After three rounds of voting the 2014 Kayak Angler’s Choice Awards have come to a close. Over 15,000 individual IP addresses, from twenty three countries participated this year, making this the most successful kayak fishing awards to date.
With voting so close, we are glad we had an extra week for checking. Voting was the tightest in the "Blog"s category, with the winner being decided by only two votes.
2014 Kayak Angler’s Choice Awards Winners
|
Angler of the year
-
Joel Abrahamsson
-
Aaron Stiger
-
Steve Lessard
|
Kayak of the Year
-
Hobie Outback
-
Jackson Kayak Big Rig
-
Wilderness Systems Ride 135
|
|
Product of the Year
-
Wilderness Systems Phase 3 Air Pro Max Seat
-
Feelfree Gravity Kayak Seat
-
Hobie MirageDrive with Glide Technology
|
Paddle of the Year
-
Bending Branches Angler Pro
-
Werner Camano: Hooked
-
Bending Branches Angler Classic
|
|
Magazine of the Year
-
Kayak Angler Magazine
-
YakAngling Magazine
-
Kayak Fish Mag
|
Location of the Year
-
The Keys, FL
-
Devils River, TX
-
Grand Isle, LA
|
|
Retailer of the Year
-
Austin Canoe and Kayak - TX
-
HOOK1 - TN
-
Pack & Paddle - LA
|
Blog of the Year
-
Saltwater Kayak Fisherman by Rob Appleby
-
Angling Addict by Rob Choi
-
Paynes Paddle Fish by Chris Payne
|
|
Online Video of the Year
-
5 Days on the Devils River by Robert Field
-
Just Beyond the Breakers #2 by Ty Southerland
-
Kings On Kayaks by Teddy Wozny
|
Forum of the Year
-
Texas Kayak Fisherman - TX
-
Kayak Bass Fishing - TN
-
Bayou Coast Kayak Fishing Club - LA
|
Every single vote cast was checked to be sure it complied with the "One person, one vote" program rule. This very strict scrutiny revealed that some people decided not to follow that rule. In the final round, over 1,300 ballots were disqualified. Many of those "vote cheaters" completed ballots from "spoofed" IP addresses - apparently in an attempt to get around Survey Monkey's built-in security features. The tremendous effort of double-checking every ballot was clearly worthwhile, and we're confident the final results accurately reflect the valid votes cast.
Congratulations to all the winners and all the nominees! and look forward to 2015. Like (or dislike) the results? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
Comments
3rd place Kayak of the year is a kayak that hasn't changed in the past five.
1st place kayak of the year is the exact same.
Meanwhile new kayaks, like the big rig and the lure, get pushed into 2nd and did not place.
1st place product of the year is an overpriced "max" seat, with a whopping 3 positions. Up, Down, and recline. So they redesigned the coosa seat to also have a "recline" function, all with two hands. I once saw a post saying it was "the most engineered product in kayak fishing.
Meanwhile the gravity seat, which has 8 positions, also reclines, doesn't cost 300 additional dollars on top of the kayak, and can actually be adjusted with one hand gets second.
Perhaps these awards shouldn't be voted on by the public. It isn't an actual award, it is just a popularity contest.
If I were a betting man I'd say you didn't participate in the nominations phase or any of the voting phase... Just sayin some people just like to bitch.
And the Big Rig, I saw one up close and personal and I frankly wasn't impressed.. but again, that's me.
There were changes made to the Hobie Outback as well--notably a new seat (the Vantage), which resulted in hull redesign. There were also changes to the Mirage Drive.