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TRI-LAKES BASS CLUB
Rules
and Regulations
1.
Interpretation
of Rules and Eligibility
Interpretation of rules shall be left
exclusively to the tournament committee.
The decision of the tournament committee will be final in all matters.
To be eligible, all club dues and entry fees must be paid prior to the
tournaments. Guests will be allowed
to fish. Tri-Lakes Bass Club
reserves the right to refuse anyone’s membership or participation.
Club
Dues
are $30.00 per year for each angler.
$15.00 of this amount is to be used for club expenses throughout the year.
Tournament Fees are $60.00 per
boat (or $30 per person). Big Bass is
included and not optional. No checks
will be accepted at tournament site.
A portion of all club dues collected and 15% of the tournament fees will go
toward the Classic.
First place shall be awarded to the team with the
heaviest total weight (limit of 5 bass).
There will be one place paid per every 7 boats.
A.
first place will be determined by:
1. the most number of fish weighed in the total stringer, 2. the weight
of the largest fish of each stringer, and 3. the committee may elect to hold a
fish off (the fish off will be scheduled at the best time the committee can
determine to hold it)
B.
All other places will be combined and split
evenly. (i.e.- if there is a tie for 2nd place, 2nd and 3rd
monies will be combined and split evenly. The next highest finishing team will
receive 4th place monies)
Big Bass Pot:
There will be two Big Bass winners:
First 60% and Second 40%. If
there is a tie for first place, the pot will be combined and split.
A second place tie will be split.
Note: First and second place cannot be from the same boat.
The lake will be open at all times.
(except for the classic: see rule #12)
There will be an official checkpoint at
the tournament site. All boats must
return to the checkpoint in the bay area.
We will draw for take-off positions at the launch site 15 minutes before
each tournament. All numbers must be
turned in to the timekeeper for official check-in.
If you fail to turn in your number, you will be penalized by taking off
last at the next tournament. If you
are late, there will be a penalty of 1 pound per minute, up to 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes the weight of your catch will equal 0 lbs.
If your boat breaks down, someone may bring your fish in for you.
All late entries must find a paid tournament competitor and let them
check your live well before you start to fish.
Boats must be 14 feet or longer.
A small motor may be used for slow maneuvering.
Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.
Only artificial lures may be used.
No live baits or prepared baits.
All bass must be caught live and in a sporting, conventional manner.
There is a 5 fish limit.
Teams are not allowed to carry more that 5 fish (of any species) in the
livewell at any time. The only
exception to this would be if you catch and want to keep a trophy of another
species. If more than 5 bass are found
in your position, you will be subject to penalty, including disqualification.
After fish have been checked in at the scales, return trips to the live
wells are not permitted.
There will be a ½ pound penalty for each
dead fish presented for weigh-in.
(The committee reserves the right to refuse the weighing of a dead fish if
necessary)
All fish must be brought to the scales in
a Tri-Lakes Bass Club plastic bag with water in the bag.
At the discretion of the committee, there will be a 1.0lb penalty for not
using a T.L.B.C. bag. Only largemouth, spotted bass, and/or smallmouth bass will
be weighed. Spotted bass have to be
a “true” spotted bass: no largemouth bass with a rough patch on their tongues.
Only bass as described above, which measure 12 inches or more in length
(or lake regulations) on the longest straight line will be weighed in.
Fish will be measured on a flat board with mouth closed and tails
pinched. All attempts will be made
to release all live fish back into the lake after weigh-in.
The only exception will be a trophy fish kept to be mounted.
If one member of a team is unable to fish
a tournament, his or her partner may fish by himself or herself, or with a guest
and pay full amount of both entry fees and both club members will receive the
same amount of points. Each team
member will be allowed to miss 2 tournaments and receive the same points as
their partner acquires for those tournaments.
Guests will be required to pay a $5.00 one day membership fee to be
eligible to fish with a club member.
A club member can fish with as many guests per year as they would like, however
a guest can only fish twice per year. No
member can substitute for a team and both members of those respective teams
receive points for that tournament.
(Only two members can receive points for a tournament from one boat)
Fishing on tournament waters is permitted
anywhere except: restricted areas, behind
buoy markers of restricted areas, within 50 yards of gas pumps,
within 50 yards of another competitor
that has his boat anchored or tied or within 50 yards of areas occupied by scuba
divers.. All fishing must be done
from the boat only. You may not leave the boat to attempt to catch or retrieve a
fish.
Safe boating conduct must be observed at
all times. All boats must be
equipped with an operable kill switch.
Operators of boats must be at least 18 years of age. Each competitor is
required to wear a Coast Guard approved chest-type preserver anytime the boat is
on plane.
The possession or use of alcohol during
club event hours is prohibited and will result in disqualification and be
subject to termination of club membership.
Club membership will be open at all times.
The Classic will be held the last Saturday
in August. The lake to be fished
will be determined by a vote of those that qualify.
There will be
two ways to qualify for the classic.
First: The top 30 anglers who have the highest point totals at the
end of the year will qualify for the 2-Day Classic.
If there is a tie for the last position, each competitor tying will
qualify. Second:
Any angler who has participated in five (5) of the regular season points’
tournaments and has PAID for entry into all seven (7) of the regular season
tournaments will qualify for the classic. (entries have to be paid before start
of each tournament) There will be
NO non-club member allowed to fish the Classic. The Classic will be fished as a
team tournament.
Entry Fee: The entry fee will be $50
per boat. (100% pay back) Big Bass will pay only one winner per boat.
Payout will be for 1st place each day and will pay 50% on Day
1 and 50% on Day 2. All payouts will
be paid at the final weigh-in on Day 2. All
club members may fish for Big Bass. Members that are not qualified to fish the
classic may not fish from a boat with a competitor that is qualified for and
fishing in the classic.
A polygraph test may be given at any point
and time during the year and/or at the final regular tournament.
The teams to take the polygraph test may
include: 1. The top three finishing teams in that tournament, 2. The top three
teams in points, 3. A team at random.
The committee will determine who takes the test from some combination of
the before mentioned choices. The person of the team to take the test will be
chosen by a coin toss. If that
person fails the polygraph test, his or her partner will take the test.
If the partner passes the polygraph test, they both pass.
If a team fails the polygraph test, they will forfeit all monies won that
tournament and any awards due to them for the year.
They may also forfeit their right to participate in any Tri-Lakes Bass
Club sponsored event in the future. It will be left up to the discretion of the
committee as to when the polygraph will take place.
Any contestant wishing to protest the
score or conduct of a fellow contestant must do so in writing within 15 minutes
after official weigh-in time.
All contestants are required to follow
high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, conservation and to conduct
themselves in a manner that will be a
credit to themselves, to Tri-Lakes Bass Club, sponsors, the sport of fishing and
Tri-Lakes efforts to promote the sport.
During hours of competition, contestants
may not receive assistance for the purpose of locating or catching fish from
non- competitors, follow a non-competitor’s
boat, participate in the practice of “hole sitting”, or the placing of markers
by non-competitors.