W

= &nb= sp; = W.A.B.F.A. TOURNAMENT RULES

= &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; 2011 – 2012

1. PARTICIPATION:&nbs= p; Must be a member of the WABFA. (exception: allowed 1 tournament per year to be fished with non-member guest). Pre-registered will draw numbers for take off positions. Pre-register is 8:00 p.m. Friday b= efore the tournament. Non-pre-regis= tered will take off after registered. You may choose to fish with 1 partner the whole year or different partners per tournament or choose to fish as an individual. There must be no ties at the= end of the year per team. Ties must be broken either by fishing with guest, individual or different club members Entry fees will be $60.00 per boat (partnered or individual, big fish included).

2. PRE-TOURNAMENT PRACTICE: Tournament locations will be considered “off limits” from 11:59 pm the Sunday before the scheduled tournament date until take-off the morning of the tournament.

3. SAFETY: During competition, each contestant is to wear a fastened U.S. Coast Guard approved life preserver any time the combustion engine is operated at above idle speed. All state a= nd federal laws are to be followed and any contestant (or boat) receiving a citation from law enforcement while fishing the tournament is disqualified. (Both contestants will be disqualified.)

4. SPORTSMANSHIP: All contestants are to follow high standards of sportsmanship, court= esy and conservation during tournament hours.&= nbsp; No alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs will be allowed in boats dur= ing tournament hours. Extending u= ntil weigh-in is over. The use of portable communication devices to communicate or receive fishing advice dur= ing tournament is prohibited.

5. PERMITTED FISHING METHODS: All bass must be caught in a conve= ntional sporting manner. Only artific= ial lures are to be used with the exception of pork trailer. Only one rod may be used at a time= . Trolling and “Jigger-Poling<= span class=3DGramE>” as methods of fishing are not allowed. = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp;

= Contestants may fish anywhere accessible by boat, except areas designated as “Off Limits”

= by local, state, and federal officials. No fishing within 50 yards of anot= her contestants’ boat

= that is anchored in place. All fishing must take place from t= he boat with the contestants’ feet

= below the gunnell of the boat at all times. At no = time may a contestant leave the boat to land a

= fish or make the bass more accessible to fishing waters. The boat must remain in tournament

waters<= /span> during tourna= ment day except for emergency repairs(must notify tournament committee member as soon as possible.) In the cas= e of any emergency or equipment failure, contestants

= may return to the weight-in site by either remaining in their boat and being towed in or by

= entering another contestants boat. Locking through is not permitted.<= o:p>

6. SCORING: Scoring will be determined by the pounds and ounces for each boat during the tournament. (Boat total is the total weight regardless of number of fishermen in boat, each partner receives equal points per boat.)&n= bsp; Only Largemouth, Spotted, Smallmouth, or Redeye Bass are accepted species. The limit shall be (= 5)five bass per boat.Any bo= at who possesses more than the tournament limit (5) will be d= isqualified.Must cull upon catching 6^th fish.&nb= sp; The minimum length will be 12 inches unless the lake limit is more t= han 12 inches. In which case the lake limit will prevail. Bass that= fail to meet the minimum length requirement will be thrown out along with an equ= al number of the contestants’ largest bass. No changes will be made after fish= have been bagged. Each conte= stant will use his own weigh-in bag. You may trailer your boat prior to weigh-in if you wish. Tournament committee members w= ill weigh-in first. Points will be based on Big Stringer for each tournament.= Big Stringer =3D 100 points. Also everyone who participates will get 5 bonus points.

7. LIVE FISH: Every effort should be made to keep ba= ss alive. Each dead bass present= ed at weigh-in will result in a .25 per fish penalty. This penalty will be taken off tot= al weight at weigh in.

8. LATE PENALTY: Contestants who are not at the weigh-in area at the official check in time will be disqualified.<= /p>

9. TIES: In the event of a tie, the money wi= ll be split from a combination of the place tied for and one place below. Example: Tie for first, split money from fi= rst and second.

Emergency exceptions will be considered by the tournment chairman.<= /p>