Outboard Tournament – August 17th- 19th, 2023

Rules

1.  By entering this tournament, participants agree to abide by all rules and decisions. All committee decisions are final.

2.  Contestants are boats. There may not be any pooling of catch or transfer of catch from one boat to another. 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.  All boats must be registered, and all fees paid before leaving their respective ports. Boats may depart any time after 7pm Thursday.

4.  CAPTAIN’S MEETING IS MANDATORY.

5.  Boats may depart port AT ANY TIME AFTER 7PM THURSDAY August 17^th, 2023, THAT SUITS THEIR TYPE AND STYLE OF FISHING AS WELL AS SAFETY OF THE BOAT AND CREW. Long tournament hours were made to accommodate Sword fisherman wanting to fish at night.

6.  All boats are required to return to Port Aransas, Texas to weigh any fish or submit any videos, regardless of departure port.

7.  MEAT/SWORD Fishing starts Thursday August 17^th, 2023, at 7:00pm and ends at 4:00pm August 19, 2023, at the close of the weigh station. BILLFISHING starts at 12:00AM Friday August 18^th, 2023 and ends 4:00pm August 19, 2023 at the close of weigh station. Stop fishing in time to make the 4pm deadline. Boats must be inside the Port Aransas Municipal Harbor Breakwater (not Port Aransas jetties) at 4pm. Boats waiting in line to weigh fish inside the Port Aransas Harbor at 4pm will be considered on time and able to weigh fish and submit videos.

8.  The weigh station will be OPEN FROM 3PM TO 7PM ON FRIDAY for teams that want to weigh in fish caught that day, BUT IS NOT REQUIRED.

9.  Teams may weigh-in more than one of each species, but only the largest one counts. In the event of a tie in weight of fish, the length will determine the winning fish, if there is a tie in length, the earliest one to be weighed in will be the winner.

10.  Boats may only fish within 100 Nautical Miles from the outer tip of the Port Aransas South Jetty.

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 or a Committee Boat immediately after releasing an eligible billfish. Contacting Tournament Headquarters helps us keep our website up to date with the latest fishing results! It is necessary to call in and have video of all Blue Marlin, White Marlin, Sailfish, and Swordfish. Please understand IT IS NOT NECESSARY to call in tuna, wahoo, dolphin, snapper, and kingfish. 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 device to verify release/catch ALL BILLFISH. NO EXCEPTIONS. iPads have been proven to be the best.

Jungle Rules

• 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. 
• 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.

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 the tournament, and Sunday, August 19th 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 5 PM June August 19th, 2023. 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 device to verify release of all BILLFSIH. Each boat is responsible for its 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 or a Committee Boat. If Tournament Headquarters or a Committee Boat cannot be reached, another tournament boat can verify the catch. VHF 68
• Only releases verified by video device and verified by the video review committee earn points.
• It’s a good idea to film with more than one device in case of equipment failure.

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

1. Angler fighting the fish.
2. Object of the day.
3. Clear Identification of species.
4. Wireman with leader in hand.
5. CATCH and RELEASE of the fish clearly showing at least one of the following events:
1. The fish swimming away following its release.
2. The hook being removed, or the leader being cut.
3. The hook pulling free or leader breaking while leader is in hand.
4. The CORRECT TIME immediately following the release. The video device 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. If using a conventional video camera, 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 device 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!

Point System

Blue Marlin Released- 175 Points​

White Marlin Released- 75 Points

Sailfish Released- 50 Points

Swordfish Weighed-in- 1pt per pound

**ALL FISH will be measured from the tip of the lower jaw to fork of the tail**

Tuna- 2pt/lbs

Wahoo- 2pt/lbs

Dolphin-2pt/lbs

Kingfish- 2pt/lbs

Snapper- 2pt/lbs

***PLEASE NOTE: SWORDFISH ARE THEIR OWN SEPARATE CATAGORY AND NOT CONSIDERED BILLFISH OR MEAT FISH, THEY WILL NOT BE AWARDED RELEASE POINTS***

Highest score determines the winner(s). The boat with the most points accrued by the earliest time of their last fish released wins.

Pools

In the event of a meat/swordfish tie, the tied weight will go to length. If there is also a tie in length, the tiebreaker will be the time weighed in.

MANDATORY POOL, OPTIONAL BILLFISH & OPTIONAL BLUE MARLIN POOLS

TOURNAMENT CHAMPION WILL BE AWARDED TO THE BOAT WITH THE MOST POINTS AND/OR EARLIEST RELEASE TIME.

The Billfish Pools include points for Blue Marlin released, White Marlin released, and Sailfish released.

The Tournament Places are based on the $300 Mandatory Pool which all participants are required to enter.

The Billfish Pools use an aggregate point system with release points and will pay up to 2 places.

1^st Place – 65% / 2^nd Place – 35%

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 90%. 10% administrative cost deducted.

Optional Meat Fish Pools

Pays Two Places – The Two Heaviest Fish in each pool win!

1st Place – 65% / 2nd Place – 35%

In the event of a meat/swordfish tie, the tied weight will go to length. If there is also a tie in length, the tiebreaker will be the time weighed in.

SWORDFISH ARE A SEPARATE CATEGORY FROM MEATFISH AND RELASED BILLFISH

***BOATS MAY WEIGH ONE MEAT FISH PER ELIGIBLE SPECIES, TO BE COUNTED***