launch and land your Kayak from land not a boat.
And yes in order for the points to count the fish has be legal to retain.

The power boat rule has been discussed a great length do a search and you can find a much of threads about it.

Ok.  Not to sound too clueless...but truth hurts.  What do I do to register a fish?  Entered a few weeks back and I have pics with measurement.

thx!

Ok.  Not to sound too clueless...but truth hurts.  What do I do to register a fish?  Entered a few weeks back and I have pics with measurement.

thx!

It's easy once you do it a few times.

1.  Go to the AOTY page.
2.  Log in to your account.
3.  On the menu bar pick MY FISH, then ADD FISH.
4.  Enter the fish info and photo.
5.  Profit.

Ok.  Not to sound too clueless...but truth hurts.  What do I do to register a fish?  Entered a few weeks back and I have pics with measurement.

thx!

Hey kardinal,

The AOTY uses a separate database.  Can you click the "Sign Up" button up in the upper right corner and create an account for yourself.  Once you do that, I'll enable it retroactive to the date you paid.

-Allen

Will give it a try. I hope to better my catch but 36 inch king is a good start to get on the boards. So no bonus points for video taping it, eh?  Lol.

 Gotta remember to measure greenling and rockfish I release cuz I think they are small. 1 point is still better than zero! Thx.

Sign up worked!  thanks polepole

Sorry if its been discussed before but just need clarification and there are too many posts to wade through.  I did try searching some terms and nothing came up.

For "flounder" I see all varieties posted.  So basically any flatfish that's not a halibut counts?  Sole or flounder? Specifically how about "arrowtooth flounder"?

similar question I think this one actually says all Sebastes so I am ok.  Sebastes borealis, the shortraker rokfish.

I think I can catch both fish on the same trip.  I am trying not to fudge the rules or take advantage of them too much but I think I only have access to 11 of the fish and a couple are nearly impossible to catch for any decent points since there is no retention (steelhead and kinda rainbows).  So I need to max out a few of the fish I can access. 

Both fish I need to set up for ultra deep fishing if I want the big ones.  Like 1500 ft deep.  That should be fun cranking it up by hand. I see an electric reel in my future...lol.

Seriously, would the founders of AOTY and NWKA frown on something like this.  It's all just fun and trying to set goals to achieve.  Deep water kayaking fishing has to be relatively new.  Just let me know, I don't care either way.  If people thought it was unfair, I wouldn't enter them even if by strict interpretations of the rule, it was OK.  I want this to be fun even if there are prizes available.

If you want to count the ATF you have to eat it! 

Seriously, would the founders of AOTY and NWKA frown on something like this.  It's all just fun and trying to set goals to achieve.  Deep water kayaking fishing has to be relatively new.  Just let me know, I don't care either way.  If people thought it was unfair, I wouldn't enter them even if by strict interpretations of the rule, it was OK.  I want this to be fun even if there are prizes available.

Just do it.

-Allen

Cabezon points are still way out of whack with the other species, and pinks still haven't been added.  Is anything going to be done for this?

Cabezon points are still way out of whack with the other species, and pinks still haven't been added.  Is anything going to be done for this?

It'll have to wait until 2012.

When you will get huge points for Pinks 

When you will get huge points for Pinks 

Ah, good point. 

The change is actually very easy to implement, it's just that we usually don't change the rules half way through the year.    I suppose the pinks could be added in that the fishery hasn't started yet as long as no one objected.  Maybe we can discuss it at ORC.

I agree the cabezon points do seem a bit skewed this year, but in so much as getting a big cabezon might be a part of the current AOTY strategy for some anglers I can't change it this year.

I agree the cabezon points do seem a bit skewed this year, but in so much as getting a big cabezon might be a part of the current AOTY strategy for some anglers I can't change it this year.

They were skewed last year as well, and back in January or February this was brought up.  You and PolePole discussed adjusting the points briefly and the post faded into obscurity.  I'll see if I can dig up the post.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,5658.0.html