Official Rules
ELIGIBILITY:
(a) All Local, State & Federal penal code laws shall apply at all times.
(b) All Local, State, Coast Guard, and Federal boating regulations shall apply at all times.
(c) This tournament series is for amateur anglers only. Professional anglers are not eligible. If you are unsure of your professional status it is your responsibility to request a decision in writing from our staff prior to entering. Any angler who enters this tournament series and is determined to be a professional will be removed from competition immediately. All decisions are final.
(d) For further clarification, anglers meeting any of the following criteria are not eligible: Anglers who have guided professionally for a fee on the host lake within the last 12 months immediately preceeding the tournament event. Anglers who have competed professionally in three (3) or more tournaments with an entry fee of $1,000 or greater in the last 12 months immediately preceeding the tournament event. This includes, but is not limited to, anglers competing on the professional side in the B.A.S.S. Opens and FLW EverStart Series. Anglers who have career fishing tournament earnings in excess of $250,000.
(e) Each person in boat must be a paid contestant of the tournament and abide by all tournament rules & regulations. Anglers may fish alone but tournament staff reserves the right to assign an official observer to the contestants boat.
(f) Non-contestants are not allowed in paid contestants' boats at any time during official tournament hours. The only exception to this rule would be an official observer designated by tournament staff.
(g) All bass caught by contestants fishing together will be disqualified if any of the said contestants are found to be in violation of any tournament rules & regulations.
(h) Any contestants found to be in violation of any tournament rules & regulations will be subject to disqualification from the tournament and all future events.
(i) Anyone who has failed a polygraph test and/or been disqualified in connection with any bass tournament is not eligible.
(j) Participants under 18 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or adult with written parental permission.
(k) Tournament officials reserve the right to refuse any entry. This is not subject to appeal.
REGISTRATION AND ENTRY FEE:
(a) Entry Fee must be paid before fishing. Registration for an event closes at midnight the day before the tournament begins. There will be no late registration at the ramp on Saturday or Sunday and no one will be allowed to enter the tournament after the registration deadline. No exceptions.
(b) No refunds of entry fee(s).
(c) No late fee(s).
ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES:
(a) During tournament hours no alcoholic beverages are to be consumed by tournament contestant or allowed in contestant's boat until the tournament is over.
(b) No firearms allowed in contestant’s boat during tournament hours. This rule is not applicable to sworn law enforcement officers and/or fish and wildlife officers.
SAFETY (THE FOLLOWING IS MANDATORY):
(a) All boats must be equipped with some type of emergency ignition cut-off device (kill switch) on any remote steered outboard while main engine is in use. Ignition cut-off device (kill switch) must operate properly, which means when the kill switch is activated the outboard main engine must stop running immediately. The ignition cut-off device (kill switch) must be attached to boat operator at all times while the outboard main engine is in use. However, kill switches are not required on boats or hand-operated engines that were not manufactured with one.
(b) U.S. Coast Guard approved life jackets are required for each person on board. Life jackets must be worn and fastened while main engine is in use.
(c) No boat shall have a motor of higher horsepower than the approved Coast Guard maximum.
PERMITTED FISHING AREAS AND HOURS:
(a) Fish must be caught on the tournament lake during official tournament hours.
(b) Tournament off limits begins at 6:00 pm the day before the tournament event. Anglers must be off the water on or before 6:00 pm Friday and may not begin fishing until official tournament start time on Saturday, which will be announced via radio and/or text message. The tournament lake is off limits to fishing after 3:00 pm on the Saturday of the event. Anglers may return to their respective launch site by boat but are not allowed to fish or use electronics for the purposes of finding fish.
(c) Contestants may leave from any launch site on tournament day at any time, but may not begin casting until tournament has officially started. Official start time will be determined by the Tournament Director and anglers will be notified when to commence fishing via text message or by local radio station.
(d) No fishing within 50 yards of a marina gas pump.
(e) No one may leave his or her boat to fish or land a fish.
(f) Contestants are limited to use of a primary boat only. No canoes, rafts, or flotation apparatuses.
(g) No fishing allowed within 25 yards of a non-anchored boat or 50 yards of an anchored boat without that boat's permission.
(h) Hourly weigh ins: 8:00-9:00 am, 9:00-10:00 am, 10:00-11:00 am, 11:00 am-12:00pm, 12:00-1:00 pm, 1:00-2:00 pm and 2:00-3:00 pm. Anglers must be declared before the end of the respective hour or their weight will count for the next hour.
TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT:
(a) All bass must be caught on artificial bait by casting only. No trolling with big motor. Only one rod may be used at any one time by contestant. Other rods may be in the boat for substitute purposes.
(b) All bass must be caught from a legal motorized boat.
(c) No electronic tracking devices (implanted microchips) may be used to locate fish for tournament purposes (depth-finders and graph charts are the only exception.)
WEIGH-IN - SPORTSMANSHIP AND CONSERVATION:
(a) Sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and bass conservation are required from every participant.
(b) All bass weighed in will become the property of the tournament and will be released back into the lake alive if possible.
(c) Trailering a bass to weigh-in site during tournament hours is permissible. Bass must be alive to be weighed in. Any contestant whether trailering or not, shall be required to bring their boat and respective partner or partners, if any, with them to the official weigh in site for a boat inspection when weighing bass in at any respective hour.
(d) For conservation reasons, all bass brought to official weigh-in station must be in a weigh-in bag with adequate water. If an angler does not have a weigh bag one will be provided by tournament staff.
(e) No contestant may weigh in more than one bass per official tournament hour. More than one bass per weigh-in bag is prohibited. Bass entered in the big bass of the hour do not carry forward from hour to hour. Your biggest bass is registered into the final overall standings.
(f) Bass must be weighed in by the contestant who originally caught the bass and it must be in said contestant's actual physical possession at the weigh-in line when said contestant declares ready to weigh.
(g) Any artificially weighted or preserved bass will be disqualified and the contestant will be subject to prosecution under federal law.
(h) Any questionable fish will be subject to inspection by a marine biologist or similarly qualified expert.
(i) This is a big bass tournament (one bass). Only largemouth, smallmouth and Kentucky spotted bass will be weighed in. Specific lake minimums and/or slot requirements must be followed and it is the responsibility of the entrant to abide by all local, state, and federal rules for the host event lake(s).
(j) No contestant may have more than three (3) bass in their possession at any time during official tournament hours. All bass when tournament is officially over each day must be released back into water.
POLYGRAPH:
(a) Polygraph tests will be administered on a random basis and must be passed.
(b) Each contestant, by signing the entry form, agrees to submit to a polygraph. Refusing a polygraph for any reason will result in immediate disqualification.
(c) Anyone taking medication should notify polygraph examiner prior to examination.
(d) Any contestant determined by the polygraph examination or other tournament officials to be intoxicated or on any type of illegal drugs at the time said contestant is required to take the polygraph examination or in violation of tournament rules, will be disqualified from this and all future Tournaments.
(e) Any contestant found to be in possession of any illegal substance will be subject to disqualification and prosecution.
(f) Any contestant attempting to manipulate the outcome of a tournament(s) or defraud the Oakley Big Bass Tour will be subject to prosecution.
BOAT INSPECTION:
(a) All contestants, by entering this tournament(s), hereby agree to allow their boats to be boarded and inspected by tournament officials at any time during the tournament(s), to include, but not limited to, their boat registration, Coast Guard horsepower rating plate, live well, rod boxes, closed storage compartments, tackle boxes, life jackets, PFDs and safety equipment.
(b) The Oakley Big Bass Tour cooperates with local law enforcement, park rangers and fish/wildlife officers during our tournament events. If any angler is found to be in violation of local, state or federal law during tournament hours, they will immediately be disqualified.
DECISIONS:
(a) All protests must be registered in writing with the Tournament Director within fifteen (15) minutes of the designated weigh-in.
(b) The interpretation and enforcement of these rules will be the sole responsibility of the tournament director. Decisions of the tournament director, tournament staff and Oakley Big Bass Tour are final in all matters and are not subject to appeal.
