TOURNAMENT RULES
POTOMAC
BASSMASTERS OF VIRGINIA
Effective:
2008
(All previous versions are obsolete)
A. GENERAL
1.
No drinking of alcoholic beverages or
use of illegal drugs is permitted before or during tournament hours.
2.
All fish must be legally caught by rod
and reel casting. Only
artificial and biodegradable artificial lures may be used. No "live
bait" or "prepared bait" will be permitted during competition,
with the exception of pork strips or rinds. Only one casting, spin casting or
spinning rod and reel may be used at any one time. Other rigs, as specified
above, may be in the boat ready for use; however, only one is permitted in use
at any given time. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting
manner. Anyone guilty of snatching or snagging visible fish will have their
catch disqualified. When visually fishing a bed or for bedding bass, to be
counted as a legal fish all bass must be hooked inside the mouth and must be
verified by your partner before being unhooked. Violation
of applicable state or federal regulations by contestants is grounds for
disqualification and/or other penalty judged to be appropriate by the
tournament director(s).
3.
Tournament director(s) for a given
event is the club president unless a delegate is selected at the previous club
meeting. Boat-owners and co-anglers for
a given tournament are paired by open-draw format at the monthly meeting. A club member can participate in a
tournament drawing by attending the meeting or by conveying their intended
participation via phone, e-mail or any other method of correspondence. In the
event there is an uneven number of boaters and co-anglers, first priority is
given to the boaters and co-anglers who are present at the meeting, second
priority is given to members who conveyed their intention but did not attend
the club meeting, and third priority is given to members who did not convey
their intention and are not present at the club meeting. If two boaters are
paired for a tournament, they can decide who will be the boater and co-angler
or a decision can be rendered at the club meeting via a coin toss by a club
officer. Club officers will make any and all reasonable attempts to
pair tournament participants. This includes
but not limited to, boaters who do not attend the club meeting and participate in
the tournament draw, can be designated as a co-angler to even out the tournament
pairing. To facilitate open competition
and fishing experience, drawing the same partner twice in a row is avoided as
feasible.
4.
During
competition, the boater will fish from the front deck and the co-angler from
the rear deck. Exceptions are allowed if
mutually agreed upon by the boater and co-angler.
5.
In view of the
large expense involved in operating and maintaining a bass boat, the co-angler
partner will share, at minimum, the cost of gas and oil, park entrance and/or
launch fees for the competition day. If
the tournament site is not on the Potomac River, the co-angler partner is also
expected to share the cost of gas for towing the boat to/from the launch site. The amount paid is a personal issue between
the boater and co-angler and does not involve the club or its tournament rules.
6.
Tournament date, launch site, start
time, weigh-in time, the inclusion of a deviation rule or a ruling made to
address an emerging issue, will be reviewed and agreed upon by a majority-vote of
meeting attendees taken at the previous club meeting or prior to tournament
launch.
7.
All boats must be equipped with an inboard
method of sustaining a two-person limit of fish.
8.
Tournament
blast off spot is also the check-in point.
One half pound per person will be
deducted from total weight for each minute late at check in. Any boat 15 minutes late loses all
credit. Live-well and boat checks will
be conducted during registration, and at the sole discretion of the tournament
director(s).
9.
Fish may by transferred from one boat to
another in case of break down, provided an owner is with the fish at all times.
10.
Contestant's boat must return to
weigh-in site without removal from tournament waters. All boats will depart from the same location
and at the same approximate time, unless agreed to and voted by meeting
attendees at previous club meeting.
11.
Departure will be, with a safe distance
between boats.
12.
All spot rulings on interpretation of tournament
rules, potential violations and safety matters, including cancellation due to
weather or water conditions, are at the sole discretion of the tournament director.
Any member can appeal the ruling via the tournament rules committee as described
in the club by laws.
13.
Contestants are responsible for paying
their own launch fee and have valid fishing licenses.
14.
Bolling AFB Marina (inside of gas
pumps) is off limits. No other specific area on the Tidal Potomac is designated
off limits—provided that a team is considered off limits if it is cited or
served in writing (e.g., ticketed) by enforcement officials during tournament
hours because of fishing in an area illegally. Other restrictions or off limits
may be announced at the briefing prior to each tournament.
15.
An anchored boat has the right to deny
other contestants fishing rights within 50 yards, provided its trolling motor
is out of the water.
16.
It is unsportsmanlike to pull in front
of another contestant's boat fishing in a given direction or to move into a
limited area being fished constantly by another boat. Any person who repeatedly demonstrates bad manners by customary
tournament standards or so violates tournament rules will not be allowed to
register for tournaments at the judgment of the director(s).
17.
Violation of tournament rules is
grounds for disqualification or other penalty as judged appropriate by
tournament director(s).
18.
Potomac Bassmasters of Virginia club by
laws are an addendum to the tournament rules.
B. WEIGH-IN
PROCEDURES
1.
Places resulting from the tournament
will be based on net pounds per person.
2.
The Tidal Potomac has a fifteen inch minimum size
requirement for fish weighed in tournaments held from March 1 to June 15 and twelve
inch minimum during the rest of the year. Fish are measured with mouth closed; tail may be fanned or
squeezed.
3.
No culling of dead fish
4.
A six-ounce penalty will be assessed
for each dead fish weighted in. All
live fish must be released; exception is made for trophy fish which may be kept
if appropriate.
5.
A penalty weight of two pounds for any
fish weighed in under the legal length will be deducted from the total weight
of the remaining legal fish. A flat
board will be used to measure fish.
6.
Largemouth, smallmouth, Kentucky/Spotted
black bass only will be weighed in.
7.
No culling, sorting or handling of fish
after boat is off plane in area of marina for weigh in, other than to put fish
in bags and present for weighing.
C. SAFETY, BOAT
AND MOTOR
·
It is the contestants' responsibility
that boats meet horsepower and other Coast Guard requirements for their class
and particular boat.
·
A Coast Guard approved flotation device
must be worn when the combustion engine is running and boat is underway over 6
mph.
·
Boating and water safety training
courses by the Coast Guard or Power Squadrons are recommended for all
contestants.
Completion of such course is required by D.C. law when operating a boat
in D.C. water.
·
Tournament boats equipped with engines
smaller than 35 HP will not be allowed. No maximum horsepower limit is imposed. Any boat which appears to be unsafe will not
be allowed.
·
It is highly recommended that each boat
have two-way electronic communications equipment for use in case of emergency.
D. INSURANCE
·
Boat owners are required to present
proof of current insurance showing water craft liability coverage not less than
$300,000 bodily injury and property damage.
Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be
tolerated by Potomac Bassmasters of Virginia. Bad tournament conduct or poor behavior
could result in tournament disqualification and/or ejection from the club.