NWKA AOTY (angler of the year)

When determining the winners for Oregon and Washington, does your score only include fish caught from those states? I've noticed some peoples scores are different on the Oregon/Washington leaderboard than on the overall leaderboard.

Correct. It's based on the state the fish is caught in.

I've been cruising through the AOTY results from past years and the current contest. There are some pretty hardcore fisherman on there. I'm looking forward to competing next year. I was wondering if you could add a pike/muskie/pickerel category? Also would it be possible to shift lingcod to a "Cod Family" so that burbot could count? Just suggestions.

I've been cruising through the AOTY results from past years and the current contest. There are some pretty hardcore fisherman on there. I'm looking forward to competing next year. I was wondering if you could add a pike/muskie/pickerel category? Also would it be possible to shift lingcod to a "Cod Family" so that burbot could count? Just suggestions.

I don't think lingcod should change at all, they are a major target for coastal bottomfishing (notice how many entries there are!) and deserve their own category. Also Lingcod are not closely related to Cod (despite their name) or Burbot, according to Certainly more than you wanted to know about the Fish of the Pacific Coast by Dr. Milton Love, which references a study that suggests that Lingcod are actually most closely related to Sculpins.

I've been cruising through the AOTY results from past years and the current contest. There are some pretty hardcore fisherman on there. I'm looking forward to competing next year. I was wondering if you could add a pike/muskie/pickerel category? Also would it be possible to shift lingcod to a "Cod Family" so that burbot could count? Just suggestions.

I don't think lingcod should change at all, they are a major target for coastal bottomfishing (notice how many entries there are!) and deserve their own category. Also Lingcod are not closely related to Cod (despite their name) or Burbot, according to Certainly more than you wanted to know about the Fish of the Pacific Coast by Dr. Milton Love, which references a study that suggests that Lingcod are actually most closely related to Sculpins.

Oops I always assumed that they were a member of the Lotidae family. It turns out they are in the same family as Kelp Greenling. This is terribly embarrassing given that I am biologist. Although my specialty is insects and birds not fish. Maybe they could add an "Other" fish category but not make the points per inch so high that it would contend with the other high value target species. I just think it would be cool to see what others kind of strange fish people are catching from kayaks.

I've been cruising through the AOTY results from past years and the current contest. There are some pretty hardcore fisherman on there. I'm looking forward to competing next year. I was wondering if you could add a pike/muskie/pickerel category? Also would it be possible to shift lingcod to a "Cod Family" so that burbot could count? Just suggestions.

Are those fish available in NW waters? We added 5 species last year, I'm not sure we're going to want to add even more.

I've been cruising through the AOTY results from past years and the current contest. There are some pretty hardcore fisherman on there. I'm looking forward to competing next year. I was wondering if you could add a pike/muskie/pickerel category? Also would it be possible to shift lingcod to a "Cod Family" so that burbot could count? Just suggestions.

Are those fish available in NW waters? We added 5 species last year, I'm not sure we're going to want to add even more.

Pike and muskie are found through the PNW now as Oregon just brought them into the state this year but they have long been established elsewhere.

However, I do understand about not wanting to add too many species.

I'm sure it has probably been discussed thoroughly long before I was a member here...but what are people's thoughts on lingcod scoring?
It just seems crazy that there are so few monster lings being entered into aoty and only a handful are in the 200pt slot. If you look at cabezon there's so many 200pt + entries. The scoring doesn't seem balanced right to me. I don't know how to not sound like a cry baby...I just feel like  the bar for "trophy" sized lings is set a little high.

I'm sure it has probably been discussed thoroughly long before I was a member here...but what are people's thoughts on lingcod scoring?
It just seems crazy that there are so few monster lings being entered into aoty and only a handful are in the 200pt slot. If you look at cabezon there's so many 200pt + entries. The scoring doesn't seem balanced right to me. I don't know how to not sound like a cry baby...I just feel like  the bar for "trophy" sized lings is set a little high.

Those two topics are by far the most popular AOTY subjects and trust me they have been debated to death. That and the dreaded Chum salmon debate Soon it will be time to start the AOTY 2014 thread to discuss next years contest.

Trust me. The points are good. There are actual charts plotting the sizes... I will never ask that question again.

The numbers are OK ....
The problem with Cabezon is the difference between a normal fish and a monster is only 6 inches or so. The other problem is monster cabi's are easily targeted from the kayak and not targeted by the sport and commercial fleet.
The problem with lingcod is the difference between a normal fish and a monster is 12-20 inches. The other issue is large lingcod are not easily caught unless directly targeted and can face heavy fishing pressure.

The main issue is a 35-37" ling is not a monster ...

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Perhaps not a monster compared to lings caught in Alaska...
There are 26 cabbie entries of 200pts or more. Lingcod boasts a whopping 3...THREE entries. That's insane. I just don't see how that seems right. A 38 inch lingcod is a big fish by most people's standards. I'm done beating the dead horse and I'm not going to argue with anyone or flex my interweb muscles. I just wanted to speak my mind on the subject. Lingcod scores seem turbo nerfed to me and that is all I have left to say on the matter.

I have seen more 40+" lings caught in Washington than I have in AK. I know at least two of our members that have caught multiple in one season. Most of those fish are kept quiet because big ling holes are quickly overfished.
Hell in Puget Sound anything over 36" has to be released and some days people struggle to catch one under that size.
Big lingcod are different than many other species in that they are rarely caught unless directly targeted.
In AK the slot limit is under 44" or you are allowed to keep a trophy fish over 55". They grow to over 70". A 38" fish is a nice fish but not a catch of a lifetime.

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Maybe I'm remembering incorrectly, but I'm pretty sure we increased lingcod points this year.

Also, AOTY is to some degree, a game of strategy.

Lingcod points were increased after 2011.  Many points-per-inch values were increased after 2011 though.

BTW .... This year's AOTY is turning out to be SICK!
Third through 5th place are only separated by 8 points and people are catching 200 point fish like they are falling out of the sky!

This will be a fun two months to watch.

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