Some say winning the Angler of the Year title is the most prestigious title one can win in a tournament organization. That’s debatable, of course. Some will agree, some won’t, and that’s fine.

What isn’t debatable, in my opinion, is how difficult it is to win Angler of the Year. Anyone can win a tournament, but to win the Angler of the Year title, you have to be consistent all season long, and be better than all the other anglers who do well time and time again, and that is not easy by any means.

Our Angler of the Year format is a bit of a hybrid. It is based on an angler’s best twenty-five fish throughout the year, but we also award bonus points to the top five anglers at each event—five points for first place, four for second, etc. To become the MAKB Angler of the Year you not only have to fish a lot of our events, you have to catch quality fish and also consistently finish at the top.

Otherwise, you have no shot.

In his first year fishing with us, Joseph Daddeo made it known right out the gate—with a dominating win in our first tournament of the year on the Charles River—that he was coming for that title.

Joe went on to win two more events and place in the top five multiple times, amassing 19 bonus points to go along with his season total of 414 points. And when he didn’t finish in the top, he upgraded fish in his biggest twenty-five of the season.

The only time Joe wasn’t in the lead for Angler of the Year was the two weeks following our second Charles River tournament of the year, which he was not able to fish. He came back and won the next event, firmly securing his spot at the top where he remained for the rest of the season.

So without further ado, the Massachusetts Kayak Bassin’ Angler of the Year for 2020…

Congratulations, buddy! A well-deserved win. Hell of year!