By Paul Lebowitz

October 3, 2008

Scattered along the rugged coast of Northern California, a salty crew plots the strategy that’ll propel one of them to a place of honor.

This is a tough breed we’re talking about. A few of these men, driven to extremes by a determination to be the best, will take to snow-shrouded lakes in late December. At a time when most are toasting in the New Year, warm and snug with their families, devotion to a singular achievement will almost certainly drive one of them on a last-ditch quest for glory.

These gladiators are engaged in a duel known cryptically as ‘AOTY.’ And they readily admit this year-long kayak fishing contest comes with an element of the ridiculous.

“I just drove 200 miles for a cabezon for crying out loud!” Sean White exclaims. A member of the NorCal Kayak Anglers internet community, he’s got Angler of the Year fever, and bad. He ended 2007 on a chilly hunt for a snowy Bass Lake kokanee that wasn’t to be.

He was far from alone in going the extra mile. Take Fred Horio for example, the second place finisher two years running. In the course of two days of fish-chasing this guy toured most of northern California.

So what is this AOTY, this phenomenon that drives otherwise sane and sharp kayak anglers to extremes?

For one, this alphabet soup cooked up by NCKA is a tasty broth. It should be, with ten kinds of fish in the recipe. This stew calls for rockcod, cabezon, salmon, halibut, lingcod, trout, sturgeon and striper. And oh yeah, largemouth and smallmouth bass too. But don’t worry – in this fishing event, catch and release is encouraged.

“AOTY is a virtual tournament,” explains Chuck Espiritu. With each species caught, a competitor earns a number of points per inch. Small fish are worth more – at 9 points per inch, a trophy smallmouth packs a big punch. The big boys in the list, sturgeon, only go for a paltry three points per.

Espiritu, the defending 2007 champ, is this year’s event organizer and something of a referee, but his officiating duties are light. An internet based program developed by Brian Steves automatically calculates scores. Peer pressure ensures anglers don’t fudge when it comes to the measuring tape, and the requisite digital photos help too. But mostly, it’s the trust between the members of this kayak fishing tribe that makes this thing work.

“It isn’t really about the prizes,” Espiritu says, explaining the guys who go all out for the contest are in it for the bragging rights and the cool, hand-carved trophies designed by Sean Walker of Piscean Artworks. Although there are quite a few nice bits of swag up for grabs, items such as a Hobie Mirage Drive fishing kayak, Qualifier 105 mothership trip, a vacation for two at Rancho Leonero, and subscriptions to the fine publication you hold in your hands. And let’s not overlook that most universal of awards, cold hard greenbacks. 

“What did it feel like to win last year? To me, it felt like an affirmation of my love for the sport,” Espiritu adds.

“I’ll tell you what I love about it,” White enthusiastically contributes. “Everybody who fishes tends to get in a rut. You fish for your favorite things in your favorite spot, that’s just what you do. In this jackpot, there’s no way to compete when you’re in your rut,” White emphasizes.

And where does the craziness come in? For White, a self-described “obsessed idiot” who once again is close enough to sniff a year-end victory, the “devil fish” is at least partly to blame. That’s the particular species of fish that’s hard to cash in. There are those that are tough in general in any given year – this time, that’s salmon – and others that for whatever reason elude an individual angler’s every effort.

White, fresh from the central coast MLPA trenches, recently dispatched one of his demons. In a delicious twist, his high-scoring 22-in cabezon came out of Bean Hollow, one of the spots the man endured hundreds of hours of mind-numbing government hearings to preserve for sport fishing. The chunky cab put him in third place as of September 18, close on the heels of father and son duo Allen and Patrick Leepin.

“It’s going to come down to whoever catches the biggest salmon,” the elder Leepin predicts. And that could mean another contest that goes right to the wire. “It’ll come to that, as long as there’s a river to fish. It’s so much fun,” Leepin adds. We’ll see just how much fun come December 31st.  

A MAN DRIVEN TO MADNESS – Sean White kisses the cabezon for which he drove 200 miles. Why? To upgrade his score in NorCal Kayak Angler’s year-long AOTY competition. This event has a well-deserved reputation for inspiring efforts that go far beyond the pale.

2008’s CURRENT AOTY LEADER – Patrick Leepin poses happily with a bundle of points, a 30-in steelhead. Worth 7 points per inch in the trout category, it’s a match for the trophy rival competitor White caught just two weeks earlier.