Bass Fishing Tournaments

FAIRFIELD GLADE BASS CLUB TOURNAMENT RULES

1. Tournaments are normally five hours in duration, with starting times varying based upon the time of year. Tournaments are normally scheduled for Friday, Saturday, and Monday, but may vary for evening or night tournaments or those on small lakes.
2. The tournament schedule is voted upon by the membership at the beginning of a new season. To promote fairness and facilitate member planning, no changes will be made, except for single tournament changes made by the officers due to unusual weather, lake, or other fishing conditions.The Tournament Director may delay the start or postpone and reschedule a tournament day if in his judgment it would be unsafe due to weather or water conditions, but he may not suspend, extend, or restart it.  Once a tournament day starts, it will continue for the scheduled time and safety decisions, including seeking appropriate shelter, are the responsibility of the individual team.
3. Members fish in two-person teams, with non-boat owners matched with boat owners; however, limited participation or scheduling may result in boat owners fishing together or a member fishing alone.All members must rotate and no permanent teams are allowed.  The Tournament Director will attempt to have members fish with as many different members as practical over the course of the season, but to ensure safety for members, the Tournament Director will take into account known physical limitations when assigning tournament pairings.  When it is necessary for a boater to fish alone, the Tournament Director will follow in random order a list of those volunteering to fish alone which will be prepared at the beginning of each season.
4. During the course of the year a member may fish in a tournament with a guest who is not a Bass Club member no more than two times, unless the person is a family member. Then 3 tournaments are allowed.  All guests must have a Bass Club member in the boat as a sponsor.
5. Participants must register on the web site, by e-mail, or by telephone with the Tournament Director or his designee by 10:00 p.m. on the Monday before each tournament.  Members must provide alternate days on which they can fish, unless they can only fish on one day, in which case they must provide the reason to the Tournament Director on line in the “comment” area when they register.  If no reason is provided, the Tournament Director may assign the member to a different day.  If there are not enough boats available to permit all members who signed up to fish, members will be bumped from the tournament based on their sign-up time on the website.
6. No Bass Club member (or guest) participating in a tournament may leisure fish a lake designated for that week’s tournament starting at 10:00 pm on Thursday before the tournament.
7. No member boater will have to fish out of the rear of boater’s boat more than once a year.
8. No member or guest may fish in a tournament until they provide a signed waiver and release of liability. New members must complete the waiver with required information and pay their dues prior to the tournament sign-up deadline and sign up under Rule 5 in order to be eligible to participate in the next tournament.New member sign-up at the ramp is prohibited.
9. The tournament fee of $10.00 for each participant is to be paid at the ramp before the tournament begins.
10. During the tournament, only artificial bait may be used, and only one active rod per person may be used at any one time. If a member or guest is hung up on shore, in a tree, or under the water, he may use another rod to continue fishing in that spot.
11. Participants must be within 50 yards of the loading ramp at closing time of the tournament AND all fishing must be stopped.
12. The Tournament Director or his designee will weigh, and as necessary measure, all fish and record the information.
13. Only largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass will be weighed.The minimum size limit is ten (10) inches, except where State law requires a larger size.A limit of five (5) bass per boat will be weighed. No more than seven (7) fish shall be brought to the loading ramp, of which, a limit of 5 per boat will be weighed.
14. In order to determine the big fish and track fish over three pounds, the largest bass will be weighed and measured separately.All of a team’s bass will be weighed together to determine the total.A penalty of two tenths of a pound (.2) will be deducted for each dead fish.  Once a team’s bass have been weighed and released, the result is final and not subject to appeal or change.
15. If a team inadvertently brings more than five (5) bass to be weighed and they are deposited in the weigh-in basket, the largest fish will be released, and it will not be considered for big fish of the tournament.
16. First through fifth places will be determined by total weight, after deduction of any penalty.The big fish will be determined by weight, except in event of a tie, length will be considered.
17. All live bass must be promptly released, except that one trophy-sized fish may be kept at the option of the angler.
18. Members must comply with all State and Fairfield Glade fishing regulations, including the possession limit of five (5) bass per angler, and ensure that all required safety equipment is on board.Non-boater members must provide their own life jacket to ensure that it fits and wear it if required by the boat owner while in his boat.
19. All boats must stay outside of red buoys around beaches and docks at marinas as stated in the Lakeside Handbook. The reason for this rule is to avoid casting lures onto moored pontoon boats at the marinas and avoid swimming areas at the beaches. If a lure is lost or hooked on pontoon boats, ropes and/or near the swimming areas, it may pose a danger to residents, swimmers and guests.

    Dartmoor – Prohibited fishing (casting) areas are established by drawing an imaginary line from the shore, into the lake and outside the beach area and around any red “beach buoys” farthest from the docks, and outside any red buoys (by the beach). Continue on a line touching each marina dock, to the outside corner of the last marina dock closest to the dam.  No boats or fishing (casting) between beach and marina docks.  Boats and casting are allowed between the dam and the last dock, unless it is marked with a red buoy.  Casting between a red buoy and the “fishing dock” is allowed, if no one is fishing from the fishing docks. Boats must be kept outside the red buoy.

    St George – The same basic outline as noted above applies to Lake St George.     Draw an imaginary line from the outside corner of the dock closest to the pavilion and along each marina dock to the outside corner of the marina dock closest to the beach. A similar line will be imagined from the outside corner of the last marina dock closest to the beach and around any red buoys outside the beach area and continue to the shore outside the beach area. No lures may be cast inside that line.  Casting between a red buoy and the “fishing dock” is allowed, if no one is fishing from the fishing docks. Boats must be kept outside the red buoy.  Casting over or near the submerged wall on the far side of the beach is not allowed.

20. No alcoholic beverages are permitted aboard any boat in a tournament.
21. Prior to the beginning of the tournament season, the Club will provide to members a laminated emergency contact card including instruction to call 911 first and the phone numbers of FFG Public Safety and at least two officers of the Club.
22. Anyone violating these rules may be disqualified from that tournament.Anyone wishing to protest must do so to the Tournament Director or his designee before completion of the weigh in.  The Tournament Director and other Bass Club officers will consult with each other and other members as appropriate to determine if a violation was intentional or inadvertent.  Intentional violations result in disqualification.  For unintentional violations, the Bass Club Officers will consult with each other and with the violator to determine any appropriate action.  Any member who believes they have been treated unfairly may bring the issue to the next meeting for consideration by the membership.

FISH-OFF RULES

1. To qualify for participation in the fish-off, a member must have previously fished in at least seven (7) tournaments and attended five (5) meetings; except a member who joined after May 1^st must have participated in at least five (5) tournaments and attended three (3) meetings.  If a member needs only one more meeting and is otherwise eligible, participation in Club projects, such as structure placement, minnow stocking, or the Kids’ Fishing Tournament may count as one meeting.  The officers may invite the non-qualifying member(s) closest to qualification to participate if needed to ensure that all qualifying members have the opportunity to fish with a partner.
2. The fish-off is conducted on two days, normally Saturday and Monday, in early October at Lakes Dartmoor and St George.  Duration is five (5) hours each day.
3. Fish-off pairings will be based on total weight of fish recorded during our regular tournament season.  Participants will be paired with the highest place boater in the year-end standings paired with the lowest place non-boater in the year-end standings.
4. The lakes will be assigned with Lake St. George getting the odd numbered boaters according to the year-end standings on the first day of the tournament and fishing Lake Dartmoor on the second day.
5. In the event that we have an excessive amount of boaters, we will use the year-end standings to pick non-boaters to fill out the tournament field so that all boaters will have a non-boater partner.
6. The tournament pairings will be decided by the Tournament Director, Asst. Tournament Director and Club Secretary.
7. There is no entry fee for the fish-off, since a fund for cash prizes is built up over the year using $2.00 of the fee from other tournaments.

All other tournament rules apply to the fish-off.