Citrus County Bassmasters Tournament Rules

Eligibility:

Club tournaments are open to all club members in good standing.  To be in good standing, all club fees and dues must be paid prior to all fishing any given tournament.

Format:

  1. Club tournaments shall be individual competition.  New rules regarding payout and fishing rules will be in place for start of the 2020 season as well as all members needing to be member of BASS Nation.
  2. Tournaments will be from safe light to 3:00 PM.  Safe light will be at the discretion of the Tournament Director.
  3. Club single day tournaments shall be conducted within a 75 mile radius of Inverness, FL.
  4. The lake/ramp will be set for the year prior to the new season by the Tournament Director.  He may make changes to annual schedule upon preparation of same.
  5. There shall be NO off limits periods prior to club tournaments.
  6. If a boater is late for a tournament, it shall be the boater’s responsibility to find the Tournament Director to get a waiver and have their live well(s) checked BEFORE they start fishing.
  7. The tournament year 2020 will run from December 2019 thru November 2020 (a total of 11 tournaments).  At no time shall a club tournament conflict with a Florida BASS Nation tournament.
  8. Annual Classic Tournament will be held in February or March of each year to be determined by majority vote by the 8th tournament of the year.
  9. Each member must have fished 6 of the 11 scheduled tournaments to qualify to fish the Classic. All dues must also be paid in full to fish the classic. 

Sportsmanship

  1. All members of the Citrus County Bassmasters will behave in such a manner as to bring credit and good reputation to the club at all times.
  2. Contestants shall not fish with-in 50ft. of another contestant’s anchored boat.
  3. The snagging of fish is prohibited.
  4. All angling must be done from a boat and no competitor may leave the boat during tournament hours for any reason except in an emergency or to get gas.  At no time may a contestant leave the boat to land a fish or to make a boat more accessible to fishing waters. In the event of a needed restroom break, contestants are allowed to leave the boat, but all fishing must cease until the angler is back in the boat.

Equipment:

All boats used in club tournaments must have the following:

  1. Working kill switch.
  2. Working Navigation Lights
  3. Working live-well or wells large enough to support one limit of fish.
  4. Minimum boat length shall be 16 feet and minimum 25hp motor.
  5. Each contestant must have their own Coast Guard approved PFD.
  6. Only artificial lures may be used with the exception of pork trailers.
  7. No rod shall be longer than 8ft.
  8. Only one rod may be used a time.  However, contestants can have any number of rods rigged for use.

Tournament Fees:

  1. Tournament fees are $40.00 ($20 for club dues and $20 for the entry fee) per tournament fished.  If entering the Progressive Pot, an additional $5.00 is required.  Payable at the Club meeting prior to the tournament.
  2. Members who pay the tournament fees at or prior to the monthly club meeting will be eligible for the early draw for the tournament launch order.  Members who have not paid their fees at or prior to the monthly club meeting will pay at the launch the morning of the tournament and will be assigned the remaining places in the launch order on a first-come, first-served basis.

Payouts:

  1. Boater Payout
    1. 15 or less
      1. 1st Place- 50% of collected fees
      2. 2nd Place- 25% of collected fees
      3. Lunker- 25% of collected fees
    2. 16 or more
      1. 1st Place- 45% of collected fees
      2. 2nd Place- 20% of collected fees
      3. 3rd Place- 10% of collected fees
      4. Lunker-25% of collected fees

When necessary, the Tournament Director, with agreement of the affected parties, may change payout schedule.

Tournament Procedures:

  1. Refer to Tournament Fees, item 2 for payment of Entry Fees.
  2. All fish will be brought to the scales in an appropriate bag with water to maintain the fish.  No fish will be removed from the live wells and brought to the scales until the Tournament Director declares the “Scales Open”.
  3. Each contestant should keep track of their big fish and present it when asked for by the Tournament Director.
  4. To determine the legal size, the Weigh Master will place the fish on a Golden Rule with the mouth closed and the tail fanned.
  5. With regard to a questionable fish, the contestant may ask for a courtesy measurement.  It must be asked for prior to weighing.  If the fish is short, there will be no penalty and the fish will NOT be used for total weight.
  6. Legal fish for weigh in are: Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted, Redeye, Coosa, Shoal, and Suwanee bass.
  7. Total weight in pounds, to the 100th of an ounce, will determine place of finish and winner of big bass.
  8. Creel Limits and minimum size:  Number of fish and minimum size will be set by the Tournament Director for each tournament.  He will endeavor to obtain a Black Bass waiver for the tournament.  If waiver is not obtained, it will be a 14” minimum or state law that apply for the lake fishing.
  9. All fish, once handed to the Weigh Master, become property of CCBM.
  10. In the event of a boat breakdown that prevents the boater from making the weigh-in on time, the boater may have another contestant bring their fish to the scales, provided they are in a separate bag.
  11. Contestants should not leave their boats except in an emergency, such as, to use a bathroom or inclement weather.  Fishing may be resumed after the emergency has passed.
  12. The use of alcohol or illegal drugs is prohibited during tournament hours.  Tournament hours are considered to be from departure from home until after the payout following the weigh in.  This policy also applies to all club functions.
  13. Culling of dead fish is prohibited.   A fish that exceeds the limit should be culled before fishing is resumed.

Safety: 

  1. Life Jackets must be worn and kill switch attached when the big boat motor is running.
  2. Disabled members must wear their PFD at all times. 

Penalties:

  1. Short fish-  The boater loses that fish and their largest fish
  2. Dead fish-   Deduction of .25 lb. from the total weight
  3. Late to weigh in- Deduction of .25 lb. per minute up to 5 minutes late.  Over 5 minutes late, boater is Disqualified.

Angler of the Year Points System:

  1. Attend a Tournament- 5 pts.
  2. 1st place- 100 pts
  3. 2nd place- 99 pts
  4. 3rd place- 98 pts
  5. Continues with 1pt deduction for descending places.
  6. All contestants who do not catch a weighing fish shall receive a value of 5 points less than the last place catching fish.
  7. One (1) point per fish caught.
  8. One (1) point for big fish of the tournament.
  9. One (1) point for a limit of fish.
  10. AOY points will be figured 10 of the 11 monthly tournaments.  (One throw-away tournament) 

Progressive Big Bass Pot (Pro Pot)

  1. Entry fee shall be $5 per tournament.
  2. Entrants must be current in entry fees to be eligible to win.
  3. New members may join the contest by paying $5 Fee for each month since last pot was won.
  4. To win, an entrant must catch and have weighed in by the Tournament Director, a bass of 8lb. of more.

Revised January 1, 2020