GENERAL RULES:

The winner of the tournament is determined by the weight of the 5 bass or less.  All fish must be culled prior to the end of the tournament. Only largemouth or smallmouth bass can be weighed.  In the event of a tie, big bass weight will be used to determine the winning team.

Tournament participants are only allowed to use artificial baits to catch bass during the tournament.

The Great Lakes are off-limits on any body of water that is connected to the Great Lakes.  You may not go past the end of the pier heads.

The resolution of protests will be handled by the director(s) at the time of the protest is presented.  All protests must be presented within 10 minutes of the scales closing.

The use of USGC approved life vests and kill switch lanyards are required at any time when using the outboard engine.

BOAT AND BOAT OPERATION:

The boat is required to have a live well with an aerator.  A larger cooler with an aerator will be allowed for this event.  You may not use stringers, fish baskets or other type of similar devices.

It is the boat owner’s responsibility to comply with all state and local regulations and have the watercraft quipped properly with safety equipment.

It is the boat operator’s responsibility to know and understand any and all boating laws, no wake restrictions, high speed boating restrictions, lake speed limits or other similar rules or restrictions.

TOURNAMENT CONDUCT:

All state and local laws must be followed. Sportsmanship and courtesy will be shown by all teams entered towards fellow tournament anglers as well as any local fishermen, other boaters or property owners. Failure to comply can result in disqualification at the discretion of the Director(s). Disqualification will include forfeit of entry fees.

PENALTIES: 

LATE TO WEIGH IN

• Boats must be stationary or at idle speed within 150 feet of the ramp by the Weigh-In time.
• There will be NO grace period.
• There will be a 1 pound per minute penalty
• Returning to the ramp 5 minutes late will disqualify the days catch

DEAD FISH

• Every effort should be made to keep fish alive.
• Dead fish will result in a 1/4 pound (4oz) penalty.
• You may weigh in only ONE dead bass.
• You may NOT weigh a dead fish for Big Bass

SHORT FISH

• All fish must meet or exceed legal size limit. (14 inch in Michigan)
• Fish length is determined as the longest length from the mouth to tail, being measured with the mouth closed.
• Suspect fish, may be bumped on the official measuring stick prior to weigh-in.
• If the Director bumps a short fish, the short fish and the largest fish of the sack are immediately culled.

CULLING:

• A Team’s bag must be culled to 5 fish before the end of official competition.
• Failure to cull will result in the following:
  • The Team’s best 5 fish bag will be separated
  • The remaining fish will be immediately released
  • 1 fish from the final bag will be culled for each fish over the 5 fish limit – each time culling the smallest fish from final bag. 
  • If the infraction is discovered after the bag has already been weighed – the big fish of the bag will be forfeited for the 1st fish over the 5 limit and a 2lb penalty for each subsequent fish shall be applied 
  • EXCEPTION: a team may possess greater than 5 fish without penalty if the excess fish have expired and are not being weighed. Please do not cull expired fish back into the water. A dead fish will be considered “in excess” if it is smaller than the best 5 fish or cannot be weighed in due multiple expired fish.