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2021 Texas Legends Billfish Tournament

August 4 - August 8, 2021

Tournament Rules

  1. 1. By entering this tournament, participants agree to abide by all rules and decisions. All committee decisions are final.
  2. 2. Contestants are boats. There may not be any pooling of catch or transfer of catch from one boat to an other. In the event of a mechanical failure that disables a participant’s boat, a substitute boat may be used at the discretion of, and coordinated with, the tournament director. Any substitution must take place at the dock, not offshore.
  3. 3. All boats must be registered and all fees paid before leaving their respective ports. A committee boat will be stationed in most ports to supervise boats leaving on Thursday August 5th, 2021. Boats may depart any time after 5pm.
  4. 4. All boats are required to return to Port Aransas, Texas to weigh any fish or submit any videos, regardless of departure port.
  5. 5. Fishing Starts Friday August 6th, 2021 at 12:01am and ends at 5:00pm August 7th, 2021 at the close of the weigh station. Stop fishing in time to make the 5 pm deadline if you boat or release a fish. Boats must be inside the Port Aransas Municipal Harbor Breakwater (not Port Aransas jetties) at 5 pm. Boats waiting in line to weigh fish inside the Port Aransas Harbor at 5 pm will be considered on time and able to weigh fish and submit videos
  6. NO EXCEPTIONS
    All times are GPS times (CDT=Coordinated Universal Time – 5)

  7. USE YOUR GPS FOR THE CORRECT TIME

  8. Call Tournament Headquarters at 409-739-4817 / 361-815-1612 or a Committee Boat immediately after boating or releasing an eligible billfish. Contacting Tournament Headquarters helps us keep our website up to date with the latest fishing results! It is not necessary to call in hook-ups, only release information or short length of any blue marlin boated. It is also not necessary to call in tuna, wahoo or dolphin. For released billfish, Tournament Headquarters or the Committee Boat will also record the time of your release. Be sure your information has been received. A list of committee boats and contact information will be included in your tournament bag. If no contact can be made have another tournament boat relay your information. Be sure to get that boat’s name and make sure they record the time.
  9. All boats are required to have a video camera to verify release of billfish. NO EXCEPTIONS.

  10. Jungle Rules!

  11. THERE ARE NO ANGLING RULES OTHER THAN THE FISH MUST BE CAUGHT ON A CONVENTIONAL ROD AND REEL AND BOATED BY HAND OR GAFF. ANYONE MAY HANDLE THE FISHING ROD. NO HARPOONS, SHOOTING, EXPLOSIVES, POISON, ELECTRIC REELS(OK FOR DREDGE USE ONLY) , ELECTRIC SHOCK, ENTANGLING DEVICES, NETS, LONGLINES OR OTHER NON-SPORTING DEVICES MAY BE USED.
  12. Fish must be weighed in good condition. No frozen fish will be accepted! Remember to take plenty of ice and insulated fish bags.
  13. Boats weighing fish will be responsible for those fish after weigh- in. This includes Blue Marlin.
  14. A boat may fish as many lines as desired.
  15. Participants are encouraged to follow all State and Federal Laws.
  16. REMINDER!! FEDERAL LAW requires the use of non-offset circle hooks in billfish tournaments when using natural baits (dead or live) or natural baits in combination with lures or skirts.
  17. FISHING IN MEXICAN WATERS NOT PERMITTED. The tournament has been informed by the United States Coast Guard in Port Isabel, TX, that it is against Federal Law to leave a Texas port, fish in Mexican waters and return to a Texas port. Therefore, fishing in Mexican waters which extend south from 26 degrees N Latitude is not permitted in this tournament.
  18. WEATHER: Regardless of weather, the captain/owner of each vessel is responsible for decisions made regarding the safety of their vessel! In case of bad weather, the Tournament Committee may decide to postpone tournament and Sunday, August 8th may be used as a weather day. One day fishing constitutes the tournament. If the tournament is completely cancelled, all boat pools will be refunded and entry fees will be refunded less tournament expenses.
  19. CONDUCT: The committee will consider unsportsmanlike conduct as grounds for disqualification. Contestants are responsible for their crew’s actions. Committee decisions are final.
  20. PROTESTS: The only situation where a protest will be considered is in regards to a violation of the tournament rules. All protests must be substantial in nature, include documented evidence and must be submitted to the tournament director, in writing, before 7 PM August 7, 2021. A $500 cash deposit must be included with the protest. Deposit returned only if protest is upheld. The Tournament Committee will resolve all disputes and their decision is FINAL.
  21. POLYGRAPH: All participants (including captain, crew or guests) agree to submit to a polygraph test if requested by the Tournament Committee. Failure to submit to such an exam will result in the disqualification of the boat, at the discretion of the Tournament Committee. Any participant disqualified by the Tournament Committee for cheating, attempting to cheat or any other dishonest conduct may not be allowed to participate in future tournaments. Intentionally filling a fish with water or any other substance is considered cheating.

  22. Video Release Rules

  23. All boats are required to have a video camera to verify release of billfish. Each boat is responsible for it’s own video equipment.
  24. All boats will be required to present their video at Port Aransas Fisherman’s Wharf for the Video Review Committee to verify.
  25. All boats must be able to display their video on a monitor, laptop or other similar device when presenting their video for verification. The video review committee will have a monitor and laptop available at the tournament, however, it is the responsibility of the participant to provide everything needed to view their video!
  26. Releases should be confirmed by nearby boats, if possible, and must be reported to Tournament Headquarters 409-739-4817 / 361-815-1612 or a Committee Boat. If Tournament Headquarters or a Committee Boat cannot be reached, another tournament boat can verify the catch.
  27. Only releases verified by video camera and verified by the video review committee earn points.
  28. It’s a good idea to film with more than one camera in case of equipment failure.

  29. To obtain release points, a video must CLEARLY SHOW the following in CONTINUOUS UNEDITED VIDEO:

  30. 1. Angler fighting the fish
  31. 2. Object of the day.
  32. 3. Clear Identification of species.
  33. 4. Wireman with leader in hand.
  34. 5. CATCH and RELEASE of the fish clearly showing at least one of the following events:
    The fish swimming away following it’s release.
    The hook being removed or the leader being cut.
    The hook pulling free or leader breaking while leader is in hand
  35. 6. The CORRECT TIME immediately following the release. The Video Camera TIME AND DATE STAMP is strongly preferred. The time on a digital time keeping device shown clearly in the video will be accepted (a smart phone works great!).
  36. IMPORTANT! Please have your video ready to show in a timely manner for the Video Review Committee. Using a CLEAN MEMORY CARD with no other data at the beginning of the tournament is a big help. It makes it much easier to find the video(s) to be reviewed. It is up to you to furnish everything needed to view your video. TIME and DATE stamp on the camera is preferred. Tablets such as an iPad take excellent video that is very easy to review and show TIME and DATE. It’s also a good idea to video with more than one device in case of equipment failure. Only releases verified by the video review committee earn points.
  37. MORE IS BETTER! THE MORE VIDEO WE SEE, THE EASIER IT IS FOR US TO VERIFY YOU HAVE MET ALL OF THE VIDEO RELEASE REQUIREMENTS!

  38. Scoring

  39. POINT SYSTEM

  40. Blue Marlin Weighed-in (minimum 106″) - 1 point per pound
  41. Blue Marlin Released - 500 points
  42. White Marlin Released - 150 points
  43. Sailfish Released - 100 points

  44. BONUS POINTS

  45. Blue Marlin 600 lbs. and over. - 1 point per pound +900 Points
  46. Highest score determines the winner(s). The boat with the most points accrued by the earliest time of their last fish released (or blue marlin boated) wins.
  47. You have the choice to release or boat a blue marlin with a short length (Tip of Lower jaw to Fork in Tail) of 106″ or more. Since you are rewarded with 500 points for releasing a blue marlin, it doesn’t make sense to boat one that you think will not weigh 500 lbs. If you decide to boat a blue marlin, the capture and boating should be recorded on video and the time the blue marlin is hauled on board should be recorded and reported to Tournament Headquarters or a Committee Boat.
  48. If you catch a Blue Marlin that weighs over 600 lbs., the tournament rewards your accomplishment with a 900 point bonus in addition to the 1 point per pound scoring. This bonus reflects the skill and difficulty involved in boating a large blue marlin vs. releasing any size blue marlin.
  49. If for some reason the points and release times between boats are identical, the boat with the most blue marlin wins.
  50. On all weighed fish, in the case of a tie, length prevails.

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