Tournament Rules

1. Rules: Interpretation of these rules will be left exclusively up to the Tournament Director. The Tournament Director’s decisions will be final and are not subject to appeal.

2. Eligibility: Only full members of the Nations Capital Bass Federations are permitted to participate in the tournament trail. All members will have to be in good standing with their club, NCBF and B.A.S.S. to be eligible to fish. All members will need to be at least 16 years of age. Anglers will be taken first-come, first served. This will be done by date and time of registry. No transfer of moneys will be permitted, and after the tournament drawing no refunds will be permitted. A participant may sell their entry to any other member of the NCBF; however, they will loose any position of rider or boater that has been established. Any refund will cost the angler a $10.00 service charge.

3. Off limit period: There will be no off limits period for the NCBF tournament trail.

4. Pre Tournament Meeting: There will be a meeting held the morning of the tournament before blast off. All competitors must be present at this meeting. Safety, off limits and any special rulings for that event will be discussed. Boat numbers will be distributed at the meeting.

5. Pairings: Pairings will be done in advance of the tournament and will be done by drawing. Boater will be pulled and then co-angler will be pulled and assigned a boat number. This pairing will then be listed on the tournament website. A pairing information letter will be mailed to each paired boater/non-boater along with phone numbers well in advance of the tournament date. It is the responsibility of the competitors to contact each other. If the number of anglers in each division are not even the Tournament Director will look for an avenue to remedy the situation. If this matter cannot be resolved then the anglers in question will be refunded their entry without being charged any service charge.

6. Safety: Safe boating will be required at all times. Reckless boating will be cause for disqualification. All boats must have a kill switch that is working and that is attached to the boat operator any time that the outboard engine is being operated during the tournament. All competitors must have a U.S. Coast Guard approved personal floatation device on and fastened at all times that the outboard engine is running during the competition hours of the tournament day.

7. Boat regulations: All boats must have a U.S. Coast Guard safety plate mounted on the vessel. All boats must be at least 16 feet in length and have a steering system (steering wheel or stick steering) that is in accordance with all U.S. Coast Guard requirements. At no time will any vessel that is deemed unsafe or unsuitable by the tournament director be allowed to be used in the tournament. No vessel will be allowed to be used if the engine horsepower exceeds 250 horsepower or exceeds the U.S. Coast Guard rating plate. All boats must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment on board and in good shape and must be current. All vessels must have a live well system that is operating and is capable of keeping full limits of fish alive for both anglers. Fuel may only be carried in factory installed or built in fuel tanks.

8. Fishing Methods: Only fish caught on a Rod and Reel and on artificial baits (including pork trailers) in a sporting manner are considered legal fish. Only one rod and reel and one lure can be in use at any time. Trolling is not to be permitted at any time. All angling must be conducted from a boat on tournament water and a competitor cannot leave the boat to gain access to fish or land any fish. The boat cannot leave tournament waters at any time.

9. Tournament Water: Tournament water is all waters accessible by boat for the given tournament location, except for waters deemed off limits by tournament directors, local, state and federal governments. No fishing within 50 feet of another competitor that is anchored. An anchored boat is a boat attached by rope in order not to move with the trolling motor in a stowed position.

10. Equipment Failure: In the case of equipment failure only two methods of returning to the weigh-in will result in a catch counting. (1) both competitors remain in their boat while being towed back, (2) both competitor enter into another competitors boat with a live well and are brought back, however, late penalties will still be imposed if you are late. At no time may you pull your boat to return to weigh-in without loosing your catch of the day.

11. Check Out and Check In: All boats will have to be checked out for safety and live well during a boat check before the tournament meeting and ooze off. The Tournament Director will establish an official check in point for your return to weigh-in. Anglers checking in late will loose one (1) pound per minute late up to fifteen (15) minutes late, at which time their catches will be disqualified. Failure to have boat checked out or failure to check in will result in disqualification of both anglers catches.

12. Partners: Partners must stay together during the entire tournament day, the only exception is when a male/female partner is sharing a boat and a restroom stop is necessary. Any other separation of partners will result in disqualification of both catches. Competitors are responsible for making any finical agreements between themselves before they participate in the event (ramp fees, boat fuel, etc). The boat captain is in control of the boat at all times, however, he can allow his partner to fish from the front of the boat to fish or go to the non-boaters fish if he so desires. If a boater treats his non-boater unfairly or handles the boat in such a manner to unfairly handicap his partner in the eyes of the tournament director, the boaters catch will be disqualified. There is no line in the boat that the co-angler cannot cast past. Partners may help each other land fish or be of assistance as is deemed necessary.

13. Catch: Only largemouth, small mouth, spotted or red eye bass will be weighed in. The daily creel will be five (5) bass (unless state regulations only permit less) per angler with culling allowed. At no time will culling of dead fish be permitted. The fish presented to the weigh-in staff will be the only fished weighed in. At no time will an angler possess more than five (5) fish except during culling. If an angler presents more than a limit of fish to the weigh-in staff, the largest fish will be released and a one (1) pound penalty will be applied. The length limit will be twelve (12) inches (unless state regulations are larger). A competitor presenting a fish to the weigh-in staff shorter than the established length will receive a one (1) pound penalty per fish that is short and they loose the weight of the short fish. For every deceased fish presented to the weigh-in staff there will be a penalty of eight (8) ounces.

14. Ties: In the case of a tie in either division the following will be the order in which the tie is broken: (1) number of fish, (2) largest fish, (3) or the tournament director will resolve the tie by manner of his choice. In the event of a tie in the angler of the year, standings for the state team the same order will be used.

15. Insurance: All boats must have current liability insurance with a minimum of $100,000.00 worth of insurance. It is the responsibility of the angler to make sure that the NCBF has a current copy of this policy. If your insurance lapses you will not be permitted to use the boat.

16. Sportsmanship: All competitors are required to follow high standards of sportsmanship. Failure to follow these standards or standard that the tournament director sets will lead to cause for disqualification.

17. Disqualification and Protests: All protests and disqualifications will be handled at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director’s interpretation of these rules. The Tournament Director’s decisions are final, and are not subject to appeal. Any competitor that receives a ticket during tournament competition hours will be disqualified. Any competitor that knows of a rules violation during the event and does not inform the Tournament Director of the goings on will be likewise disqualified.