Tournament Rules

ENTRY FEE: $65.00 (includes $5.00 big fish pot)

PAYOUT: 1 in every 5 places

SAFETY AND BOAT EQUIPMENT: Safe boating procedure must be observed at all times. Carelessness and unsafe behavior of any boat will be grounds for disqualification. Each competitor is required to wear a Coast Guard approved life vest securely fastened when combustion engine is running. Adequate safety equipment to pass Coast Guard regulations must be in the boat at all times. All boats are required to functional emergency cut off devices (kill switches). All kill switches must be attached to the driver at all times when the combustion engine is running. Failure to abide by this rule will result in disqualification of boat. All boats must meet BIA horsepower and/or Coast Guard rating. Boaters and Co-Anglers must accept full responsibility and liability for any and all personal injury or property damage (both personal and private) which may occur. Each boat must be equipped with an aerated live well with adequate space to accommodate a tournament limit of bass.  All boats must follow posted No Wake Zones, No Fishing, etc. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. For your own protection, participants should have liability insurance coverage on their boat.

REGISTRATION: There is no early registration competitors may print this form and bring with them to the pre-tournament meeting in order to speed up registration. Otherwise, teams must register at the pre-tournament meeting with cash or check. Each participating school is allowed Unlimited boats per tournament. Each participant must present a valid college identification and State Fishing license. Each boat must have a boat check and rules briefing. Failure to do so will result in disqualification.

SPORTSMANSHIP: All competitors must show courtesy and good sportsmanship to both competitors and non-competitors. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. The use of mind-altering substances is prohibited during tournament hours.

TACKLE AND FISHING METHODS: Only artificial lures may be used. All bass must be caught in a legal, live, conventional manner using a rod and a reel. Each competitor may only have one rod in use at a time. Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.

TOURNAMENT HOURS: Take off for tournament will be at first safe light, as determined by the tournament director. Weigh-in times are to be decided at the pre-tournament meeting.

PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: Fishing is permitted everywhere except inside the No Wake Zone of the weigh-in location. All posted local and state laws still apply. Other off limits areas will be determined by the tournament director at the pre-tournament meeting.

EMERGENCIES: Competitors shall remain with their partners and in their boats at all times during the tournament hours, except in a case of emergency such as sickness, severe weather, or other such hazards. One team member may temporarily exit the boat to refuel the boat, retrieve personal items, etc. not to land a fish or make fishing waters more accessible. If, for any reason, a team must leave a tournament early, it is that team’s or team member’s full responsibility to notify the tournament director.

WEIGH-IN: To be considered eligible for tournament winnings, all boats must return to the tournament launch site to bring their catch to the scales to be weighed. In the event of equipment failure or other emergency, there will only be two permitted methods of returning to official check-in 1) by both partners remaining in boat and being towed by water, or 2) by one partner leaving with the team’s catch and entering another competitor’s boat or other pre-checked boat and returning to check-in site.

LATE PENALTY: Competitors who are not in the official check-in area at the appointed time will be assessed a penalty of one (1) pound for every minute late for check-in, to be deducted from the total weight of that day. Any competitors more than 15 minutes late will be disqualified.

SCORING: Largemouth, Smallmouth, Shoal, and Spotted Bass will be weighed. The “maximum” length of any species of bass will be used to measure all types of bass. The limit will be five (5) fish per boat. Culling will begin as soon as the sixth (6) fish is boated. Any team found to have more than five (5) fish in their live wells will be disqualified. Unless the team is the only one from their respective school in which case they are allowed 10 fish. All fish will be measured on the Golden Rule Tournament Board. A penalty of loss of big fish and loss of short fish will be assessed to those who weigh in a short fish. A .50 (1/2) pound penalty will be assessed for every dead fish weighed in. We recommend the use of BassMedic’s Rejuvenade live well treatment. All live fish will be released. Courtesy length checks are available upon request before fish are weighed in. Culling will not be allowed at the weigh-in site. Dead fish may not be culled. In the event of a tie, the school with the highest combined total weight will advance in standings.

PROTESTS: Protests may be registered before the scales close for weigh-in. Protests must be registered in person with the tournament director and a written protest must be submitted and signed by the plaintiff.

QUALIFICATIONS OF COMPETITORS: The tournament will be open to any full-time college students (minimum of 12 hours of classes). Competitors who attend schools with existing competitive intercollegiate bass fishing clubs must fish through these clubs. Competitors who attend schools without established competitive intercollegiate fishing clubs may fish the tournaments until a club is established. Schools must be represented at 3 out of the 4 regular season events to qualify for the championship.

TEAM PORTION OF COMPETITION:. The two highest boat weights for each college will be combined to establish the total weight for the college.  Colleges with only one boat will be able to weigh in five bass per angler for the team category. The college with the heaviest combined weight will win the team category of the tournament. This new format will not affect the individual boat standings. At the end of the regular season tournaments a “club of the year will be presented with a trophy which they keep for 1 year until the next club of the year is crowned.

TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR: All decisions of the Tournament Director will be final.

PRE-FISHING: There are no off limits for pre-fishing.