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A.
Interpretation of these rules will be left
exclusively to the Big Buck Bass Tournament Director
and are final in all matters and are not subject to
appeal.
B.
Teams competing in any Big Bucks Bass
tournaments must have a copy of these rules while
competing in the tournament.
C.
Protests must be made in writing within 30
minutes of the official check-in time of the last
flight of each tournament, the tournament director
will review all protests and there will be a ruling
on the protest before any prizes will be awarded.
A.
Safe boating must be observed at all times.
Each contestant is required to wear a fastened, U.S.
Coast Guard approved, personal flotation device
anytime the combustion engine is in operation.
B.
All boats must be equipped with all safety
equipment required by law.
C.
No angler may fish from either deck of any
craft while the combustion engine is in operation
for the purpose of moving from one spot to another.
(No casting from the front or back deck while your
partner is idling thru a no-wake area.)
D.
All boats must be equipped with an operating
emergency ignition shut-off device that must be
securely attached to the driver’s body whenever a
combustion engine is in operation.
E.
Tournament hours may be shortened at the
discretion of the tournament director due to unsafe
weather conditions.
A.
Membership to Big Bucks Bass is mandatory to
enter and compete in any tournament run by Big Bucks
Bass. Your membership fee covers printing, postage
and other costs associated with print information
Big Bucks Bass needs to send to our members during
the course of the tournament year.
B.
The membership fee for 2008 is $40.00. There
is a $20.00 per tournament fee for any angler who
competes as a substitute but who chooses not to
become a member of Big Bucks Bass.
C.
Big Bucks Bass reserves the right to refuse
membership to any angler or team at the managements
discretion.
A.
Participation is open to members of Big Bucks
Bass that are in good standing. Good standing:
membership paid in full, no returned or unpaid
checks for any reason (including any fees associated
with the returned check)
B.
Any
angler entering a tournament that is under the age
of 18 must fish with a partner over the age of 18
and also have the signature of their parent or legal
guardian in the provided space on the entry form.
C.
Anglers must be 18 years or older to operate
the boat at any time.
D.
All contestants must have in their possession
a valid fishing license if required by law.
E.
Team entry fee for all regular division
tournaments is $200 except on waters where a usage
surcharge is levied. There is also an optional $10
big bass pot.
F.
A completed entry form and the entry fee
should be received prior to the tournament, for each
tournament. Late entries will be accepted except for
tournaments where we have a full 84-boat field.
G.
A $20 late-entry fee for any “walk-up”
entries will be assessed.
H.
There will be a $40 charge for any check
returned to our bank for any reason.
I.
Pre-paid entry fees may be transferred from
one tournament to another or from one division to
another, as long as written notice is received by
Big Bucks Bass 48 hours prior to the tournament not
to be fished. Entry fees may not be transferred to
retain qualification for the championship. If a team
fails to give 48 hours written notice the entry fee
will be used as if the team had competed in the
tournament.
A.
Big Bucks Bass realizes that it may be
necessary for a team to use a substitute angler for
a tournament. A team may use one substitute per
division.
B.
If a team cannot find a substitute for one
team member that cannot compete in a tournament, the
team has the option to have one team member compete
in a tournament. The creel limit for that team will
be one legal limit for the state or body of water
the tournament takes place.
C.
This rule is not in place so that one angler
competes in a full division alone. In the event an
angler needs to fish alone every effort will be made
to have an observer (non competitor) go with that
angler for that tournament day.
A.
Every effort must be made to keep bass alive
through the use of a properly aerated live well. Big
Bucks Bass recommends the use of live well additives
and in warm weather the addition of ice to the live
well to ensure that all fish are healthy when
released.
B.
A Penalty of ¼ pound will be deducted for
each dead bass brought to the bump station. The
ruling of the tournament director on all dead fish
will be final and not be open for protest.
A.
All bass must be caught alive in a
conventional sporting and legal manner with a rod
and reel.
B.
Only artificial lures may be used, with the
exception of pork trailers.
C.
Only one fishing rod may be used at a time.
D.
Trolling as a method of fishing is
prohibited.
E.
Any fish that is caught while sight fishing
or bed fishing and hooked on the outside of the
mouth or any place outside the mouth must be
returned to the water. No intentional snagging of
fish will be tolerated and will be cause for
disqualification and exclusion from future
tournaments.
A.
Only Black Bass (largemouth, smallmouth or
spotted) may be brought to the scale.
B.
Bringing a non Black Bass species to the bump
station will result in the large Bass of the creel
being removed from the creel.
C.
Minimum size limit for all bass will be 14
inches unless there is a site-specific regulation
for the body of water where the tournament takes
place. If there is a site-specific regulation
regarding minimum size limit or possession limits
the regulations for that body of water will apply.
These special rules will be covered at the mandatory
pre-tournament meeting. There will be a courtesy
bump board available to all anglers prior to the
scale opening, this courtesy board will be checked
before each tournament by the “bump master” and
tournament director to assure that it is exactly the
same at the official board used at the bump station.
D.
Any team that brings a short fish is violating the
law and therefore they will be disqualified. If you
have a fish that is close ask another team for a
courtesy bump of that fish.
E.
All teams will be allowed to weigh a six fish
limit for all tournaments except in the event of an
angler fishing alone (see rule 5-B/5-D). In this
case the limit for that angler will be one legal
daily limit for the state that the tournament is
taking place.
F.
Any team that brings an extra or 7th fish to
the bump station will have the largest fish
disqualified from their total creel. (COUNT YOUR
FISH AS YOU PUT THEM IN YOUR WEIGH-IN BAG!)
G.
Wisconsin has a no-cull law in effect. If a
team has nine fish in possession one angler must
stop fishing if a team has ten fish in possession
then both anglers must stop fishing.
H.
Once your weigh-in bag is given to the “bump
master” there will be no substitution or changing
the creel in any way.
I.
All tournaments will be scored on a pound and
100th of a pound system. In the event of two teams
having the exact same weight the tie would be broken
by the number of fish brought to the scale. The team
with the greater number of fish would win the tie.
In the case there is still a tie, the big bass of
the creel would break the tie. The team with the
larger bass would win the tie. All tie breakers will
be final and not open for protest.
J.
A ¼ pound bonus will be awarded to each team
that checks in at the end of the tournament. This
bonus will not count in the days catch but will be
added after the totals are calculated.
A.
All contestants are required to follow high
standards of common sense, sportsmanship, courtesy
and conservation and to conduct themselves in a
manner that will be a credit to themselves, the
sport of tournament fishing and Big Bucks Bass.
B.
Any team angler or team that is issued a
fineable citation for any reason during the
tournament hours will be immediately disqualified
for the day.
C.
Consumption and/or possession of alcoholic
beverages or any kind of mind-altering substance or
non-doctor prescribed drugs during registration, the
pre-tournament meeting or during tournament hours
will be cause for immediate disqualification.
D.
Suspension or disqualification of any angler
or team from any tournament or fishing organization
can be cause for exclusion from participation.
E.
During tournament hours contestants may not
obtain or receive assistance from non-competitors,
follow a non-competitor’s boat or participate in the
practice of “hole sitting” or the placing of markers
by anyone. The use of mobile communication devices,
including, but not limited to, cellular phones,
marine radios, walkie-talkies, CBs, etc., during
tournament hours for the purpose of receiving
assistance in finding or catching fish is forbidden,
and shall be reason for disqualification.
F.
No angler or team who is registered to fish
in a Big Bucks Bass tournament shall place any bass
in their live well during pre-tournament practice,
this will be considered “moving fish” and is
strictly forbidden and is reason for
disqualification, and exclusion from future
tournaments.
G.
Big Bucks Bass and it’s employees reserve the
right to exclude any angler/team from participating
for any reason they see fit.
A.
All boats must be a minimum of 14 feet in
length. No barges or similar cumbersome crafts will
be permitted.
B.
Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast
Guard safety equipment.
C.
Boats must contain a properly aerated live
well space to maintain alive a limit catch of bass.
D.
Maximum horsepower for all outboards used in
tournament competition shall not exceed the
horsepower capacity set forth on the maximum
horsepower placard on each boat.
E.
By signing the entry form, each contestant
agrees to submit their boat and/or motor to an
inspection by Big Bucks Bass personnel. Falsifying
information on entry forms or altering the
horsepower numbers on the motor or rating placard
will be cause for disqualification from the
tournament and may result in ineligibility to
compete in future Big Bucks Bass events.
A.
Contestants may fish anywhere on tournament
waters available to the public and accessible by
boat, except areas designated as “off limits” or “no
fishing” by the tournament director, local, state,
or federal officials or within 25 yards of a
competitor’s boat that is anchored (an anchored boat
is a boat held in a stable position by a line
attached to a weight with the trolling motor in the
up position). Off limits will be covered at the
mandatory pre tournament meeting.
B.
All angling must be conducted from the boat.
C.
At no time may a contestant leave the boat to
land a fish or to make the boat more accessible to
fishing waters.
D.
At no time during the tournament hours shall
any team remove their boat from the water for the
purpose of getting to a fishing location.
E.
In the event of a mechanical breakdown a team
may get permission from the tournament director to
put their boat on the trailer to make repairs.
F.
Contestants must leave and return to the
official checkpoint by boat.
G.
The boat must remain in the tournament waters
at all times during the tournament day.
H.
No tournament boat may be loaded on the
trailer before the weigh-in except with the
permission of the tournament director. Unless there
are special circumstances do not remove your boat
from the water until you have weighed your fish.
I.
In the event of equipment failure, there will
be only two permitted methods of returning to the
official check-in: by both partners remaining in
their boat and being towed by water, or by one
partner entering the boat of another tournament
contestant. Under these two conditions the
contestants’ catches will be counted without a
penalty (except for late penalties, dead fish
penalties or other penalties pertaining to other
tournament rules).
A.
There will be only one official check-in
point in the afternoon. Failure to go through check
in point will result in disqualification.
B.
All fishing must cease upon check-in.
C.
If a team comes in early or has a mechanical
break down and has fish to bring to the scale that
team must check in with the tournament director. It
is that teams responsibility to check in at the end
of the tournament.
D.
No fish will be weighed in prior to the scale
being officially open.
A.
Any team that is late for the afternoon check
in will loose their entire days catch for that day.
If the official check-in time is 2:00 pm and the
official clock hits 2:01 pm and your boat is not
close enough for the Big Bucks Bass official
performing check-in to read the numbers on your
tournament draw number plate you will be considered
late.
A.
By signing the official entry form each
contestant consents to a polygraph examination and
abide by its conclusion. Failure to pass the
examination will result in disqualification.
B.
Polygraphs will be used at the tournament
director’s sole discretion. The professional
administering the test and the tournament director
will make the determination of the meaning of the
results.
A.
Boat liability insurance, with coverage in
reasonable amounts, is required of all contestants
in Big Bucks Bass tournaments.
B.
A copy of your insurance policy should be
kept in your boat at all times during tournament
competition. It is recommended that you have your
insurance agent fax a copy of your current liability
insurance policy to the Big Bucks Bass office.
A.
There will be 13-16 teams that qualify for
the championship per division with the exception of
the Wednesday night division that has its own
championship.
B.
A team that qualifies for the championship in
multiple divisions will represent the division that
team qualified in first, by date.
C.
Teams that place 1st in any tournament will
qualify for the championship, to retain
qualification the team must either compete in or pay
for all tournaments in that same division.
D.
If a team pays an entry fee or fees for a
tournament or tournaments in order to stay qualified
but choose not to compete in the tournament or
tournaments, the entry fee or fees will be used as
if the team had competed in the tournament or
tournaments.
E.
No team or teams can effect the number of
teams that qualify for any division by qualifying
multiple times. If a team or teams qualify multiple
times in one division by placing 1st in two or more
tournaments there will be a roll down and more teams
will qualify by weight. If one team qualifies 3
times in the same division by placing 1st then 11
teams will qualify by weight.
F.
There will be 1 wild card team per division.
By signing your weigh-in slip at the end of the
tournament you are insuring that you and your
partner have in no way broken any of the rules above
and that you have not been issued a fineable
citation or conducted yourself in a manner that
would be cause for disqualification during the
tournament hours. |
