TIMES & BOUNDARIES
1. Each registrant must
designate their choice of Official Inlets; Cape May, NJ or Ocean City, MD.
Boats must sail from and return to their designated inlet. All boats must
return to their designated port for weigh-in. Each port will be capped at 115
boats. Canyon Club Resort Marina is the official weigh-in location for Cape
May, NJ. Sunset Marina is the official weigh-in location for Ocean City, MD.
2. Boats are not
permitted to clear the sea buoy at their designated inlet prior to 3:00 AM.
3. Fishing begins at 8:00
AM. No lines or bait of any kind may be put into the water until starting time.
4. Fishing ends at 3:30
PM on each scheduled fishing day. Any fish hooked prior to the deadline may be
played until boated or released, provided that said fish is announced hooked on
the tournament channel before the deadline.
5. Boundaries for the
tournament will be 125 nautical miles from the Cape May Sea Buoy.
6. Weigh-in begins at
5:00 PM. All eligible fish must be available for weigh-in by 9:00 PM aboard the
boat on which they were caught.
7. Each boat must pick two NON-FISHING DAYS by submitting the official Lay Day Form prior to 11:00 AM on the days selected. Said forms must be physically delivered by a member of the boat’s crew to the dockmaster’s office at one of the Host Marinas. The boat must be dockside when the lay day is declared. Any boat not submitting the proper form by the 11:00 AM deadline will be automatically assumed to be fishing on that day. Boats may not fish on lay days unless all of their available fish days have been used. Boats with mechanical problems or other emergencies may use lay days to arrive late to the tournament so long as it is with the advance permission of the Tournament Directors and they conform with all other rules.
ANGLING/FISHING
8. Participants shall
comply with I.G.F.A. equipment and angling rules with the following exceptions:
A) A fish may be hooked by someone other than the angler provided the rod is
immediately transferred to the angler after hook-up. From that time on, the
angler must fight the fish alone until boated or released; B) No harpoons, dart
gaffs of greensticks. C) Live baiting is not permitted. The Tournament
Directors retain sole authority for interpreting and implementing the
I.G.F.A.’s rules.
9. There is no limit on
the number of lines or teasers.
10. All billfish boated
or released are to be announced on the tournament channel at the time of the
catch. Tuna over 100 lbs. should also be reported.
11. This is a trolling
tournament. While hookups accomplished with no headway are permissible if they
occur at a time when baits settle while fighting another fish, the use of live
bait or stopping and casting or pitching to tailing fish or fish balling bait
is not permissible. Live baiting shall include live teasering and fishing for
bait during the tournament. The use of Chub Mackerel or Atlantic Mackerel is
prohibited.
12. For release purposes,
a fish will be considered caught when the mate grabs the leader or the swivel
touches the tip of the rod.
13. There are 5 available
fishing days for the tournament. Fishing days for boats entered will be any 3
of the available 5 days, captains’ choice; no weather committee. The crew
members of each individual boat will be solely responsible for the decision as
to which days to fish.
14. Anglers may not
switch to another boat nor can anyone from another boat come aboard to assist
in fighting or boating a fish.
SCORING/PRIZES
15. Only one day need be
fished for the tournament to be considered official & prizes to be awarded.
16. Fractional weights
will be rounded to the nearest pound.
17. For release points to
count, boats must be dockside by the weigh-in deadline and submit a Daily Catch
report by 9:00 PM at the weigh station of one of the host marinas. Any catch
report received after the deadline will lose 1/2 of its total value.
18. In the event of a tie
in the point categories, the winner shall be the first boat reaching the
winning point accumulation.
19. In the event of a tie
in the cash prize categories, the prize money will be equally divided among
those tying.
20. For the purpose of
release points identification only, sailfish & longbill spearfish will be
considered white marlin. For all purposes of
identification, Roundscale Spearfish will be considered white marlin.
21. In order to be
eligible for awards and calcuttas, fish must be caught in compliance with all
tournament rules. Said rules include conformance to state and federal size
limits and possession of a current NMFS angling, general or charter/headboat
category HMS permit.
22. All fish eligible for
cash prizes may be subject to examination by the Tournament Directors,
consulting biologists and/or Torrymeter, should there be any question as to the
“freshness” of the catch. It shall be the responsibility of the participant to
keep all eligible catches in suitable and proper condition until weigh-in. In
the event of any disputes arising from such examination, the decision of the
Tournament Directors shall be final. Polygraph examination may be required of
winning crews.
ADMINISTRATION
23. The designated
tournament VHF radio channels are 69 (Primary) and 71 (Alternate)
24. Registration is by
boat rather than by angler. The Tournament Directors reserve the right to
decline the entry of any boat or crew.
25. The Tournament
Directors and hosting facilities assume no liability or responsibility for any
damage or loss.
26. In the event of boat
disability, contestants may transfer to another boat not entered in the
tournament and may fish in the name of the original, with prior approval of the
Tournament Directors.
27. Allegations of
violations of any of the above rules may be submitted only by an official
tournament registrant and must be submitted in writing on the day of the
alleged infraction. In the event of such an allegation, the tournament
directors will have the sole and exclusive responsibility to investigate the
alleged incident and to rule as to whether any violation materially aided the
angler, crew, or vessel, or otherwise affected the outcome of the tournament.
Any subsequent penalty will be solely at the discretion of the tournament
directors and shall be final. In all cases, registrant and their crews agree to
be bound by the ruling of the tournament directors.