Bad Bass Boys League Rules - 2008

 

RULE CHANGES: These rules will remain unchanged throughout the 2008 season. Interpretation of these rules shall be left exclusively to the tournament director. In the event of a rule violation, the tournament director and/or Bad Bass Boys, Inc. Headquarters may impose such sanctions, as deemed appropriate, including but not limited to, disqualification, forfeiture of prizes, forfeiture of entry fee and prohibition from participation in subsequent tournaments. The decision of the tournament director/BBB Headquarters shall be final in all matters. Protests for any rule infraction must be made in writing within 30 minutes of the official check-in time in each tournament.

 

PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY: Participation is open to current members of Bad Bass Boys who are 16 years of age or older. Proof of age to the satisfaction of tournament officials is the responsibility of the competitor. DURING THE OFFICIAL COMPETITION DAYS OF A Bad Bass Boys TOURNAMENT, NO COMPETITOR MAY OPERATE A BOAT UNLESS THAT CONTESTANT HAS DOCUMENTED PROOF OF A MINIMUM OF $100,000 BOATING LIABILITY INSURANCE ON THAT PARTICULAR BOAT. PROOF OF INSURANCE MUST BE WITH THE BOAT BEING USED AND MUST COVER THE COMPETITOR USING THAT BOAT. RANDOM CHECKS WILL BE CONDUCTED. EACH POLICY MUST SHOW $100,000 LIABILITY AND VALID EXPIRATION DATE. Anglers must sign the Release of Liability form prior to the tournament. Tournament officials reserve the right to refund any membership and/or entry fee, if they shall choose, for any reason, not to accept the application for entrance. Any person entering a tournament that is under 18 years of age must have the signature of his/her parent or legal guardian on the entry form.

REGISTRATION: Will be complete prior to the start of the season.  Registration and membership fees will be submitted to the League Director at the time of open team registration.  Proof of current membership is required to register for any Bad Bass Boys competition.  It is recommended that members renew their membership through National headquarters prior to open League registration. New contestants desiring to become a member can register on-line or with their league director.  Online is preferred.  Failure to attend the pre-tournament meeting of any Bad Bass Boys event will result in forfeiture of entry fee and disqualification from the tournament in question.

SAFETY: Contestants understand that participating in fishing tournaments in an open boat is inherently dangerous. Safe boating conduct will be observed at all times. During the official practice and competition, each competitor is required to wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved chest-type life preserver (PFD). This preserver must be worn any time the combustion engine is in gear. This preserver must be strapped, snapped or zippered securely and maintained in that condition until the combustion engine is shut off. The boat operator must have a safety-stop switch attached to his/her person when the combustion engine is in gear. During practice and tournament hours extreme caution must be exercised by boat operator during bad weather. In addition extreme caution must be exercised and boat operator must be aware that there could be large cruisers and/or barges operating on tournament lakes that displace extremely large volumes of water which create unusually large wakes and turbulence. Weather and water turbulence can be extremely hazardous and extreme caution should be exercised at all times. Violation of either the PFD or safety-stop switch portion of this rule will result in disqualification.

SPORTSMANSHIP: All contestants are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. All contestants must adhere to all State, Federal and local laws governing water activities. Any infraction of these fundamental sporting principles may be deemed cause for disqualification. No alcoholic beverages or other stimulants or depressants, shall be allowed in the boats during the official practice or competition days, or when in the weigh-in area. Each contestant must keep the waters clean and bring trash back to the dock for disposal. Chemical substance addiction or abuse, conviction of a felony or other crimes involving immoral turpitude, or other conduct reflecting unfavorable upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, fair competition and compliance with tournament rules shall be grounds for rejecting applications for membership, participation and for disqualification. Any disqualification or suspension from, or other disciplinary action regarding any tournament or fishing organization, shall be grounds for rejecting any application for membership, participation and for disqualification.

TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT: Only artificial lures may be used. No "live bait" or "prepared bait" will be permitted during official practice and competition, with the exception of pork strips, rinds, etc. Only one rod and reel combination may be used at one time. No fly rods or rods over 8 ft. are allowed. Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. All angling must be done from the boat and anglers must stay on tournament waters during tournament hours. Anglers are not permitted to leave the boat to land a fish or leave the boat to gain access to secluded waters. Boats must remain in tournament waters during tournament day/days. Competitors must leave and return to official checkpoint by boat. Both competitors must remain in boat at all times except in case of dire emergency. In such an emergency, competitors may be removed from their boat to: A BOAT OPERATED BY OTHER COMPETITORS, A RESCUE BOAT DESIGNATED BY THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR OR TO DISLODGE THEIR BOAT FROM A HAZZARD. Partners must remain together at all times, in sight of each other and each other's catch, under the conditions cited above, in order for their catch of that day to be scored in the tournament. Citizen band radios, marine radios and cellular phones are allowed in the boat for emergency use only. Any transmission of information via any communicative device concerning any aspect of fishing is prohibited during tournament hours.

HORSEPOWER REGULATION: MAXIMUM HORSEPOWER FOR ALL OUTBOARD MOTORBOATS USED IN OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT PRACTICE AND IN TOURNAMENT COMPETITION WILL BE 250 HP.

Horsepower cannot exceed the limitations set by the U.S. Coast Guard horsepower-rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer. The horsepower of the outboard engine must NOT exceed the rating specified on this plate nor the horsepower maximum set by Bad Bass Boys, Inc. Each competitor agrees to submit, by their signature on the official entry form, the boat and outboard motor used in the tournament, to an inspection by factory-trained personnel, if there is any reason to suspect the horsepower is in excess of the rating. Changing or altering standard factory parts of your engine to increase the horsepower over the factory horsepower rating is forbidden, and will result in disqualification. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the horsepower-rating numbers on the engine also would be cause for immediate disqualification from Bad Bass Boys events.

BOAT AND MOTOR: ALL BOATS MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH SOME TYPE OF IGNITION STOP SWITCH.

This ignition-kill device must be attached to the driver's body any time the combustion engine is in gear. Also any time the combustion engine is operating and in gear, there must be a driver in the driver's seat in full control of the boat. Fishing boats that are 16 feet or more in length may be used. No barges or cumbersome craft will be permitted. Each boat must also have a properly aerated or re-circulating live-well to maintain a live limit catch of bass by both contestants.

PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: The tournament director for each event shall establish tournament waters during the safety & rules briefing and define any known OFF-LIMITS areas including locking from established tournament waters. Fishing on tournament waters is not permitted: within 50 yards of a marina gas pump or within 50 yards of another team's boat anchored or not. teams invoking the 50-yard rule must hold their boat steady. Any team that allows any other team to fish within 50 yards of their boat has suspended the 50-yard rule and opens the water to all teams. Any water within tournament boundaries posted Off-Limits or No Fishing by state or

federal agencies will be OFF-LIMITS.

OFFICIAL CHECKPOINT: There will be only one official point for checkout in the morning and check-in in the afternoon, as designated by the tournament director. Teams not at the checkpoint at the designated time will be penalized at the rate of 1 pound per minute, deducted from their total weight for the day. Any team more than 5 minutes late for send-off or check-in will be disqualified for the day. Official start and weigh-in times will be announced

at the pre-tournament meeting. Our best effort will be given to allow at least 3 hours fishing time. In the case of adverse weather conditions, the tournament director will open weigh-in at 7pm for safety.

SCORING: The total weight of each team catch will determine tournament standings and placement. Only largemouth, spotted, red eye or smallmouth bass will be weighed. The creel limit shall be five (5) unless the prevailing state/lake limit is less. (The tournament directors may impose a creel limit of less than five fish if they deem weather and/or local conditions warrants the reduction) At no time shall a team have in their possession more than the tournament limit. Culling must be done immediately upon catching a sixth fish. Minimum length will be 12 inches (measured on a flat board) unless the prevailing state/lake rule is larger. A penalty of 1 pound will be deducted from the total weight for each short fish and a penalty of 4 ounces (.25 pounds) will be deducted from the total weight for each dead fish. In the event the teams’ big fish is dead a penalty of 4 ounces (.25 pounds) will be deducted from the big fish total weight. A team that presents more fish than the tournament limit will be disqualified immediately. Mangled, mashed, mauled or otherwise altered fish will be grounds for immediate disqualification. No regurgitated baitfish will be weighed. Fish will not be put on a stringer at any time. All fish presented at the weigh-in become the property of Bad Bass Boys, Inc. All live fish will be returned to the lake and the tournament director will dispose of any dead fish.

TIE: In case of a tie, combining awards and dividing them equally among the tied contestants shall resolve positions. A form of lottery shall determine trophy positions. The tournament director may decide to break first place ties with a fish-off. Duplicate points will be awarded to each tied competitor.