NWKA AOTY (angler of the year)

I think the freshwater vs saltwater is a great idea.

Another idea that might take a little more time to develop would be team competition. The idea being groups of 2 or 3 anglers could combine their best fish. I don't think prizes would be necessary but it would fun to have teams from the same or different cities or regions competing with each other. I can imagine some great rivalries between areas like Seattle, Portland, and Coos Bay.

We're still working out the details (cost, prizes, etc..) for 2015.  However, we'll be using the same species list and points per inch and as Lee mentioned we've dropped the closed mouth rule.

I'm going to try and add some features to make things interesting.  Here are some ideas....
1. A leaderboard based on "Number days of fishing entered"   
2. A saltwater leaderboard
3. A freshwater leaderboard
4. Anadromous leaderboard
5. Smallest fish leaderboard (not sure how to work the points yet, but I'm thinking every fish you enter is worth 200 points minus its points per inch)
6. Leaderboard as usual but your points are divided by the number of days worth of fishing you entered.   
7. Biggest day (leaderboard based on highest total points for a single day)


I'm open to suggestions and I'll role these out as I get them done.


The PayPal link will be up soon.  Until then fish all you want, we'll set your pay date to Jan 1st if you buy in within a week or so of the PayPal link getting put back up.

This is great. Thanks for the update and the work. I'm glad that NWKA is investing into the AOTY thing, I really think it's a positive thing for the sport.

1. A leaderboard based on "Number days of fishing entered"   
6. Leaderboard as usual but your points are divided by the number of days worth of fishing you entered.   
7. Biggest day (leaderboard based on highest total points for a single day)

So you're saying we should horde all fish caught in our two week window and post them all at once. Got it [emoji6]

I think the freshwater vs saltwater is a great idea.

Another idea that might take a little more time to develop would be team competition. The idea being groups of 2 or 3 anglers could combine their best fish. I don't think prizes would be necessary but it would fun to have teams from the same or different cities or regions competing with each other. I can imagine some great rivalries between areas like Seattle, Portland, and Coos Bay.

  There is already a team competition going on... "Kayak Wars"   I don't have a link handy but you can google it.

It would be nice to get rid of the mouth-closed rule on species where it doesnt make much difference (trout, salmon). I killed a few fish this year that i normally would have released because i couldnt hold their mouth shut, hold their tail, and hold the camera. It would be nice to be able to photo and release big lingcod, but an open mouth on them does add a lot of length.

Its good to see people are getting excited for the new year. Hopefully we can encourage more people to sign up.

While everyone is throwing in an opinion, if you're going to have a kayak fishing competition I would suggest that there should be one photo of the fish on the kayak in the water or immediately on shore after the catch. Yeah I know someone's going to complain about that suggestion but I think it verifies the catch was done on the kayak, not on someone's powerboat, etc.

+1  on modifying the mouth-closed rule. My photography skills were just too sucky.  Looking forward to a great 2015

This thread is so quiet. There's some impressive catches this year. A lot can happen in the next few weeks, I'm excited to see how it pans out.

The competition is tough this year. I'm still hunting for my 10th species. My largemouth drought is forcing me to contemplate new fish and new places... what a great problem to have!

The competition is tough this year. I'm still hunting for my 10th species. My largemouth drought is forcing me to contemplate new fish and new places... what a great problem to have!

I'm having the same issue. I was certain I'd find a nice Ling/Cabezon/Coho but that hasn't happened yet. Well, I caught a nice Ling and Coho but I forgot to take pictures of them 

I pretty much waved the white flag after I spent a whole day trying to catch a respectable cutthroat trout and failed last August followed by zero salmon. Too many home improvements and not enough fishing time to do any better this year. I wouldn't mind hearing a little trash talk from the leaders right about now, though.

I pretty much waved the white flag after I spent a whole day trying to catch a respectable cutthroat trout and failed last August followed by zero salmon. Too many home improvements and not enough fishing time to do any better this year. I wouldn't mind hearing a little trash talk from the leaders right about now, though.

My money is on snopro.

I missed my shot at a couple species earlier in the year that i had hoped would be easy 200 point fish, and give me a chance to compete for first. I havent thought about it too much since then. Mostly just trying to beat my personal bests, which is just as rewarding. I know I can get a couple small upgrades before the end of the year. Maybe 50 points total at best. Not enough. Looks like Yaktrap is missing a couple easy species. Snopro will get his 10, and there are a few other guys that can still make a push also.

I still really enjoy the tournament. Its great motivation to get out and look for big fish, different species, and different water.

I'm just trying to avoid Pink Crocs.

Smack talk is art I'm not qualified to participate in.  I only wind up sounding like a dbag.  Best to stick to the facts.

I agree with Evan. Todd has this and will probably add a few easy upgrades.  Even if he doesn't upgrade he will still have the highest two AOTY scores ever recorded.  I think the 2013 score is safe.  That bar might stand for awhile.

Speaking of Evan, I'd say he has a lock on the Oregon title again. Would this be the third one in a row?

It's been a fun year.  Successfully fished some new waters, probably my favorite part of AOTY.  Had some PB size fish and caught PB numbers of some species, unfortunately no kicker sized fish for those groups.

A little more snow on Hood and I'll be done fishing for 2015.