Backwater Series Southern Tournament, RULES

RULES

The Southern Backwater Tournament Series has expanded to seven tournaments for the 2011 season. The expansion consists of two divisions. The North division will consist of three tournaments hosted out of Ft Myers Beach. The South division will consist of four tournaments hosted out of Goodland.

The entry fee for the 2011 Backwater Tournament Series is as follows, $350 per team (3 anglers) with a maximum of 4 people per team for the seven tournament legs (4th angler additional $50.00). Entry fees received within seven days of the corresponding event will receive a $50.00 late fee. Any tournament may be rescheduled due to extreme weather.

Backwater Series teams may consist of up to four anglers. Points and Prizes are awarded to the Captain of the team; each team may only weigh in a maximum of 2 redfish per team of tournament anglers. Any tournament that includes separate species (Ex. Trout) must have a separate live well from the redfish.

All North and South Division Tournaments are bait of choice. Receiving bait from an outside source during tournament hours is prohibited.

Backwater Series teams are allowed to wade. At least one team member must remain in the boat; tournament boats may not run their motor while they have team members in the water. Waders must remain within 100 yards of the tournament boat. Tournament anglers wading must land their own fish.

Teams are allowed to weigh in only once. Teams will not be able to weigh-in early and attempt to upgrade their weight. Once teams have weighed a single fish they will not be able to upgrade their weight or fish quantity.

This is a catch & release tournament. All fish must be released alive after weigh-in. Dead redfish may not be discarded and will count as the daily bag limit for your team. You will be allowed to weigh 2 dead redfish throughout the series but 2 may not be weighed in the same event. There is a 1lb penalty for Dead Redfish; your fish will be determined dead or alive at the scale. No iced or mutilated fish will be accepted.

There will be a shotgun start from the designated launch sites at safe light. Safe light will be determined by tournament staff. All boats must idle by the official committee boat the morning of the tournament. Details will be discussed in more detail at each event’s Captains Meeting. The start will be broadcast from the start point. Late check-in allowed until 8am. Boats late for the shotgun start must remain at dock until checked.

All teams must be checked-in or be in the check-in line by the events determined deadline. Teams will be penalized ½ lb for every minute late after the deadline.

No angler at anytime may alter any fish by length or weight with the intention of gaining advantage over another competing team. In addition, no angler may hand or force feed any tournament fish.

No tournament boats may come together for any reason or pass anything between boats during tournament hours. Exception made for emergency purposes, or in the weigh-in line.

All fish must be caught alive in a sporting manner. Foul hooked fish cannot be weighed in. A fouled hooked fish is defined as any fish that does not have at least one hook in the mouth region.

No changing of boats without tournament director’s approval. Replacement boat must be checked in at tournament dock prior to restart. Any team towing another tournament boat in must contact tournament officials.

In all Southern Backwater Series Tournaments, the tie breaker for all finishes will be decided by the time each team completes their weigh-in. The team of the year tie breakers will be decided by the team with the highest weight throughout the series.

Team of the year will be based on a points system for finishing places in each event. First place will receive 105 pts, second place 100 pts, third place 98 pts, etc. Teams that participate in tournaments but fail to weigh fish will receive 20 participation points for the event if they check back in.

Any participant under the age of 18 not fishing with an adult 18 years or older shall sign a permission slip provided from Backwater Tournament Officials.

All contestants are required to follow all applicable federal, state, and local statutes, rules, and regulations (laws); any violations of such laws may result in disqualification from that particular event or expulsion from the Tournament Series. This includes slow or idle zones and manatee areas.

Anglers may fish anywhere on tournament waters accessible by boat, except areas designated as off limits or no fishing by local, state, federal, or Backwater officials, or within 50 yards of a competitors boat "actively engaged in fishing". The definition of “actively engaged in fishing” is a boat with the trolling motor in operation with anglers fishing, a boat held in place by anchor, push pole, or Power Pole, or one or more anglers wading. There will be no fishing within 200 yards of the weigh in site.

All boats used in tournament competition must contain recirculating or aerated live wells that are at least 18 gallons in capacity. All competing boats must have all required US Coast Guard safety equipment. For the safety of all competitors, All Backwater teams are required to have kill or ignition cutoff switches during operation of the combustion engine. Fuel may be carried only in factory installed fuel tanks. Additional fuel may be purchased from a retail facility.

For the safety of all competitors, All Backwater teams are required to have kill or ignition cutoff switches during operation of the combustion engine and must have a US Coast Guard Life Vest on while the boat is operating.

No angler may fish in the confines of any commercial marina. A commercial marina is defined as any marina with a guide dock, boat ramp, bait dispensing facility and/or fuel dock. In addition there will be no fishing within 100 yards of any public boat ramp, guide dock/ramp, bait dock, or fuel dock not in a commercial marina.

Sportsman Rule- All participants in The Backwater Tournament Series will conduct themselves in a sportsman-like manner during all Backwater Series activities. Unacceptable behavior will result in expulsion from all future Backwater Series events. Disqualification or misconduct in any other fishing tournament within 36 months prior to the tournament date is grounds for an application not being accepted or returned. The Southern Backwater Series may refuse any tournament application, or deny a previous application by returning the entry fee or balance of fees to the Captain. Entry fees are non-refundable, and non-transferable.

Protests are allowed up to 30 minutes after the last boat weighs in. All protests must be in writing and accompanied by $300 fee. If protest is upheld the fee will be returned, if denied, tournament will retain the protest fee. A polygraph test will be given to determine protest. Weighmaster reserves the right to retain any fish for further inspection.

The Southern Backwater Tournament Series retains the right to amend or add/delete to these published rules at any time during the tournament season in order to maintain the quality and competitiveness of the Series.

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