Sierra Bass Club Clovis, California Tournament Rules 2024 A. Sportsmanship Any contestant who violates a tournament rule, displays poor sportsmanship, or local boating laws may be disqualified (DQ’d) from the tournament. Disqualification may be done by any tournament official, the protest committee, or the Officers’ Board. A DQ may not be applied to a non-boater if a boater is cited. B. Participants and Eligibility Club Tournament competition is open to club members who have met all membership requirements. Members must be sixteen (16) years of age, except for members who join with an immediate family adult member. Members can fish with other club members of their immediate family (i.e., spouse, father, son, brother, mother, daughter, sister, significant other). Members may be allowed to fish with dependents (under 16 years old), spouses or other persons, as approved by the general membership, who aren’t club members on a space available basis. Unrelated persons may fish 1 tournament per season, as a guest, with a member, however, they must become members if they wish to fish thereafter. All anglers are required to pay all tournament entry fees (and options, if desired) and are entitled to receive cash prizes if they place in the money; however, they are not entitled to receive points for season standings. All membership fees must be paid and requirements met for regular membership to receive any points. A member may be allowed to bring a spectator (non-participant) if approved by the general membership at the meeting prior to the tournament. Non-boater club members take priority for boat space before spectators, family members, or unrelated persons who aren’t also club members that would like to participate. After the draw, sign-up exceptions can be made to get two-angler teams for club team draw tournaments. C. Safety Safe boating conduct and all safety precautions and conditions must be observed at all times by all participants. Everyone participating in a tournament must wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved life preserver/vest and be seated anytime the big engine is running, the prop is engaged and the trolling motor is up. It shall be up to each angler to provide their own life jacket unless other arrangements are made ahead of time. All speed zone buoy markers shall be observed. Any contestant receiving a citation on the lake during a tournament shall be automatically disqualified. Parking tickets are not included. Use of Kill switches is mandatory on all boats when on plane. Lights must be illuminated prior to official sun-up and after official sunset (boater’s responsibility). SAFETY is of primary importance. All boats MUST meet U.S. Coast Guard safety standards for engine size, all safety equipment and devices ANDare subject to inspection by a tournament official at any time. Each boater member is solely responsible for the safe operation of their boat at all functions. No passing of any other contestant’s boat is allowed during a five (5) MPH blast off. Consumption of alcohol while boat is in the water is strictly prohibited. Tournament participants who violate this rule will be disqualified. Alcohol is only permitted after the boat is loaded and all fish have been weighed. D. Tournament Fee and Options All Tournament fees and all options must be paid prior to the meeting draw for each club tournament. There are no refunds or carryover of tournament fees of options, except by unanimous agreement of all tournament officials. If a fisherperson is drawn or scheduled to fish and does not fish and no refund exception is approved, the following applies: 1. If a boater drops out, resulting in a non-boater not fishing, the boater must repay the non-boater for his or her tournament fee and options, if applicable. 2. If a non-boater drops out, he or she must still pay the non-boater fee to the fishing boater. 3. Members who have conflicts and are not able to attend the club meeting may be allowed to fish if they (a) Notify a tournament official before the meeting draw of the conflict and their desire to fish and; (b) Pay the tournament fees and options before the meeting draw if applicable. Members that have complied with A & B will be guaranteed a spot to fish. Members that have not complied with A & B will also be allowed to fish and put into the meeting draw, but run the risk of being dropped if the draw is not even. 4. Carryover of entry fees and options “shall be made” only if contestant notifies the tournament director or president by 8:00 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the tournament. It is the member’s responsibility to notify a tournament official at the lakeside meeting before he or she launches their boat that their partner did not show up. At that time, the tournament official will decide on where to apply his or her partners’ tournament fees, and give that member the option to pay the other half of the tournament fees (Team only) to be eligible for 100% of the prize money. If no tournament official is notified of this member’s absence, entry fees will go into the club fund. 5. For team tournaments, any boater that does not have a non-boater may opt to pay the non-boater fees, minus Progressive Big Fish, in order to receive 100% of the prize money for placement. Otherwise, they shall only receive 50% of their placement prize money. 6. Late sign-ups and entry fees are allowed, on a case by case basis, and must be paid by 8:00 p.m. on the Wednesday prior to the tournament. A late fee of ten dollars ($10) shall be assessed. Contestant must call the tournament director, president and/or treasurer to arrange payment. 7. Progressive Big Fish (PBF) option: (a) At the start of a new PBF pot, ALL club members are eligible to participate. (b) No Buy backs are allowed for first year members on PBF rolled over pots. (c) Eligibility for buy back to the start of the PBF pot roll over, a member must have: 1. Completed one full year from the start of their membership 2. Participated in no less than eight tournaments in that first year of membership. 3. Paid all membership fees in full for the current year. 4. All buy backs must be paid in full at the club meeting. E. Tournament Officials Tournament officials will be on the lake during tournament hours and can approach, inspect or observe any contestants’ boat. Tournament officials shall be the President, Vice President, Tournament Director, Weigh Master, Both Secretaries and Treasurer. Any tournament official, with full approval of all tournament officials present, may disqualify any contestant for a violation of any rule not requiring a protest to be filed, by announcing that decision after the weigh-in and before the results of the event are announced. Each contestant is required to cooperate with all reasonable requests of the Tournament Officials and or CDFG representatives. Contestant cooperation is also desired for all requests form the lake facility personnel and any news media. F. Equipment All boats must be properly equipped for tournament competition. 1. Boat and Motor: Boats must be at least fifteen (15) feet in length and provide adequate space for two (2) contestants in club tournaments. Smaller boats may be used only if necessary to avoid having three (3) contestants in a boat. Any motor 9 ½ horsepower or greater shall be used as the main propulsion motor. If a non-boater contestant is drawn to a boat which they consider unsafe or inadequate, they will be assigned to the next boat drawn for that event, only if the Tournament Director is notified before the nest boat is drawn, so a new non-boater can be drawn for the questioned boat. A re-draw may be immediately requested by any member. 2. Livewells: Adequately aerated livewells are mandatory. Proper aeration by a mechanical aerator is required to maintain fish so they can be released safely. Contestants are not permitted to keep any bass caught during a tournament, except a dead fish. A trophy bass may be kept by its captor. Boaters whose livewell fails to keep the majority of the fish alive may be disqualified. Each dead fish incident shall be evaluated on a case by case basis by all tournament officials and must be decided unanimously before disqualification. 3. Fishing Tackle: Only artificial lures may be used. No live bait or prepared bait, other than pork rind type strips, is permitted. Only rods and reels are permitted. No rods over eight (8) feet may be used. Rods and reels must be casting, spinning or spin casting. Only one rod may be in use and only one line in the water at a time. Any number of rigged rods may be in the boat for substitute purposes. Landing nets, electronic depth finders, graphs, thermometers, oxygen gauges, GPS, combo selectors and other similar electrical and mechanical devices may be used. Submerged cameras may not be used during any tournament. G. Contestant Pairing Partners and blast off order will be drawn at the meeting prior to each tournament. Contestants may not choose their partner, unless, it is a family member or it is a case that has been approved by the general membership. In the case of a two-day tournament, no new partner drawing will be conducted prior to the start of the second day. Partners must fish together both fishing days. For fairness, blank chips will be used for shortfall in non-boaters so unpaired boaters are not always last. A boat on boat draw is optional for any unpaired boater(s). No boater, without their consent, may be unpaired twice in a calendar year until all boaters have been unpaired once. The unpaired boater will be paired with the last non-boater drawn by a previously paired boater. If a boater is unpaired at the meeting draw for a team tournament, he or she shall have the option of paying both entry fees to be eligible to receive 100% of the team payout for place money. This also applies to the options to be eligible for 100% of any option payouts. If not paying both halves of team fees for place and options, 50% of any team winnings will remain in the club treasury. If a member cannot make it to a meeting, but plans on fishing that month’s tournament, the member must notify a tournament official so that they can be included in the meeting draw or give notice of a work or medical conflict. That member must also pay or have another member pay all monies owed prior to the start of the meeting draw. Members with conflicts are not in the meeting draw for a partner. A supplemental draw will be conducted on Thursday before each tournament, as needed, for: unpaired boaters, anglers affected by drop-outs, anglers who have resolved properly noticed conflicts which have unanimous tournament official approval to fish, or as otherwise needed for Team Draw tournaments. Exceptions can only be made to get two (2) angler teams for club draw tournaments. 1. Boat Operation: Each angler may operate the boat trolling motor at the discretion of the boat owner. Neither angler shall operate the boat in a manner that puts the other angler at a disadvantage. Each angler is entitled to choose the fishing area for one-half of the fishing day. The boat owner will have first choice, if desired. Otherwise, the time and area shall be determined by a flip of a coin or mutual consent. Failure to comply with this rule may result in disqualification, if a written protest is filed. 2. Damages: Damages of any nature to a contestant’s vehicle, trailer, equipment, tackle or boat before/during/after a tournament are the responsibility of the individual at fault and must be corrected or compensated for by that individual before fishing another tournament. 3. Expenses: It is the responsibility of the fishing partners to mutually agree on a basis for sharing expenses prior to the tournament. Expenses may include gas, oil, gate, and launch fees and all other boat and travel costs. Unless otherwise agreed upon, there is a minimum of thirty dollars ($30) for non-boaters on local, smaller lakes and forty dollars ($40) on larger or more distant lakes plus one-half the gate and launch fees. Two (2) day tournaments shall require double. Non-boaters should offer to pay the applicable fees before fishing begins. Boaters should offer a ride to the tournament to their non-boater partners. Pre-fishing together is encouraged, with those expenses also being shared. H. Tournament Schedule The incoming officers and tournament director shall propose future club and open tournament scheduled for approval by the membership present at the January meeting. The schedule for the following year should be approved no later than May, so that arrangements can be made to go to the state meeting with CDFG in Sacramento to purchase all permits needed on the dates wanted. No more than one (1) club tournament shall be held in any one (1) month. An open tournament in addition to the club tournament may be held with approval of the membership. The day of the tournament shall be on a Saturday, but may be on a Sunday, also, if the tournament is a two (2) day event or a night tournament. As many dates as practical shall be set as far in advance as possible. I. Fishing Conditions 1. Fishing Hours: Fishing hours shall begin at the start of fishing (Safe Light) and end at 3:00 p.m. (2:00 p.m. on the second day of a two-day event) unless decided otherwise. Official time and weigh-in times shall be announced before the tournament during the pre-tournament meeting. No fishing is allowed after the beginning check-in deadline before the staggered start of fishing or after weight-in time. Contestants should be checked in and have had their livewell(s) inspected by the official check-in time as announced at the club meeting. Exceptions: Any contestant arriving after check-in or after start of fishing must have their livewell(s) inspected by an officer or the tournament director before commencing fishing, to avoid disqualification. Any contestant who does not check in at the designated check-in location after fishing the tournament will be penalized and may be disqualified. (See Penalties). The tournament director shall give the correct time prior to the blast off. No “flair” or “shotgun” starts shall be allowed. The order of starting or positioning boats within flights shall be determined by the order in which boats are drawn at the meeting or supplemental draw. Two-day tournament shall have the blast off order reversed for the second day. 2. Authorized Waters: No fishing within fifty (50) yards of or passage within casting distance of another contestant’s boat that was first located, anchored, or tied to that location will be permitted. A contestant cannot cut within one hundred (100) yards in front of a boat which is drift-fishing or working an area with an electric trolling motor and thereby fish that area themselves. It is permitted to courteously pass, fish behind, or fish along with other contestants at a mutually agreeable distance. All fishing must be done from the boat to land fish. When retrieving tackle, in an emergency situation or when safety dictates, a contestant may abandon the boat and return to the weigh in, shore or dock. All contestants must leave the start fishing point and arrive at the end fishing check-in point by boat. Boats cannot be trailered from one fishing location to another during tournament hours. No angler will be permitted to fish within fifty (50) yards of the boat launch area used for that tournament or within restricted areas designated by local authorities or tournament officials and announced as off-limits before the start of fishing. Any angler cited for fishing in areas restricted, designated or buoyed by local authorities, but no placed off-limits before the start of fishing, may be disqualified from that tournament. 3. Limit: There is a five (5) fish limit in all club draw tournaments, except in lakes which only allow four (4). In all club team draw tournaments with two (2) anglers on all teams, there is a five (5) fish limit per team. Any angler or team with an over-limit in the boat’s livewell during a tournament or at the weigh-in shall be disqualified for that day. J. Weigh-in Weigh-in will begin as soon as practical after the scheduled stop fishing check in time. Every effort shall be made to conduct the weigh-in on or as close as possible to the water. All contestants and officials shall make every effort to maintain the fish in the best condition possible so that an optimum live release can be attained. Fish must not be kept longer than three (3) minutes in weigh bags or without adequate water and oxygen. A fish weighing five (5) pounds or larger must be in a separate bag. All culling of fish must be completed before check-in at the end of the tournament. Dead fish cannot be culled. All fish in the boat after stop fishing time must be weighed in, including short or over limit fish. No fish caught by any other person may be weighed in by any contestant as his or her own catch. All fish shall be measured on a flat board, lying flat with the mouth closed. Tail will be swung to make the fish go twelve (12) inches or spread to make a slot fish go under twelve (12) inches. All anglers must bring their own catch to the scale (except in an emergency, boat breakdown, or where circumstances call for assistance) being sure the sink is empty before dumping their bag into the sink and weigh in all fish caught, including a big fish for each tournament. This information is needed to break ties and complete the required CDFG tournament fishing report. Only one (1) big fish will be weighed in by a team or angler per day, however, a second big fish can be weighted for that anglers season big fish. Only one (1) big fish will be paid out to a team or angler per tournament. A dead fish cannot be weighed as a big fish for monetary winnings. In the case of a Disqualification, said angler is not entitled to the tournament side pot for big fish since all weight will be considered void. The weigh-in crew and their boater or non-boater must be allowed to weigh in first before any other angler weighs in. Another member of the tournament committee shall weigh their fish, as they should not weigh their own fish. 1. Penalties: A deduction pf two-tenths (.20) of a pound for each legal fish plus a one dollar ($1) fine per dead fish per fisherman. Any Angler weighing in a fish under the twelve (12) inch minimum size limit or a slot fish will have one (1) pound deducted from their raw weight. The tournament director or his designated assistant will rule on all live or dead fish and all short or slot fish. An angler shall be given the opportunity to get his or her short or slot fish to measure. Over-the-limit fish will result in weight and points disqualification for that one day in a two-day tournament. The penalties for checking in late at the end of the tournament are as follows: a. Up to ten (10) minutes late will be a deduction of one-fourth (1/4) or .25 of the total weight for that day. b. Ten (10) to twenty (20) minutes late will be a deduction of one-half (1.2) or .50 of the total weight for that day. c. Twenty (20) to thirty (30) minutes late will be a deduction of three-fourths (3/4) or .75 of the total weight for that day. d. All weight is lost after thirty (30) minutes late. Checking later than thirty (30) minutes may or may not result in a disqualification in a tournament depending on the reason an angler or boater is late and the weight for that day may not be counted. A boater or team that comes in late due to circumstances of towing in another boat will not be considered a disqualification. K. Point Standings The point’s competition lasts from January 1 through the last club tournament of that calendar year. Big fish and final point standings are based on total points for the competition, not including the T.O.C. 1. Point Scoring: Club tournament place points will be based on individual or team efforts. Scoring will be determined by the total weight of each participant’s or team’s catch for the tournament. Place points will be awarded from first (1st) through fifteenth (15th) place in each club tournament. First (1st) place will receive fifteen (15) points and will descend down to fifteenth (15th) place receiving one (1) point. A fish must be weighed in to get place points. Participation points will be awarded as follows: a. One (1) point will be awarded to each member for every club event attended (monthly club meeting, awards banquet, or other meeting in which all members are requested to be present). Points will not be given if member is over thirty (30) minutes late after scheduled start time or leaving thirty (30) minutes before event ends. b. One (1) point for each day of every tournament fished. If an angler is disqualified (DQ’d), zero points will be given. Final point standings will be a total of all points awarded during the competition year. Place points- maximum of 180. Tournament participation points- maximum of 1 point for each day of tournament fishing. Club meeting participation points- maximum of 12 points. 2. Ties: In case of a tie or ties, the largest single bass caught among tied contestants will determine the place(s) and points given in a tournament. Ties in the final point standings will be determined by the biggest single bass caught during all club tournaments that year. A big fish caught in an Open Tournament or the T.O.C. does not count. In case of a tie on a wildcard, the wildcard will be determined by the day’s total weight. L. Tournament Payouts One hundred percent (100%) of entry fees and options in club tournaments are paid out. The heaviest fish that is not a qualifying bass caught by any club member in a club tournament is the Wild Card winner and gets a free club tournament entry (not included in payout). Progressive $5 Biggiest Bass option, must be no less than four (4) pounds, winner takes all- 100%. Open tournament payouts are established by the Tournament Director which membership approval. There is a five ($5) dollar fee added to the entry fees which are not included in the payout. This is to help pay for the year-end awards and prizes. Club Payouts are as follows: Tournament Entry Fee $30 Each Angler Club Draw $20 Per Angler Place Payout 1 in 3 Big Fish $5 Entry Fee Place Payout 2 Places Club Fee $5 Entry Fee No Payout 1st 2nd 3rd 4th thru whatever 25% 20% 15% 40% divided evenly [>17] or see below 70% 30% Only pays 2 places No payout Club fund Tournament Entry Fee $60 per team $30 Per angler Club Team $40 per team Place Payout 4 places Big Fish $10 Entry Fee Place Payout 2 places Club Fee $10 Entry Fee No Payout 1st 2nd 3rd 4th 40% 30% 20% 10% 70% 30% Only pays 2 places No payout Club fund Option $5 Draw $10 Teams Three places Option $10 Draw $20 Team Two places Option $5 Progressive Big Fish 1 Place 50% 30% 20% Only pays 3 places 70% 30% Only pays 2 places 100% Payout With 17 to 15 paid anglers- 30%,25%,20%,12.5%,12.5% With 14 to 12 paid anglers- 40%, 30%, 20%, 10% With 11 to 9 paid anglers- 50%, 30%, 20% With 8 to 6 paid anglers- 60%, 40% Fewer than 6 paid anglers- 100% M. Protests and Appeals All protests must be presented verbally or in writing to the Tournament Director or President before the start of announcing the day’s results. The protest committee shall be the Tournament Officials present at that tournament, unless personally involved in the protest. There should be three (3) or more to make a decision on a protest presented. If needed, another member not involved in the protest, can be appointed by the tournament director to help in the protest decision. The Protest Committee shall decide all protest by majority vote before any tournament results are announced. Violation of any rule by any angler is grounds for a protest by and other angler. Any tournament official or officer may disqualify any angler for violation of any tournament rule that does not require a protest to be filed after all fish are weighed in and before the results are announced. Any contestant may appeal or request a disqualification be reconsidered. Any appeal or request for reconsideration must be presented in writing to the President, or in his absence, the Vice President, and/or the Tournament Director no later than fifteen (15) minutes after the decision being appealed is announced and before any payouts are awarded. All appeals and reconsiderations of a disqualification by Tournament Committee shall be heard immediately and decided by a majority vote. Participation in ALL tournaments constitutes acceptance by ALL participants of ALL Tournament Director, appeal or reconsideration decisions as FINAL and BINDING for ALL participants. N. No Shows Due to circumstances beyond our control, there will be occasions when someone will be unable to show up for a scheduled club tournament. There are no refunds or carryovers, except by unanimous agreement of all tournament officials. When a non-boater member does not have a partner for the tournament, one of the following will occur: 1. A supplemental drawing will be conducted on Thursday before the tournament among all boaters scheduled to fish alone. The selected boater will then become the non-boater’s fishing partner for that tournament. Supplemental drawing(s) will be conducted for all unpaired anglers, as necessary. 2. If there are no unpaired boaters, a drawing will be conducted among all boaters with boats eighteen (18) feet or longer. The selected boater and his partner will accept the non-boater as a third fishing partner. The partnership rules of Tournament Rule G apply and must be worked out through mutual consent. 3. The Supplemental draw does not change the start fishing order as decided by the meeting draw. The start fishing position drawn at the meeting by the boater will be used. Anglers resolving work or medical conflicts must start fishing after all other anglers. O. Undrawn Contestants Club members who show up to fish in a tournament, but did not pay before, participate in the meeting draw or participate in the supplemental draw, will not be allowed to fish in the tournament. Notification of a work or medical conflict prior to the meeting draw and later notification of a resolution of the conflict, does not intitle a member to automatically fish a tournament, but only to a case-by-case consideration of the circumstances by all of the Tournament Officials, who must agree unanimously , to allow a member, who was not in the meeting draw, to go into the supplemental draw and fish in the tournament. P. Awards Members in good standing are eligible to earn the following awards for participation and fishing: 1. Angler of the Year: The angler who finishes the year with the most points will receive as follows: A one hundred dollar ($100) check, their name engraved on a perpetual plaque to hold in his or her possession until returned back to the club at the December meeting or upon termination of membership, a personal “Angler of the Year” plaque and an SBC jacket with the club logo and their “AOY” title and name embroidered on it. The AOY winner has the option to forgo the jacket and receive a one hundred dollar ($100) check in its place. 2. Final Standings Top 10- 1st through 10th Places: These anglers with the top ten (10) point standings will be awarded plaques for their place standings and free entry to compete in the Tournament of Champions (TOC). The T.O.C. winner receives a one hundred dollar ($100) check, name engraved on a perpetual plaque to hold in his or her possession until returned back to the club at the December meeting or upon termination of membership, a personal T.O.C. champion plaque and an SBC jacket with the club logo and their T.O.C. champion title embroidered on it. The T.O.C. winner has the option to forgo the jacket and receive a one hundred dollar ($100) check in its place. T.O.C. payback is as follows: 1st Place 2nd Place 3rd Place 4th Place 5th Place 6th through 10th $100 $75 $65 $55 $45 $35 each The top 10 qualifying T.O.C. anglers must fish in the T.O.C. tournament in order to receive prize money. Angler or Anglers that do not participate in the T.O.C. tournament, that portion of the prize money will be divided evenly among all other participating anglers starting with 10th place prize money. All qualifiers will be allowed to fish. The T.O.C. Lake will be the lake scheduled for the December club tournament each calendar year. The T.O.C. is held the next day after the last club tournament. Regular club rules apply. Start fishing order is drawn on the ramp at the check-in and livewell inspection before fishing starts. There are no official options, partners or observers required, but partners may be agreed to or shall be drawn if necessary. Only persons eligible to fish a club tournament may be in a contestant’s boat. 3. Big Fish Plaque: This is awarded to the angler for the heaviest bass caught during a club tournament for that calendar year. 4. Most Improved Angler Plaque: Awarded to the angler who most improves from the previous year. The angler must have fished ten (10) tournaments and finished in the top half of the previous years’ standings. 5. President’s Choice Award: A plaque will be awarded by the outgoing president to a member who has done an outstanding job fort the club during that calendar year. 6. President’s Gavel Plaque: Awarded to the outgoing President each year. 7. Awards Banquet: An event to present the year-end awards plus raffle prizes, dinner and a social together. Remember that the SIERRA BASS CLUB is a FUN family club!!!