Yes folks, 'tis that time to NOMINATE (not vote) for the 2009 Striped-Bass.com Angler of the Year. :love:

Did I menmtion this is the NOMINATION part? Top nomines will be entered in a poll to determine who the S-B.com COMMUNITY feels the Angler of the Year.

Simple Rules:

* Angler needs to be a member with (at least) somewhat regular particularization in 2009.
* Name only

I'll take these names for nomination for the next week and put up an anonymous poll after for voting. Member needs TWO nominations (a/k/a nomination and seconded). Winner to be announced at TFCTFN

Not sure it's appropriate, but I'd have to nominate flaptail, posthumously.

I second Steve

Not sure it's appropriate, but I'd have to nominate flaptail, posthumously.

Steve was having one hell of a good year.If bass had knees they would of been trembling when Steve was around.Good call Joe!!!!

Well after Steve, which I agree with you guys, I'd nominate someone who may not get a lot of votes but should be considered for angler of the year for reasons unbeknownst to many. This is an angler who fishes quite often and does very well at times considering where he fishes, the effort and dedication just to be able to fish from the shoreline of the ocean. While others flog the water or choose not to he fishes late into nights and is often rewarded. I am speaking of my friend John = LIFISHVT. He may not talk about pounds, inches or numbers online but I assure you he does well for what he is up against. So I nominate lifishvt.:fishin::uhuh:

Steve slayed them last year! Best fall run of his life he said......he gets my vote!:(

I was thinking the same thing when I read this. I didn't feel like someone like me should nominate him but it looks like others feel the same. Flaptail gets my vote.

OK, Steve is nominated - and he can certainly be appropriate.

I'd like to nominate Cowhunter

Ken has dedication to the sport and his results speak volumes.In fact he is so great my youngest may never get a chance to see a striped bass unless it's a photo,I will second the nomination.

One idea that I think should be thrown around is exactly what the AOTY should embody. Is it strictly who catches the most bass?Should the AOTY be an angler who targets many species with different methods like RoyL?Should it be an angler who promotes and protects the sport and offers insight which has taken years and years to acquire like Numby or DZ?
There are many things to consider unless it is as simple as the high hook for the year.One young buck I have the opportunity to fish with is a guy you can put anywhere. Give him a boat or waders. Give him eels or plugs. Target bass,tuna,tog or fluke and Rob Taylor will catch.He is not a contributor online here but this is the type of angler I consider to be worthy of such an award.

I'd nominate someone who may not get a lot of votes but should be considered for angler of the year for reasons unbeknownst to many. This is an angler who fishes quite often and does very well at times considering where he fishes, the effort and dedication just to be able to fish from the shoreline of the ocean. While others flog the water or choose not to he fishes late into nights and is often rewarded. I am speaking of my friend John = LIFISHVT. He may not talk about pounds, inches or numbers online but I assure you he does well for what he is up against. So I nominate lifishvt.:fishin::uhuh:

LIFISHVT

Hmm....you know you definately got me thinking! I probably wouldnt have nominated him due to his nature. By this I mean he is a good guy. I have seen him with fish to fillet when NO-ONE was catching, definately puts in the time, has the passion but is totally humble despite all of it. I dont know him like a life long friend but I know him enough to say he probably wouldnt want the extra attention but that is probably one of the biggest reasons he will get a second nomination from little old me!

Steve slayed them last year! Best fall run of his life he said......he gets my vote!:(


ditto

Flap came to mind when I first saw this thread. But I will nominate Roy L. Dude fishes for anything and catches it.

If it was striper angler of the year, then Flap had a great year. But I gotta go with Roy L. for his all-around fish catching abilities.

gotta go with flap...

had seasons that i'd kill for. Both are great teachers if you listen. Both went after them hard. Both great fishermen.. I have to mull this over.

Rob Taylor.. Flap deserves more than angler of the year....
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

woe...my name?? Thanks for the mentioning , but I have to give thumbs up for Flap...even if he had not passed I would still have nominated him....he had a killer year. My year was good, but not like his...but Thanks

Ken has dedication to the sport and his results speak volumes.In fact he is so great my youngest may never get a chance to see a striped bass unless it's a photo,I will second the nomination.

One idea that I think should be thrown around is exactly what the AOTY should embody. Is it strictly who catches the most bass?Should the AOTY be an angler who targets many species with different methods like RoyL?Should it be an angler who promotes and protects the sport and offers insight which has taken years and years to acquire like Numby or DZ?
There are many things to consider unless it is as simple as the high hook for the year.One young buck I have the opportunity to fish with is a guy you can put anywhere. Give him a boat or waders. Give him eels or plugs. Target bass,tuna,tog or fluke and Rob Taylor will catch.He is not a contributor online here but this is the type of angler I consider to be worthy of such an award.

Great post Chris, and I, on this rare occasion, agree with you 100% with regard to the hows and whys of this award.Someone who simply catches a bunch of stripers doesn't qualify just on their alleged numbers... there's much more to it, IMO.

Seems to me you could apply this reasoning and come up with many different names depending on who you know.

I would apply the above and still come up with Flaptail this year as he embodied all of the above...nice person, angler, and ambassador to the sport just to name a few attributes.

Even a monkey could win this award if he had a bucket of eels and a wetsuit....

Add a camera and a keypad and we have an internet hero.

Great post Chris, and I, on this rare occasion, agree with you 100% with regard to the hows and whys of this award.Someone who simply catches a bunch of stripers doesn't qualify just on their alleged numbers... there's much more to it, IMO.

Seems to me you could apply this reasoning and come up with many different names depending on who you know.

I would apply the above and still come up with Flaptail this year as he embodied all of the above...nice person, angler, and ambassador to the sport just to name a few attributes.

That is where YOU the nominator, can apply your criteria to AOY. For some, it is pure fishing greatness, others responsibility to the fishing community, others may choose other factors. What one person may define as the necessary qualities to "award" are different from others. My only desire is that people make a sincere and deserving recommendation, instead of a gag or farce recommendation.

Even a monkey could win this award if he had a bucket of eels and a wetsuit....

Add a camera and a keypad and we have an internet hero. Chris, you forgot to add a boat - you just got a nice one right :devil2:

No brainer,
Flap.

Chris, you forgot to add a boat - you just got a nice one right :devil2:

Only because I looked terrible in a wetsuit.

Even a monkey could win this award if he had a bucket of eels and a wetsuit....


Just how tall would this monkey have to be?

....:rotflmao:....:rotflmao:....:rotflmao:

Ken has dedication to the sport and his results speak volumes.In fact he is so great my youngest may never get a chance to see a striped bass unless it's a photo,I will second the nomination.

One idea that I think should be thrown around is exactly what the AOTY should embody. Is it strictly who catches the most bass?Should the AOTY be an angler who targets many species with different methods like RoyL?Should it be an angler who promotes and protects the sport and offers insight which has taken years and years to acquire like Numby or DZ?
There are many things to consider unless it is as simple as the high hook for the year.One young buck I have the opportunity to fish with is a guy you can put anywhere. Give him a boat or waders. Give him eels or plugs. Target bass,tuna,tog or fluke and Rob Taylor will catch.He is not a contributor online here but this is the type of angler I consider to be worthy of such an award.

sounds like Flaptail to me
and DZ also

Rob Taylor

Is Rob Taylor even a registered S-B member? If so he does not participate at all?:huh:

ya Rob Taylor is a great fisherman....but this is for a S-B.COM MEMBER.....:smash:
give it to Flap....he deserves it all.....

ROY L or FLAPTAIL u know that is a impossable pick .but flap had a great fall striper season , and it was no bull sh*t he fished hard ,and caught plenty , maybe it was a sign .......but let me say that steve loved to fish for everthing,but striperes was his true passion ..steve loved to fish, that was his thing. we all have other insterest hunting, golf ,bowling etc but not steve ,it was fishing and family.its my honor to vote flaps name on that fine list of great fisherpeople...i'm still pissed at him for leaving the party soooooooo early.... i miss him bad. it kills me to think about him .....god bless ......dave laporte

definitely got to be FLAP...........case closed

I think you pretty much have to give it to Steve :fishin:this year.Not just a mercy thing either....he was a HELL of a fisherman! Besides ole Roy and Robby Taylor will be around ,God willing, to have a shot at it next year , spry young anglers that they are.What I wanna know is if Roy usues that nipple cream on his soft plastics for better action??:devil2:

Only because I looked terrible in a wetsuit.

See if Numbskull will loan you a potato.

Flap ....

my vote goes to Veracka...every time I've ran into him I've seen fish in his coooler others only dream off...

Steve Shiraka.

my vote goes to Veracka...every time I've ran into him I've seen fish in his coooler others only dream off...

Meet also. Mikey was on fire the last TWO years and no one fishes harder than he does. I loved Steve but I think he would have wanted this award to honor the living.
I still think we should name a Tournament this year, in Steve's honor, for S-Bers.

Veracka aka redlite. Consistency but it is consistently large fish.

Flaptail. A great fisherman and a last time candidtae for S-B AOTY.

One idea that I think should be thrown around is exactly what the AOTY should embody. Is it strictly who catches the most bass?Should the AOTY be an angler who targets many species with different methods like RoyL?Should it be an angler who promotes and protects the sport and offers insight which has taken years and years to acquire like Numby or DZ?


all of the above ,,,, Flap

One thing I’ve always looked for when I've met another avid striped bass angler is their motivation/s. Maybe it’s just me but I try to “gauge” and categorize them. They can fall into one of two categories.

1.Those that love the act of striped bass fishing.
2.Those that love striped bass and EVERYTHING about them.

No disrespect to any of the other nominees but there are not many great striped bass fishermen that I’ve met over the years that fell into category number two. Steve Shiraka is one that does.

DZ

Just a thought.

What if the award was named after Flaptail (or Steve Shiraka)? Sort of like how the NFL championship trophy is the Lombardi trophy etc.

Just a thought.

What if the award was named after Flaptail (or Steve Shiraka)? Sort of like how the NFL championship trophy is the Lombardi trophy etc.


The award is named in memory of John Haberek. I have asked and received the OK from Jess.

I would have to vote for Steve Shiraka for this award.

I first met Steve back in Worcester in 1976 when #^&#^&#^&#^& Pleska opened his first tackle shop on Grafton Street. A group of the younger guys became friends and usually fished together. Steve and I fished together many times not just for stripers, but also trout, bass, pickerel and perch through the ice, whatever. Steve was to put it mildly, always a little more passionate , a little more inquisitive and a little more experimental than just about anyone I ever met. He had the fever which never subsided and his favorite species was the striped bass which brought him to relocate to the Cape full time in 1983.

But one guy being nuts about fishing does not qualify him to be worthy of much more than a nutty fisherman award. What set Steve apart was his willingness to share his time and knowledge with others with his seminars, advice and writings on fishing websites and also On-The-Water. He had a respect and a reverence for the history of the sport and the people who came before him. To the local striped bass fisherman, he gave some of the best writings on plug history, the people who used them, and the places they traveled. You could see his passion for the game and he shared it.

Frank Woolner was dead-on accurate on most of his assesments of striped-bass fishing. One prediction in his Saltwater Sport Fishing book in 1973 Woolner had wrong though was that wooden plugs would be a thing of the past with the introduction of injection molded plastics. Plastic was better and wood was just about dead except for a small group of fisherman who rediscovered the needlefish and some others who championed the traditional lures for special application. Steve was at the forefront of the line helping to keep the tradition alive and others used their skills to help resurrect the craft.

Heck, I have been striper fishing for thirty something years and I would never even have seen a "Flaptail" lure if it weren't for Steve. It seems like the small community we have here at S-B became his favorite place to talk stripers and we are all lucky for the knowledge he shared with us. This is a little long winded I know, but I believe Steve is worthy of the recognition.

Ed

Amen Ed! :uhuh:

That was a very intersting read Ed. Thanks for a well written look back!:uhuh:

Flap!

RoyL, if it swims, its in danger.

I still think we should name a Tournament this year, in Steve's honor, for S-Bers.


Fantastic Idea Paul.

Fantastic Idea Paul.



I thought the award was named in honor of John Habs a few years ago when he passed ?

I still think we should name a Tournament this year, in Steve's honor, for S-Bers.

Steve wasn't a fan of tournaments .. nice thought ..

He said it to me more than once...hated em'!

We really should keep this a nomination thread, discussion and voting will happen at a later date.

whether Steve Hated Tournaments....or not...

and it doesn't have to be a competition really...

it could merely be a flaptail PARTY each year

that includes fishing... to Honor his memory :buds:

for Many have Noted that he went a step further
as DZ mentioned then anyone else ~just about~ to
know the History of Plug making and or the "OLD Guard"

So if Nothing ELSE there should be a special tribute to him
at all Plugfest's in some way .... however that might be...

LIKE bEST fLAPTAIL STYLE PLUG.... - jUST MY THOUGHTS...

Sea Dangles or Sandman...........selection based on their colorful language employed over the past year....

OK, will wrap the nomination part by tomorrow and put up the Poll for A.O.Y

Remember nomination and seconded required...

since redlights allready in i'll second cowhunter. anybody second roy l yet

I loved Steve and he would be my choice for angler of the year.Without question..

After Him I would nominate The NIB of course..
By not fishing last year I enabled thousands of striped bass to live another day..Or at least not get hooked..
Who else can say they have done as much...
Well Maybe BF Larry..But not catching and not fishing are two entirely different thngs...:rotf2:

3rd for Roy L. - contributing member, hell of a guy and the dude can fish! Between the charity work, personality, fish catching ability, he gets my vote.

Redlite - consistency, dedication and just an overall rockstar!!

Angler 229 - drive, motivation and determination. The dude is serious. Largemouth, Bass or tuna he's all business.


John P. - Senior angler of the year :fishin:

a 4th nomination for The Fish Whisperer:fishin::uhuh::btu:

Veracka aka redlite. Consistency but it is consistently large fish.

my input may not count for anything, but after getting to know how passionate he is, and diligent in his quest for fish, i'd give him my nod !