Pelican Yacht Club Billfish
January 10 - January 15, 2022
Tournament Rules
- The tournament is an invitational tournament:
which will be governed by the IGFA Rules and the Pelican Yacht Club, 1120 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, Florida... The Tournament Headquarters - Tournament fishing days:
January 11th-15th. The Captain's meeting is Monday January 10th, 2022 at 6 PM in The Club House. Each boat may fish three (3) out of the four (4) days of competition. The choice of lay day will strictly be that of the Captains fishing the tournament. - Minimum tournament boat length:
There will be a minimum boat size of 30 feet. Inboard powered boats only. - This is a billfish release tournament:
Billfish are classified as Blue Marlin, White Marlin, and Sailfish. All participants are to release all billfish. Tagging is encouraged but not required. No points will be awarded for any boated billfish. Measurements for mounts should be carefully taken in the water. - Fishing hours:
8:30am to 3:30pm. No tournament boat may depart the Pelican Yacht Club before 7:00am each morning. No lines are allowed overboard before the 8:30am " lines in" announcement and each line must be removed from the water by 3:30pm"lines out" announcement unless your hook-up time prior to
3:30 has been registered with the tournament official radio. The deadline for weigh-in will be 5:30pm sharp. No exceptions Radio frequency will be announced at the Captains meeting. - Fishing boundaries:
The boundaries are limited to 50NM from the Pelican Dock. Boats may depart from the Ft. Pierce Inlet. Tournament boats must maintain idle speed to the end of the inlet. - Terms and conditions:
- There will be individual as well as team categories. A team may consist of (1) Angler to (4) Anglers. All Angler substitutions must be recorded by 8:00am the day the Angler participates in the tournament. Substitutions are recorded by the official radio personnel.
- This is a fun tournament. There will be ONE professional angler allowed to participate as an angler. Persons who have been paid for these services as a Captain, Mate, or crew member while engaging in fishing within the last 12 months are considered professional.
- Lines and tackle:
- IGFA Rules apply in the Tournament except as noted.
- Six (6) lines are permitted per boat. Four (4) hooked lines; Two (2) teaser lines with no hooks
- Maximum IGFA Rated 30# test is permitted. There is no bonus for lighter line and lines will be subject to random testing by the tournament committee. Conventional revolving spool reels only are allowed.
- The leader shall be limited to 15 feet. The combined length of a double line and leader shall be limited to 35 feet.
- Hooks: Federally regulated hooks are required.
- The following are not permitted. Live Bait - Kites - Backing Into Schools - Pitching Baits
- Backing down is only allowed when hooked-up and fighting a fish.
- Multi-header rule:
The angler may fight multiple fish concurrently. The angler must remove the rod from the rod holder as quickly as possible with the intent that the angler hook the fish with rod in hand. The angler may then change between rods as he/she chooses, using the rod holder to rest the rod not in use. Angler may not fight the fish from the rod holder. - Scoring:
Only released billfish will qualify for scoring. The scoring for all billfish: 100 points. The team that accumulates the most billfish points will be declared winners. In the event of a tie the angler obtaining the highest score first is declared winner. - Game fish categories:
Dolphin, Kingfish, Wahoo. Game fish must be weighed in by 5:30 pm and must be weighed on the Pelican Yacht Club Scale. These species of fish do not earn any points but winners are determined by heaviest weight and are eligible for separate prizes. - Recording of scores:
- Each boat will receive a daily log that must be turned in by 6:00pm daily by participating boat. The daily reports are the official scores of the Anglers - Not the radio log.
- Released Billfish must be called into the official radio stating:
- Boat name
- Angler.
If transmitting is a problem due to distance, you may phone (772) 370-6273 or relay your time to another boat participating in the tournament. To qualify the release, the angler must hook, fight, and retrieve the line until the swivel, snap or leader touches the rod tip or the mate has control of the leader. Deliberately jerking or snatching the leaders to release the fish is forbidden and will disqualify the release. Crewmen are reminded to exercise extreme caution at all times to insure that no catch is disqualified because someone other than the angler touches the rod, reel, line while the fish is being fought.
- Hook up times should not be called in unless the fish is hooked just prior to the 3:30pm deadline.
- all game fish categories must be weighed on the Pelican yacht club's scale and verified by the Weigh master on the boat's daily log. Any fish weighed after 5:30pm will not be recorded. The tournament committee will keep the official time.
- Dockage:
- Dockage will be available on a first come, first serve basis, based upon the time and date of the entry payment. Due to the shortage of dock space, charter boats are encouraged to provide their own dockage facilities.
- Dockage is not included in the entry fee. The dockage rate will be $2.00 per foot per night plus electricity.
- All participants must depart the Pelican Yacht Club on before noon on Sunday Morning January 13th 2019 unless other arrangements have been made with the Dockmaster - Vonnie Lofton.
- Protests:
This is an honor system tournament with each angler being responsible for his/her own performance. Any person witnessing a rules violation should enter a protest in writing to the Judges Committee no later than 6:00pm the day of the alleged violation. The Judges committee decision shall be final. - The tournament committee has the right to Amend the rules at any time.
