By entering this tournament, participants agree to abide by all rules and decisions. All committee decisions are final.
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.
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 11th, 2022. Boats may depart any time after 5pm.
All boats are required to return to Port Aransas, Texas to weigh any fish or submit any videos, regardless of departure port.
Fishing Starts Friday August 12th, 2022, at 12:00am and ends at 5:00pm August 13th, 2022 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
NO EXCEPTIONS
All times are GPS times (CDT=Coordinated Universal Time – 5)
USE YOUR GPS FOR THE CORRECT TIME
Call Tournament Headquarters at 361-815-1612 // 361-290-4422 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.
All boats are required to have a video camera to verify release of billfish. NO EXCEPTIONS.
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.
Fish must be weighed in good condition. No frozen fish will be accepted! Remember to take plenty of ice and insulated fish bags.
Boats weighing fish will be responsible for those fish after weigh- in. This includes Blue Marlin.
A boat may fish as many lines as desired.
Participants are encouraged to follow all State and Federal Laws.
*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.
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.
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 14th 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.
CONDUCT: The committee will consider unsportsmanlike conduct as grounds for disqualification. Contestants are responsible for their crew’s actions. Committee decisions are final.
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 13th, 2022. 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.
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.
Video Release Rules
All boats are required to have a video camera to verify release of billfish. Each boat is responsible for it’s own video equipment.
All boats will be required to present their video at Port Aransas Fisherman’s Wharf for the Video Review Committee to verify.
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!
Releases should be confirmed by nearby boats, if possible, and must be reported to Tournament Headquarters 361-815-1612 // 361-290-4422 or a Committee Boat. If Tournament Headquarters or a Committee Boat cannot be reached, another tournament boat can verify the catch.
Only releases verified by video camera and verified by the video review committee earn points.
It’s a good idea to film with more than one camera in case of equipment failure.
To obtain release points, a video must CLEARLY SHOW the following in CONTINUOUS UNEDITED VIDEO:
Angler fighting the fish
Object of the day.
Clear Identification of species.
Wireman with leader in hand.
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
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/ IPad works great!).
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.
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!
Blue Marlin Weighed-in (minimum 106″)
1 point per pound
Blue Marlin Released
500 Points
White Marlin Released
150 points
Sailfish Released
100 points
**BONUS POINTS**
Blue Marlin 600 lbs. and over.
1 point per pound +900 Points
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.
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.
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.
If for some reason the points and release times between boats are identical, the boat with the most blue marlin wins.
On all weighed fish, in the case of a tie, length prevails.
Pools
MANDATORY BILLFISH, OPTIONAL BILLFISH & OPTIONAL BLUE MARLIN POOLS
A Special Word about the Blue Marlin (Only) Pools!
The Blue Marlin Pools are for Blue Marlin weighed or released, just like the Billfish Pools. The Blue Marlin Pools are for Blue Marlin only and are for those participants strictly interested in fishing for Blue Marlin.
The Billfish Pools include points for Blue Marlin weighed or released, White Marlin released and Sailfish released.
The Tournament Places are based on the $1,000 Mandatory Billfish Pool which all participants are required to enter.
Swordfish are not included in the Billfish Pools.
The Billfish and Blue Marlin Pools use an aggregate point system with release points and weighed points and will pay up to 4 places.
The boat with the most points wins.
The Optional Boat Pools are exactly that, Optional, and are not required or included in the base entry fee. Entry into the Optional Pools is not required to be eligible for the Tournament Awards. Payout on all Boat Pools is 95%. 5% administrative cost deducted.
1st Place – 65% / 2nd Place – 35%
A Boat may win more than one place. minimum weight for 2022 – 20 lbs.
(20 lb. Minimum weight (Federal minimums apply also!)
Tournament Champion will have the boat’s name engraved on the perpetual Bob Byrd Memorial Trophy and will receive the Championship Trophy and the Tournament Champion Flag.
Top Four Places receive trophies
Top Captain receives the Capt. Bill Hart Memorial Trophy
Top Mate receives the Stewart Campbell Memorial Trophy
The angler weighing the largest fish in the tournament receives the Alfred Glassell Memorial Trophy
CASH PRIZES *INCLUDES ALL PARTICIPANTS
$2,000 to the boat releasing the largest blue marlin!*
$1,000 to the boat releasing the first blue marlin!*
$1,000 to the boat releasing the most billfish!*
*The Largest Blue Marlin Released will be determined by the Tournament Committee reviewing video footage. All participants are eligible for this prize. Participants should be aware that these are judgment calls and the committee’s decision is final, no protests will be accepted. If you have a large fish, please take your time and get plenty of good video footage. It is difficult to determine the exact measurement of a live fish on a moving boat in the open ocean. For the Most Billfish Released prize, in case of a tie, tournament scoring rules apply.
FISH POOL AWARDS
The largest fish of each species wins a trophy.
You must be entered in an optional fish pool to receive the largest fish trophy of that species.
THE LARGEST YELLOWFIN TUNA
THE LARGEST WAHOO
THE LARGEST DOLPHIN
THE LARGEST SWORDFISH
