Tournament Format
This is a catch-photo-release tournament scored by length. Fish are measured on the water, photographed for judging, submitted through the event process, and released promptly. Fish are not transported to a weigh-in unless the tournament director clearly announces a different format before the event.
Legal Compliance
The club or tournament director is responsible for confirming the local rules that apply to this event before publishing it. All participants must follow all federal, state, local, waterbody, species, season, access, boating, and safety regulations.
If any tournament rule conflicts with applicable law, the law controls.
Angler Eligibility and Participation
Only anglers who meet the event's announced participation requirements may compete. Membership requirements, guest eligibility, age minimums, entry fees, waivers, and check-in procedures may be set by the club or tournament director for each event.
Each participant is responsible for:
- holding any required fishing license or permit
- arriving checked in and ready before the announced start
- using only approved equipment and measurement methods
- understanding the published event format, fish limit, scoring method, and boundaries
A tournament director may deny participation to any angler who does not meet the announced event requirements.
Event Start, Stop, and Boundaries
Each event may set:
- a launch or start location
- a lines-in time
- an official stop time
- event boundaries or off-limits areas
- approved access methods or vessel restrictions
All participants must remain within the announced event boundaries and follow the event's start and stop procedures.
Allowed Methods and Equipment
Eligible fish must be caught by legal sporting methods using rod, reel, line, and hook unless another method is specifically announced as legal for that event.
Participants must use an approved measuring board or bump board. The tournament director may require a visible identifier, code, or event token in every submission photo.
If the event includes equipment, vessel, propulsion, or safety requirements, those requirements must be announced in the event details and followed by all participants.
Eligible Fish
Only the species announced for the event may be submitted. Fish must be alive when photographed unless local law or the tournament director announces a lawful exception for the event.
Fish that are foul-hooked, illegally caught, or taken outside the event rules will not count.
Photo and Submission Requirements
A valid submission should clearly show:
- the entire fish
- the fish lying flat on the approved measuring board
- the nose or mouth against the board stop
- visible measurement marks
- the tail in a judgeable position
- the event identifier if required
- the eye and mouth area
- no obstruction that prevents judging
Hands may be used to control the fish, but hands should not hide the eye, gill plate, tail, measurement marks, or required identifier.
Blurry, cropped, altered, duplicate, obstructed, misleading, or otherwise unjudgeable photos may be denied, reduced, or penalized at the director's discretion.
Only one submission set should be retained for each fish. Reusing the same fish, submitting duplicate images as separate catches, or presenting misleading image sets may result in disqualification.
Fish Handling and Release
Fish should be handled carefully and released as quickly as practical after the fish is measured and photographed.
Fish may not be transported, retained, or held in a livewell, basket, stringer, cooler, or other container unless the event rules or applicable law specifically allow it for that event.
Scoring
Placement is determined by the total measured length of the angler's best configured number of eligible fish.
Suggested default scoring:
- best five eligible fish by length
- measurements recorded to the tournament's configured increment
- fish below the minimum tournament length do not count
- penalties may apply for open mouth, poor board positioning, hidden identifier, hidden tail, hidden eye, or unclear measurement marks
Tie-Breakers
Suggested default tie-breakers:
- longest single fish
- next longest fish, continuing through the scoring limit
- earliest submitted final scoring fish
- tournament director decision
Leaving the Event Area
A participant who leaves the event area, exits the water, or stops competing before the announced finish should notify the tournament director or designated official as soon as practical.
If the event sets specific rules for leaving, returning, trailering, changing vessels, or emergency exits, those rules must be followed exactly.
Conduct, Fair Play, and Cheating
All anglers are expected to compete honestly and in good sportsmanship.
The following may result in penalties, disqualification, forfeiture of awards, removal from the event, or further club action:
- submitting a fish that was not legally caught during the event
- submitting the same fish more than once
- altering, falsifying, or misleading photo evidence
- violating event boundaries or off-limits rules
- ignoring stop time or other announced procedures
- intentionally interfering with another competitor
- any other dishonest or unsafe conduct
Unintentional rule issues may be handled at the tournament director's discretion based on severity, fairness, and available evidence.
Protests and Judging
Judges may accept, deny, reduce, or adjust any submission based on rule compliance and photo quality.
Any protest or accusation of a rule violation should be reported to the tournament director as soon as possible and before results are finalized whenever practical.
The tournament director has final authority over:
- rule interpretation
- judging decisions
- scoring decisions
- protests
- penalties
- safety decisions
Event-Specific Additions
Clubs may add event-specific rules for:
- approved species
- fish limit
- minimum length
- launch procedure
- boundaries
- vessel restrictions
- guest participation
- safety requirements
- off-limits periods
- special scoring or penalties
Event-specific rules should be published with the tournament details and control over general template language if they are more restrictive.