Carolina Ladies Billfish Classic

2024 Tournament Rules

1. Any rule changes or additions at the captain’s meeting will take precedence over these printed rules. It is the sole responsibility of participating boat owners, captains, anglers, crews, and guests to know and abide by all tournament rules.
2. By registering and signing the entry form, all captains, anglers and occupants of their boat hereby agree to all rules and regulations and consent that tournament officials may use without payment or restriction, any photographs, video or interviews in which he or she may appear for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to resale, advertising and promotional material.
3. The official tournament judges are the Tournament Rules Committee.  Violation of the tournament rules will subject the boat and angler to disqualification from the entire tournament without refund. The tournament director and tournament judges, at their discretion, can enforce the rules or make decisions on any other circumstances that may arise during the course of the event. The tournament director and/or the tournament judge’s decisions are final.
4. Unsportsmanlike conduct during the tournament or at any function will be grounds for immediate disqualification.

Tournament Day & Times

5. The Carolina Lady Billfish Classic is a 1 day tournament to be held on Tuesday, June 18.  If Tuesday is deemed unfishable by the tournament committee due to inclement weather, then the tournament will be cancelled.
6. Competition hours start at 9:00 a.m. and end at 3:00 p.m. on the designated fishing day. Lines, teasers, and omnidirectional sonars may not be in the water before 9:00 a.m. or after 3:00 p.m. GPS time will be the official time.
7. In the event of a hook-up prior to the close of fishing at 3:00 pm, the fish may be fought to completion outside of tournament fishing hours provided the Committee Boat has been notified. 
8. Weigh Station Hours: 4:00 – 7:00 pm. Boats should pass Red Buoy #34 which is located about 250 yards south of Charleston Harbor Marina by 7:00 pm.  Boats that do not pass red buoy #34 by 7:00 p.m. will not be eligible to weigh their fish. Eligible fish must return to Charleston Harbor Marina on the boat on which it was caught. Fish may not be brought to Charleston Harbor Marina by car. No Exceptions.
9. It is up to the captain of each boat to determine if he/she and crew will compete on the designated tournament day. The safety of the participating vessel is ultimately the responsibility of the captain. Captains, anglers, and all other members of registered boats must determine in their own judgment whether to fish under the given conditions based on factors including but not limited to the seaworthiness of their boat and their own seamanship.
10. The Carolina Ladies Billfish Classic will allow the substitution of a boat if the originally registered boat has not entered any fishing lines into the water and the Tournament Director is notified immediately upon realizing the need for change.
11. If the tournament committee cancels the tournament, then the base entry fee will be donated to Share Our Suzy.  100% of the Tournament within Tournament fees will be returned to the entrant.   

Fishing & Points

12. The Carolina Lady Billfish Classic is a lady angler team event. Males are permitted onboard and allowed to hook the fish and pass the rod as soon as possible to a lady angler. The rod may be passed to as many lady anglers as desired.  This is a true team event. After the initial rod pass, only a lady angler may advance the handle of the reel.  Once the leader is brought within the grasp of a crew member or is wound to the rod tip, then the lady anglers may have male assistance to catch and or release the fish. Vessels may aid other vessels for boating gamefish.
13. Junior Lady Anglers must be the primary angler and accompany their fish to the scales to qualify for a Junior Lady Angler Prize. Primary angler constitutes fighting the fish more time than any other female team member. The rod may be passed to another angler anytime while fighting the fish or as needed for assistance. A Junior Lady Angler is 16 years or younger on the date of the captain’s meeting.
14. Eligible Billfish Species for catch points are Blue Marlin, White Marlin, Spearfish and Sailfish. Scoring for billfish caught is as follows:

15. A billfish is considered caught and points awarded when the leader is grasped by the crew or the leader is wound to the rod tip. Leader may be no longer than 30 ft. Only Blue Marlin need to be identified through digital videography.
16. When a Blue Marlin is caught, and for points to be awarded, it must be positively identified through digital videography. If a blue marlin cannot be positively identified, but it is determined that it is a billfish, then 100 points will be awarded. The video must show all of the following:
1. The positive identification of a Blue Marlin
2. The leader being grasped by the crew or the leader being wound to the rod tip
3. Time and date stamp that corresponds to the time and date of catch recorded by the designated tournament committee boat

Each boat must keep their video footage for up to ten days after the conclusion of the Carolina Ladies Billfish Classic.

17. A designated check station will be located at Charleston Harbor Marina to receive and qualify catch forms and Blue Marlin videos. Boats are encouraged to bring their team and deliver the completed catch forms and clear digital blue marlin catch videos. Boats that pass red buoy #34 by 7:00pm will be eligible to submit catch forms and blue marlin catch videos. They may also be sent via email to: td@fishcbc.com. If submitting through email, it must be submitted and confirmed receipt by the tournament committee within 30 minutes of close of the scales. No call-ins or text messages will be accepted. 
18. For a boat to qualify any billfish for points, the captain and a mate or team member, must sign an official catch form attesting that all rules and regulations were observed in reference to the described fish. The failure of any person to sign the catch form, for any reason, disqualifies that boat’s fish.
19. Base entry tournament prizes will be awarded to the boat accumulating the most billfish points during the competition. 
20. Ties between points are broken by the time of catch as defined in rule 15: when the leader is grasped by the crew or the leader is wound to the rod tip.
21. Eligible gamefish species in this tournament are dolphin, tuna (Yellowfin, Bluefin, Blackfin or Bigeye only), and wahoo.
22. Prizes will be awarded for the single heaviest eligible dolphin, tuna, and wahoo measured to the nearest tenth of a pound.  In the event of a meat fish tie, the winner will be determined by the earliest weigh-in time.
23. Fish must be fresh, not frozen, fit for human consumption, nor its weight altered in any manner. It is the sole responsibility of the crew to remove all hooks, lures, and leaders prior to presenting the fish for weigh-in. The Tournament committee reserves the right to cut open and inspect any and all fish.
24. Only non-offset circle hooks can be used when deploying natural bait or natural bait/artificial lure combinations. “J”-hooks may be used only if fishing with artificial lures.
25. Anglers, participants, and boats are expected to have licenses, permits, registration or proper documentation as required by state and federal law. Anglers, participants, and boats not having proper licenses, permits, registration or proper documentation as required by state and federal law is not grounds for a protest nor the disqualification of a fish or boat from the tournament.

Reporting Billfish

26. A tournament committee boat must be notified on the radio immediately after a lady angler hooks up and catches a billfish. The Tournament Committee Boat will acknowledge the report over the airways and keep a log of all hook-ups, losses & catches. Boats which cannot make radio contact with the Committee Boat for any reason should contact another boat for a relay.  Radio failure will not disqualify a participant. 
27. VHF channel 72 shall be the primary radio channel during this tournament.  The primary channel is to be reserved for all official tournament announcements and reports of hookups and catches.

Polygraph

28. Polygraph tests will be administered at the sole discretion of the tournament committee. Captains and an occupant of the winning boats must be available for a polygraph test on the eligible fish day. Refusal by any participant or occupant of a registered boat will result in disqualification. All decisions of the polygraph examiner are final.

Protests

29. Only a registered boat’s captain may protest any fish entered in the tournament.   All protests must be submitted in writing to the Tournament Director on the day of the protested catch no later than one hour after scales close.  The Tournament Director will convene the official Tournament Rules Committee to consider the protest. The ruling of this Committee is final.  All protests must be accompanied by a nonrefundable cash fee of $1,000.  The captain who submits any protest must provide indisputable evidence to prove the infraction.