2010 FISHING COMP - NEW FORMAT - PLEASE READ

[leftieant]

Well it's time for the 2010 Fishing Comp to kick off. After listening to your feedback and suggestions, this year we've decided to take a slightly different approach with the comp. We hope you'll enjoy the changes!

So - what's changed?

One of the inherent difficulties with the previous comp format was the difficulty in judging entries from different states against each other. The same species will be more or less prevalent, and will grow to different lengths. So, for example, a 60cm flattie in SA would be a far less likely capture than in QLD.

Another difficulty with the old format was that only the top 6 fish got extra points. And in alot of cases, if a winning fish also ended up in the Hall of Fame, up to 130 points (over 4 times as many points) could be awarded, against 30 points for entering a fish.

This year, in order to try and equalise the points score across states and species, two things will be happening.

# A benchmark length will be set for each eligible species. The number of points awarded will be calculated by the formula (length of entered fish / benchmark length) * 100.
# For some species, the benchmark length will vary between states. This is the case to even up the scoring where the size varies markedly across states. These lengths have been determined by looking at ALL fish entered in the fishing comps over the last 2 years.

You'll find a table with the benchmark lengths attached to this post.

What Species Are Eligible?

Species eligible in the 2010 will be those species listed in either the 2010 FIshing Comp Benchmark List (attached), or the ANSA Species List (also attached). Crabs (mud, blue swimmer, sand) and other crusteceans are not eligible for entry this year. All fish entered in the Fishing Comp need to be caught on hook and line. Net caught fish (cast, drop etc) won't be eligible for entry.

If you catch a fish not on either list, you will still be eligible for Tale of Woe points (see below).

How Are Points Calculated?

As noted above, the points a fish will score are calculated as follows:

POINTS = (LENGTH OF CAUGHT FISH / BENCHMARK FOR SPECIES) *100

Benchmarks have been set for the most popular species entered into the Fishing Comp. Should a benchmark not be available for a given species, it shall be set by one of the following methods (in this order)

# Benchmark will equal (legal length of species) plus 40%. eg a fish with a 28cm legal length would have a benchmark of 28 * 1.4 = 39cm
# Should a legal length not be available, the benchmark shall be the ANSA Trophy Length / Factor (as per attached ANSA Species List)
# Should a ANSA Trophy length not be available (eg marlin, spearfish etc) - as a last resort, points will be allocated by the Comp Manager (ie Leftieant)

Tale of Woe entries will still be accepted, and will attract 40 points. Please note - to be awarded a Tale Of Woe, you actually need to go kayak. Entries along the lines of "the weather was crap and I couldn't get out" won't be accepted.

Special Notes Re: Measurement

Fish need to be measured against a brag mat or other measurement device, and be substantiated by a photo. Measurement will be from the tip of the head to the tip of the tail, with the fish in a natural position.

Exceptions are Squid (calamari) - where hood length will be the official measure, and sharks, where they will need to be measured to the LOWER tip of the tail.

In exceptional circumstances, fish may be accepted if no accurate (eg ruler, bragmat measure) can be provided, but measurement can be provided by other means. Please contact the Comp Manager (Leftieant) via PM if you wish to enter a fish this way.

Bonus Points

There is no bonus points (Hall of Fame, Top 6 Fish, Mystery Points) available for this years Comp. Because each fish will be judged against a benchmark length, naturally the bigger fish will attract more points automatically. This removes the arbitrary nature of how winners were selected in past comps.

Prizes

Currently the 2010 Fishing Comp doesn't have a sponsor, so to begin with, we will be awarding 3 mystery prizes per month, and possibly the love and adoration of other AKFF Members. If and when a sponsor does come on board, the prize structure may change. Primarily this comp is about participation, not just winning. As such, everyone will get an equal chance of snagging a prize.

Timing

Generally the 2010 Fishing Comp will run from the 1st Sat to the 2nd Sunday of each month. Occasionally (public holidays etc) the Comp will be extended, solely at the Comp Managers (ie Leftieant) discretion.

Is This Really Going To Work?

The AKFF Hamsters have been working long and hard on this one. There has been so much statistical analysis going on with this little pet project of mine, my PC burst into flames. (OK, not really, but I did blow up my computer. AKFF Fishing Comp may or may not have contributed). But seriously, I've run the fish caught from the 2009 Fishing Comp through the new scoring system, and I'll say this - the end result was INCREDIBLY close. Real close.

I think we are going to be in for a very, very exciting 2010 Fishing Comp.

The Fine Print

As with all AKFF Comps, to be eligible for entry, you need to be a FULL member (greater than 3 months membership AND greater than 50 posts). Fair Play rules apply also - any activity that deemed to be unsportsmanlike can and will result in you becoming ineligible to enter the Comp. Rules can be modified at any time by AKFF Admins or Mods. Species Benchmark lengths can be altered at any time by AKFF Admins or Mods (this will not affect previously entered fish) (this added Feb 2010). An angler cannot enter the same species of fish more than three times in the Comp year (this added Feb 2010).

Confused?

Don't be. Just go fishing, enter your catch, and we'll do the rest.

Please include the following details when entering:

Name of Angler:
Date Caught:
State and Location Fish Caught In: (PLEASE NOTE THAT STATE NEEDS TO BE PROVIDED)
Species Legal Length:
Type and Size/Weight of Fish:
Tackle/Line/Lure Used:
Conditions (optional):
Other Comments (optional):

Please also include a photo of your catch against a ruler, brag mat, or similar.

The first Comp period for 2010 will run from 1st Jan 2010 to 10th Jan 2010 (note the extra day at the start of the Comp).

I look forward to seeing your entries - let's go FISHING!

[ArWeTherYet]

What a effort sorting out that Ant. Not sure if I understand it but will go with it just the same.

One thing, you split up the species with Bream and a few others, why not Whiting and Flathead? In QLD we dont have King George Whiting and anything over 40 cm would be consider a monster, let alone 45cm. Perhaps you could have a separate points for KGW and have a lower size for the rest. The same goes for Dusky Flathead. Perhaps you could have a smaller size for the rest. Also would it be hard to give more points to wild caught fresh water fish over impound caught fish?

[BIGKEV]

Arrrrgghhh! my head hurts!

Just noticed that whiting in Queensland are noted as having a much smaller benchmark (26cm vs 38cm) than in the southern states? Summer/yellowfin whiting in QLD have a min legal size of 23 x 40% = 32. AKFF benchmark list notes QLD as 26cm, si this correct?

Does the fish need to meet the benchmark size before it is eligible for entry or is are the points calculated on the size of the fish regardless.

Do you still receive points for entering a fish plus your score for the fish or is it just the points that the fish scores? For example a 35cm whiting in NSW would score (35 x 38) / 100 = 13.3 but a TOW entry automatically receives 40 points.

Just trying to get my head around things. Looking forward to trying to catch fish in 2010.

Kev

[ArWeTherYet]

Oh I didnt read the other pdf, now its really confusing .......looks like an accountant worked out the figures

[leftieant]

Guys - pretty much what you need to concern yourself with is

1/ catch fish
2/ enter fish
3/ I do the rest.

Basically the first list is the most common species caught / entered. This is the one that really matters. IF you enter something that is not on that list, then the legal + 40% kicks in. IF the species you enter doesn't have a legal length, then I refer to the ANSA list.

Re: the different lengths in different states, this is to level the playing field a bit to give everyone an equal shot.

Re: the calculations - you're on the right track, but did the sums wrong. A 35cm whiting in NSW would attract (35/38)*100 = 92 points vs TOW 40 points.

AWTY: KG Whiting are listed as a seperate species. In the interests of simplicity (believe it or not) I opted not to split out flathead, bream etc. Impoundment fish did cross my mind but after looking at 2 years worth of catch data, they really don't make a huge difference in the end. Average bass size in NSW was actually bigger than QLD, where QLD has the bulk of the impoundments, so go figure.

Apologies for causing confusion. I just wanted it all out there so the comp will be as transparent as possible.

So, to repeat, concern yourselves with the following points:

1/ CATCH FISH
2/ ENTER FISH

I can't wait to see the first month of scoring to see how close it really can get!

[worleybird]

Impoundment fish did cross my mind but after looking at 2 years worth of catch data, they really don't make a huge difference in the end. Average bass size in NSW was actually bigger than QLD, where QLD has the bulk of the impoundments, so go figure.

That's just cause adrian and the like fish here!!! Maybe it's still harder to get a bigger wild fish than an impoundment fish, just the NSW fisherman are better at it even though we are disadvantaged!!! (in case you didn't notice I threw in 3 winks and a smile to ensure you know the tone behind that comment. Don't wanna get too nasty at the start of the comp!!! ) Maybe if we 'throw' the 2010 series! All NSW fisherhumans enter tiny fish into this years comp, then when the boffins average it all out next year we'll have it made!!!

Ant, it sounds more confusing for you than for us!!! It'll be interesting to see how it goes!! Looking forward to it.

If people are up with all the bench marks you could get onto some mondo points at times!!
Snapper :NSW-60cm, SA, 50cm Isn't arno bay, SA, the home of massive snapper? During the season you could get some great points there!!!

looks like the games on Jan 1!!!!

I reckon we should have a state of origin tally as well!! All the points from each state added up and divided by the number of fishers entered for that state. ie. average points per fisher for each state!! It might discourage people entering smaller fish though (if they're that loyal to their state! )

Hope everyone has a great christmas and a fishful new year.

Stephen

[justcrusin]

Personally i think this will make the comp a lot better, for people like me who fish the esturary's we had to not get a good catch but an amazing catch to get in top points but now with the points score its entirely achievable. That 35cm bream or 55cm flatty that are both good fish but nothing that really that amazing will have us up there in the points.

I reckon this is great for getting more people on the water an entering fish in the comp.

Big thanks to leftyant he has put a huge amount of work into this, well done mate.

Cheers Dave

[Tor]

Great format, will make it competitive. my question is why the 2 week window per month? why can't the comp run all month?

Obviously I have a reason, I am planning to get out at the end of the month in Jan and Feb as this will be my first year I'd like a reasonable start...

Tor

[Nativeman]

Great format, will make it competitive. my question is why the 2 week window per month? why can't the comp run all month?

Exactly what I would have said, the only reason I can see why not, but there are probably more reasons, the sheer volume of entries would make Lefti's job enormous I suppose..

Cheers

[heronfish]

what about spearfishing from a yak?

[leftieant]

From first post in thread:

All fish entered in the Fishing Comp need to be caught on hook and line.

[joejoe]

For a comp that is meant to be a bit of fun, and a reason to get on the water, it shore has made a lot of work for liftieant.Good luck with this one.joe

[leftieant]

Hey Joe

I'm actually looking forward to it. I'm a bit of a numbers freak, so I've really enjoyed getting it organised and am really looking forward to seeing the first month of results.

Can't wait!

[Biffo]

Do you really need 50 posts and three months as a member as i am super keen to be involved. If so i am goind to die looking at three months of photos and tows. I understand why this is done (cheating, trustworthiness etc) just find it a bit radical as i need more reasons to tell the wife why i need to go fishing

[Gatesy]

Lefti

You took what I left you and have raised the bar about 4000%. Looks awesome and I look forward to entering in February

Despite the average system I expect some solid point scoring fish to come out. Some one will smash a 67cm bream or a 1.3m kingy which will sure stir up the leader board

Can't wait to follow this

Cheers

Gatesy