Extreme Bass Anglerz

Official Rules

2010

1. Individuals wishing to fish a tournament must contact a board member in regards to joining Extreme Bass Anglerz. This contact may be done by telephone, in person, or by e-mail. The Board of Directors will vote in regards to letting new anglers join Extreme Bass Anglerz. Individuals must pay a $30.00 club due before being allowed to fish a tournament. The field will be made up of a limited number of boats that must register prior to the beginning of the 2010 season. Once the 2010 season begins, no anglers can register and fish as a boater. However, anglers may register and join club and fish as a substitute.

2. Tournaments may be fished individually or as a team. If you are fishing as a team, you may only substitute partners for two tournaments. Teams may not substitute partners for the “Classic”. If you are fishing as a team but your partner is unable to fish, you may fish individually. If you substitute a partner, your substitute must pay a club membership. You may not substitute with another club member from another team. (Substituting) As far as substituting partners, we all understand that emergencies happen and your partner may not be able to fish. However, please try and give the board ADVANCE notice in regards to substituting partners as ALL board members must vote in regards to the sub. If you call a day or two days before the tournament, it limits the time that all board members have to be contacted to vote. Also, the using of subs in order to get an advantage on a body of water will not be allowed (example: guides, professionals, or anglers that fish that body of water often – the board will through discussion with the angler wishing to substitute clarify “often”). If a member seeks the boards vote for a sub and it is approved but later found out that the substitute was used to get an advantage, the member using the sub will not receive points for that tournament.

3. Entry fees may be paid in advance or the morning of the tournament. The club secretary will collect the entry fees. Entry Fees are $60.00 per boat, with $10.00 going towards the “Big Fish” pot. Entry fees must be paid in cash, no checks as all money collected is paid directly back at the end of tournament.

4. All anglers are encouraged to have their life vest on when the gas engine is running as well as having life vest attached to the kill switch.

5. Boat Launch. The launch sequence will be determined by a draw (each team drawing a number to determine their launch position) the morning of the tournament. All tournaments will have a launch sequence.

6. Livewells must be open and checked by a board member before the boat is placed in the water. Once your livewell is checked, a ribbon will be placed on your trolling motor (this means the livewell has been checked).It is your responsibility to find a board member to check your livewell, they will not find you. If your livewell has not been checked and a ribbon placed on the trolling motor 15 minutes prior to scheduled launch, you will not be allowed to fish and will not receive points for the tournament.

7. Once your livewell is checked, you may put your boat in the water. You can start your engine; however, you must be within 50 yards of the boat ramp at all times until blast off. No fishing is allowed during this time.

8. The tournament will begin on time. The Board of Directors may delay launch due to weather or an emergency. Launch will not be delayed due to someone being late. Again, the tournament will begin on time except for weather conditions. It is a good idea to get to the ramp early due to ramp traffic, etc…

9. There is no “Off Limits” for regular season tournaments.

10. The “Classic” will be the final tournament of the year. The entry fee for the “Classic” will be $100.00 per boat with $20.00 going towards the “Big Fish” pot. A big fish award will be given each day. In order to be eligible to fish the “Classic”, you must fish at least five regular season tournaments (not including the Classic). A member can fish the “Classic” if he/she did not fish at least five regular season tournaments only if that angler pays enough entry fees for the five tournaments. Example: If Bill and Ted are partners, Bill has fished five tournaments but Ted only fished two, Ted can pay the club for three entry fees (totaling five tournaments) to qualify for the Classic. Ted would have to pay $180.00 to the club. Off limits for the “Classic” are from Monday the week of the Classic until safe light on Thursday. You may prefish for the Classic on Thursday and Friday. The payout for the Classic is as follows,

11. Only artificial baits may be used during tournaments. No cut bait or dead fish may be used as bait (this applies to dead prepared bait fish sold at bait/tackle shops and retail stores). Pork trailers are allowed. If a member is found in violation of this rule by the board of directors, the angler will be disqualified from the tournament and banned from all club activities.

12. Only one rod may be used at a time. No trolling is permitted.

13. Five fish limit of bass (largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted) may be weighed. All slot limits will be adhered to.

14. There will be a dead fish penalty which will result in a .25 pound penalty per dead fish. You may not cull a dead fish. Please take every precaution necessary to keep your fish alive.

15. Culling. All culling must take place on the water and during tournament hours. If a member is found in violation of this rule by the board of directors, the angler will be disqualified from the tournament and will not receive points.

16. Fish must be measured with their mouth closed and tail pinched. The Board of Directors will measure fish brought to weigh in on a “Golden Rule”. Any fish that is in the slot, the fish will not be weighed and the Team/Angler will be accessed a one pound penalty. Once the fish is brought to the scales, it cannot be taken back to your boat. It will be measured. Extreme Bass Anglerz will have the Official Golden Rule available the morning of the tournament in case anglers want to compare their Golden Rule to the official Golden Rule.

17. The largest fish weighed by a Team/Angler will be awarded the Big Fish Pot. If a Team/Angler ties for Big Fish, the Big Fish Pot will be divided evenly and distributed to the individuals tied for Big Fish. A dead fish can be weighed for the Big Fish; however, the dead fish penalty will be applied to the fish.

18. In the event that a Team/Angler ties for

19. Points will be awarded to Teams/Anglers based on their finish of each tournament. This will be used for Team/Angler standings and year end awards (Team/Angler of the Year). 100 points will be given to 1st place, 99 points for 2nd place, 98 points to 3rd place and so on. In the event that a team ties, they will receive the same number of points and the spot below the tied team will remain empty. For example, if two teams tie for second, they will receive 99 points apiece. Then, the next team receiving points will be fourth place at 97 points. The team/angler that does not catch any fish will be awarded 10 fewer points that the team/angler weighing a fish. The Team/Angler with the highest points at the end of the year will be awarded “Team/Angler of the Year”.

20. Year End Points Standings. In the event there is a tie for first place at the end of the year in the points standings, the team with the heaviest five fish weight (from all regular season tournaments and the Classic) for the year will be the “Team of the Year”.

21. Boats eligible for the tournaments must have a gasoline outboard. No Jon boats with electric motors are permitted. Jet boats are allowed. However, the river above the first set of riffles at Egypt Bend is off limits. At Riverton, the river above the first set of riffles on the South Fork is off limits.

22. Each angler must obey all fishing laws at all times regarding each body of water.

23. Each boat must have all the necessary equipment both functional and safety mandated by law to operate.

24. Each boat must have running lights that are functional and such lights must be used during low light conditions and fog.

25. Tournament hours will be posted on the tournament schedule but can be changed the morning of the tournament due to weather conditions.

26. Be courteous to your fellow anglers and show sportsmanship. Remember, fishing is about having fun.

27. No angler may leave the boat to land or catch a fish.

28. Anglers must remain in their boat during tournament hours. However, in the case of an emergency (sick, using the bathroom, severe storm, or other dangerous situations) you may leave the boat. If a team or angler decides to stop fishing and leave the water, it is the team's/anglers duty to contact a board member and let them know they are leaving. If one team member leaves the water early (other than in case of emergency), he/she may not return to the boat and begin fishing again.

29. Teams/anglers must arrive at the dock for weigh in at the official weigh in time. Anglers not at the dock at the designated time will be accessed a one pound penalty per minute for every minute they are late. The pound per minute late penalty will also apply not only to the angler/teams entire catch but also to the angler/teams largest fish. Thus, if an angler/team is 5 minutes late to the weigh in, five pounds will be deducted from their total weight. However, if they have a big fish, five pounds will be deducted from that fish as well for the big fish award. After 15 minutes, the Team/Anglers will be disqualified. In the case of emergency (engine malfunction, etc….) anglers are encouraged to contact tournament staff by cell phone. Cell phone numbers of tournament staff will be distributed at the club meeting or you can speak to a board member to obtain numbers. If there is an emergency (example: engine failure), one team member may leave their boat and ride back to weigh in with another club member. However, they may not take any rods with them, they cannot fish on their way back to weigh in, and all of the fish MUST have culling tags/strips on the fish and they MUST be in SEPARATE livewell, no exceptions. If they do not have culling tags/strips and are not in separate livewells, the fish will not be weighed.

30. A Team's/Anglers protest must be submitted in writing to the Tournament Director within fifteen minutes of the close of the weigh in procedures. The written protest must be signed by the angler/team protesting. This written protest must be given to a board member within fifteen minutes of the close of weigh in procedures. Once the Board of Directors obtain the protest, they will discuss in private as well as speaking to the protesting angler/team in order to gain all information and/or clarify the protest. Then, the Board of Directors will meet with the angler/team that is being protested to gain their information. The Board of Directors has the right to also meet with other members that may have witnessed or have knowledge of the alleged offense. After such information is gathered, the Board of Directors can vote on site in regards to the protest or they can delay the vote to another location. Once the Board of Directors vote on the outcome, the outcome is final. If a member/team is found guilty, that angler/team will accept the penalties as final and failure do so may result in termination from Extreme Bass Anglerz. If the angler/team being protested has placed to receive money in the tournament, all payouts will be held until a decision is made and then the prize money will be awarded. If the angler/team being protested is a board member, that board member will be excluded from the vote. The Tournament Director and tournament staff has the right to have a polygraph test given to any Team/Angler at any time. It does not have to be administered at the tournament location but can be set up by the tournament staff. Failure to pass the polygraph will result in disqualification and possible dismissal as well as the angler/team having to pay for the costs of the polygraph test. Tournament staff also has the right to check/enter a competitor’s boat at any time.

31. No consumption of alcohol will be allowed before or during tournament hours. Illegal drugs are prohibited. NO EXCEPTIONS.

32. Tournament staff will accept entry fees until 15 minutes prior to launch. This also includes checking livewells. At that point, no entry fees will be accepted. This will allow tournament staff to finalize morning preparation and prepare for launch. Thus, be EARLY. We will not hold up a tournament for someone being late.

33. Any changes to the tournaments/cancellations/etc… will be posted on the website. It is the angler’s responsibility to check the website for such changes. If you do not have access to the internet, anglers should contact other members that have access to the website.

34. In the event that a tournament is cancelled, it will be rescheduled to the next day or the following weekend. In the event that Extreme cannot obtain a launch location the next day or following weekend, the board will vote on changing launch locations or tournament sites. Such changes will be posted on the internet.

35. If an angler/team leaves the tournament early before the end of tournament hours they will be assigned the last boat out of the flight for the next tournament they fish. If several boats leave the tournament early before the end of tournament hours, they will all be assigned as the last boat out of the flight the following tournament they fish.

36. FISH CARE. Extreme Bass Anglerz takes every precaution to properly care for fish and maintain their health so they can be released alive at weigh in. This also includes the fishes handling at weigh in procedures. All anglers must gently place their fish in the weigh in basket during weigh in as well as trying not to drop fish or mishandle them. We all know a fish may fall from your bag but fish care is essential. If an angler continues to demonstrate poor fish handling behaviors, the Board of Directors will discuss such with the angler/team and sanctions will be implemented. Such sanctions will be determined by the Board of Directors.

37. The Tournament Director and Tournament Staff have the final analysis and decision making regarding rule violations. Rule violations may result in disqualification or dismissal from the club. In the event of a protest, the board members will discuss the protest with all involved parties and a decision will be made based on the information presented and discussed (the decision does not have to occur that day).

38. The Board of Directors has the right to change a rule or vote on any decision/question/rule/sanction or other matter concerning rules or any other issue concerning Extreme Bass Anglerz Tournaments and club functions.