We should separate crappies from other sunfish

Looking at the species archive I noticed that crappies totally dominate the panfish category to the point of elimination of other species for contention. Maybe Sac Perch could be lumped with them but I think sunfish should be separate with more points per inch while crappies could get fewer points per inch. It’s too easy to get a 150 pt fish with crappies. A 12” crappie is an average or small one while a 12” bluegill is huge and noteworthy.
This is something that should be considered for next year.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — I 100% support this change.

Personally I think that panfish should just be removed, as they don't really qualify as a trophy fish which is what AOTY is all about.  It's really cool to land a big pig of a bluegill, and I celebrate your catch.  But bluegill on average are really just too small to be considered real game fish.  The ones posted on AOTY are historically less than 8", which also makes it a pain to have correctly measured with the standard Hawg Trough.  Sure they are a fun fish to catch, but are they really trophy worthy?  Adding another fish category is also non-trivial as far as getting someone to spend the time to make changes to the system. 

I feel like this is the same as complaining sand dabs aren't worth a lot of points because petrale sole dominate the flat fish category. Do we need a sand dab category too?

im gonna be stoked to catch my first crappie lol. SOME DAY

I kinda agree with Al - I don't think panfish should be touted as a "trophy" fish.

Likely unpopular opinion - I don't think that surfperch are really a "trophy" fish either.

Take or leave them both, I could go either way.  On one hand, the contest is partly about finding trophy fish.  On the other hand, it is also about showing mastery of our local waters, and both panfish and surfperch a big part of our local waters. 

I think it comes down to how you view the competition.  Is a big fish contest or a fishing diversity contest?