W.A.B.F.A. TOURNAMENT RULES

2011
– 2012

1.    PARTICIPATION:
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 before
the tournament.  Non-pre-registered
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 and
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, courtesy
and conservation during tournament hours.
No alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs will be allowed in boats during
tournament hours.  Extending until
weigh-in is over.  The use of
portable communication devices to communicate or receive fishing advice during
tournament is prohibited.

5.    PERMITTED FISHING METHODS:  All bass must be caught in a conventional
sporting manner.  Only artificial
lures are to be used with the exception of pork trailer.  Only one rod may be used at a time.  Trolling and “Jigger-Poling”  as
methods of fishing are not allowed.

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 another
contestants’ boat

that is anchored in place.  All fishing must take place from the
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 during tournament
day except for emergency repairs(must notify tournament committee member as
soon as possible.)  In the case 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.

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.)
Only Largemouth, Spotted, Smallmouth, or Redeye Bass are accepted
species.  The limit shall be (5)five bass per boat.Any boat who
possesses more than the tournament limit (5) will be disqualified.Must
cull upon catching 6th fish.
The minimum length will be 12 inches unless the lake limit is more than 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 equal
number of the contestants’ largest bass.  No changes will be made after fish have
been bagged.   Each contestant
will use his own weigh-in bag.  You
may trailer your boat prior to weigh-in if you wish.  Tournament committee members will
weigh-in first.  Points will be
based on Big Stringer for each tournament.
Big Stringer = 100 points.
Also everyone who participates will get 5 bonus points.

7.    LIVE FISH: Every effort should be made to keep bass
alive.  Each dead bass presented at
weigh-in will result in a .25 per fish penalty.  This penalty will be taken off total
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.

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

Emergency
exceptions will be considered by the tournment chairman.