Please read all official tournament rules and regulations prior to signing
entry form. The following items will be checked when contestant weigh in.
Violations of any rules regarding the following items will be cause for
immediate disqualifications.
- . Fishing License
- . Boat Registration
- . Kill Switch
- . Horsepower Rating
- . Alcoholic Beverages/Drugs
- . Life Jacket; Throw Cushion
The tournament will be held regardless of weather. Should conditions
threaten safety, please use caution.
DECISIONS:
1. All decisions of the Tournament Director are FINAL. Contestants only eligible one (1) grand prize.
2. All protests must be registered in writing with a Tournament Director within 15 minutes of the designated weigh in.
INFORMATION:
Any and all announcements concerning emergencies and hourly results will be broadcast over the OFFICIAL radio station KMOO 99.9 FM. Bring a portable radio in your boat.
ELIGIBILITY:
1. All state & Federal penal code laws apply at all times.
2. All state, Coast Guard, Federal Parks & Wildlife regulations shall apply at all times.
3. This tournament is designed primarily for amateurs, therefore, anyone who has fished 4 or more tournaments within the past 12 months of this tournament with an entry fee of over $1,500. or anyone who has provided guide service for pay within the past 90 days of this official tournament lake, will not be eligible to compete in this tournament.
4. Contestants must have a valid fishing license for tournament lake on their person unless exempt.
5. Each person in boat must be a paid contestant of official tournament and abide by all tournament rules and regulations. Boat must remain at weigh in while angler is in hourly pay out position.
6. Non-contestants are not allowed in paid contestant's boat at any time during official tournament hours.
7. Any contestant found to be in violation of any tournament rules will be subject to disqualification from this tournament and all future tournaments.
8. All bass caught by contestants fishing together will be disqualified if any of the said contestants are found to be in violation of any tournament rules and regulations.
9. Any person who has been disqualified from any prior tournament may be subject to being refused entry into tournament.
10. Tournament officials have the right to refuse ANY ENTRY.
11.Participants under 18 years of age must be accompanied by parent or adult with written parental permission.
REGISTRATION AND ENTRY FEE:
1. Entry form with complete entry fee must be received before fishing.
2. NO REFUND OR SUBSTITUTION OF ENTRY FEES FOR ANY REASON.
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES:
1. No alcoholic beverages are to be consumed by tournament contestant nor are
alcoholic beverages allowed in contestants boat during official tournament
hours, unless tournament contestant is finished fishing/has had their boat
inspection and polygraph for that tournament day.
SAFETY:
1. All boats must be equipped
with some type emergency ignition cut-off devise (kill switch) on any remote
steered outboard while main engine is in use. Ignition cut-off devise (kill
switch) must be attached to boat operator at all times while the main engine is
in use. Kill switch must operate properly. When the kill switch is activated,
the outboard main engine must stop running immediately. However, kill switches
are not required with hand operated engines unless equipped with one when
manufactured.
2. Boat operator must show proof of valid registration.
3.
US Coast Guard approved life jackets are required for each person in boat. Life
jackets must be worn and fastened while main engine is in use.
4. No boat
shall have a motor of higher horsepower than the approved Coast Guard maximum.
PERMITTED FISHING AREAS AND HOURS:
1. All bass
caught during tournament hours each tournament day (6am to 2 pm) may only be
weighed in during official tournament weigh in hours (7am-2pm) that day.
2.
Official Tournament Lake Off Limits hours begins: 8pm Thursday and ends 4am
Friday, 8pm Friday and ends 4am Saturday, 8pm Saturday and ends 4am Sunday:
Anglers cannot begin fishing until 6 a.m. Official start time announced on KMOO
99.9.
3. Contestants may leave from any launch site on Lake Fork. No
casting until 6am official clock. Official start-stop times will be determined
by official radio station.
4. No fishing within 50 yards of marina gas pump.
TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT:
1. All bass must be caught on
artificial bait by casting. No trolling with big motor. Contestants may use only
one rod at any one time. Other rods may be in the boat for substitute purposes.
2. All fishing must be done from boat. No bank fishing is allowed. Angler cannot
leave boat to land fish.
3. No electronic tracking devices (implanted
microchips) may be use to locate fish for tournament purposes. (Depth finders
and graph charts are the only exceptions.
WEIGH IN, SPORTSMANSHIP AND CONSERVATION:
1.
Sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation are expected from every
participant.
2. All bass weighed in will become the property of the
tournament and will be released back into the lake each tournament day alive if
possible.
3. All contestants will be required to bring their boat and
respective partner(s) with them to the weigh in site when weighing bass.
4.
Trailering is permissible.
5. No bass on ice. Bass must be alive to be
weighed in.
6. All bass brought to weigh in station must be in an official
weigh in bag with water.
7. No contestant may weigh in more than one bass per
tournament hour. Only on bass per weigh in bag is allowed. The number of times
you may enter separate Big Bass of the Hour is restricted to the Lake Fork limit
per day. Bass entered in the Big Bass of the Hour contest do not carry forward
from hour to hour. Your biggest bass is registered into the final overall
standings. No ties, 1st heaviest fish weighed in wins that prize. One grand
prize per angler.
8. Bass must be weighed in by the contestant who originally
caught the bass and it must be in said contestant's physical possession in the
weigh-in line.
9. Any artificially weighed or preserved bass will be
disqualified and that contestant will be subject to prosecution under state
and/or federal laws.
10. Any questionable entry will be subject to inspection
by a marine biologist or similarly qualified expert from the Texas Parks &
Wildlife Dept.
11. Minimum length of bass to be weighed is less than
16" (cannot touch the line) or 24" or more. If it touches the line on 24" it is
a legal catch and can be weighed in. Official measuring board is the Chek-it-Stick.
12. Only largemouth bass will be weighed in.
13. No contestant may have more
than three bass in their possession at any time during official tournament
hours. One bass only is allowed to be weighed in during any tournament hour.
14. This is a mandatory catch and release program during Official Tournament
Hours. When tournament is official over each day all bass must be released back
to Lake Fork.
Contestants are to be attentive to litter and should make every
effort to maintain their trash in their boat and dispose of it properly.
POLYGRAPH:
1. Each contestant by signing the entry form, agrees to submit to polygraph.
2. Polygraph tests will be given on a random basis and must
be passed.
3. There will random polygraph test
given as soon as possible after the conclusion of each official Tournament hour
as soon as that hour has elapsed. All contestants that have placed during said
hour, their respective partners and boats, if any, must remain at the official
Tournament site until said hourly winners are declared official. If not present,
contestants will be automatically disqualified.
4. Any contestant determined
by the polygraph examination or other Tournament Officials to be intoxicated or
any type of illegal drugs at the time said contestant is required to take the
polygraph examination, or in violation of Tournament rules, will be disqualified
from this and all future Tournaments.
5. Any contestant found to be in the
possession of any illegal substance will be subject to disqualification and
prosecution.
BOAT INSPECTION:
All contestants by entering the
Tournament hereby agree to allow their boats to be boarded and inspected by
the Tournament officials at any time during said Tournament to include, but
not limited to, their boat registration, Coast Guard horsepower rating
plate, and boat contents to include livewell, rod boxes, closed storage
compartments, tackle boxes, like jackets, PFD's and safety equipment. Refer
to checklist * The above mentioned rules are for your own safety.