Open to all individuals, male and female. Those under 18 years of age may
participate with written permission from a parent or guardian. Tournament
officials reserve the right to reject any entries we feel are not in the best
interest of the Tournament.
ENTRY FEES
Entry fees shall be $100.00 per boat, which does not include Big Fish.
Entry fees should be mailed to the address on the entry form and must be
postmarked no later than May 23, 2008. All other entries may be paid the
morning of the tournament. There will be a $35.00 fee charged on all checks
returned for insufficient funds. Winners are responsible for any and all
taxes on any moneys or prizes won.
OFF LIMITS
The Skimmer Wall and The Hot
Hole. Any competitor found guilty of violating the off limits areas will be
disqualified.
TOURNAMENT HOURS
Tournament hours will be from safe light until 3:00 p.m. We reserve the
right to assign flights and change hours if necessary.
LAUNCH SEQUENCE
Starting positions will be determined by when your teams entry is received.
SAFETY
Safe boating conduct must be observed at all times. Each competitor is
required to wear a Coast Guard approved life vest, securely fastened, at all
times while the boat is being propelled by the combustion engine. Furthermore
a kill switch must be fastened to the driver anytime the combustion engine is
propelling the boat. Failure to do so is grounds for disqualification.
Running lights must be operational and turned on at the blast-off of each
tournament. Each competitor's boat must be equipped with a live well system
capable of keeping a tournament limit of bass alive. Boats that do not have
factory-installed gas tanks are restricted to a maximum of 18 gallons of
gasoline in tanks that meet U.S. Coast Guard regulations. Gas tanks must be
properly secured or strapped in a boat.
SPORTSMANSHIP
Each contestant is expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship,
courtesy, and conservation. NO BOAT MAY FISH WITHIN 50 YARDS OF ANOTHER
COMPETITOR WHO IS ANCHORED WITH THE TROLLING MOTOR UP; FURTHERMORE NO TEAM
MAY FISH WITHIN 25 YARDS OF ANOTHER TEAM WITHOUT THE OTHER TEAMS PERMISSION.
PERMISSION MAY NOT BE GRANTED TO ANY TEAM AT THE EXCLUSION OF ANY OTHER TEAM.
No hole sitting by a non-competitor to aid a tournament participant will be
allowed. Violators will be disqualified.
TACKLE AND FISHING METHODS
Only artificial baits may be used. No live or cut bait is permitted. All
bass must be caught alive in a legal and sporting manner. No snagging. Each
competitor may only use 1 rod at a time. No more than 1 line in the water at
a time per fisherman. Trolling with the combustion motor is not permitted. No
competitor may leave the boat to land or catch fish.
STATE GAME REGULATIONS
All participants are required to abide by all state laws and game
regulations. No alcoholic beverages, stimulants or depressants may be
consumed by any participant during tournament hours.
SCORING
A limit of 5 bass (largemouth, smallmouth, spotted bass) may be weighed in. Minimum lengths will be 12 inches. Lengths will be measured with mouth closed on a "Golden Rule". A short fish brought to the scales will result in a 1 pound penalty. Dead fish will be penalized .25 (1/4) pound. The dead fish penalty will also apply to any fish weighed as a Big Fish if that fish is dead. All culling must be done on the lake; no team may have more than the tournament limit in the live well at any time during the tournament, with the exception of dead fish.
EMERGENCIES
Competitors shall remain with their partners in the boat at all times
during the tournament, except in the event of sickness or brief excursions
for "nature calling", severe storm or other such hazard. If for any
reason a team decides to leave the tournament waters early, both members
shall bear full responsibility for notifying a tournament official. In case
of a breakdown, one partner may return with fish by another tournament boat
while the other partner is permitted to stay with the disabled boat.
WEIGH-IN PROCEDURES
Weigh-in will be on a first come first serve basis. Once fish have been
presented to a Tournament Official to be weighed-in all fish become the
property of the Official, and no additional fish may be brought to the
scales. Bags will be limited in order to avoid a bottleneck at the weigh-in.
Teams not weighing any fish are still required to check in with tournament
officials in order to account for all teams.
LATE PENALTY
Competitors who are not at the check-in area will be penalized at a rate of
1 pound per minute, up to 15 minutes at which time they will be disqualified.
PROTEST AND POLYGRAPH TEST
Any protest must be submitted in writing to the Tournament Officials within
15 minutes of the close of the weigh-in. The Tournament Officials reserve the
right to give a polygraph test to winners and 2 other participants at the
event.. All participants agree to abide by the results of any polygraph test
administered. In the event of a protest and an off-site polygraph test the
Tournament Official will have the option of mailing all the checks to the
teams in the money pending the outcome of the polygraph.
LIABILITY INSURANCE
All members must carry a minimum of $100,000 of liability insurance on any
boat they might use during any Fish the Fall Tournament. Failure to do so or
reporting of false information will result in disqualification. Participants
must include the company name and either the policy number or the name of the
agent binding the coverage on the entry form for each tournament.
RULES INTERPRETATION
Interpretation of these rules will be left exclusively to the Tournament
Officials. The decision of the Tournament Officials will be final in all
matters. Infractions of any rule can result in disqualification.
