All Georgia fishing and boating regulations will be followed at all times.
John boat "style" only craft allowed (No steering wheel present). Electric trolling motors only, except for lakes allowing gas motors (10 HP or less).
All "electric only" lake rules must be obeyed. i.e. (no gas tanks present, etc.)
No caught fish may be held on a stringer during any tournament.
All boats must be equipped with means to properly sustain a "limit" of fish. Aerated coolers of adequate size are permitted.
No member will not leave refuse at lakes fished. Any team member found in intentional violation will be disqualified for that tournament. All entry fees, weigh and participation points will be forfeited. All disputes will be decided by the Tournament President and are final.
Day tournaments will be held every other Saturday and will be 6 to 8 hours in duration. Competitors are responsible for checking the website for starting times changes, lake changes, etc.. There will be no "blastoff" earlier then 7:00AM EST for all tournaments except Stone Mountain, which will be at 6:30AM EST.
All tournament fees shall be submitted at least fifteen (15) minutes before posted "blastoff" time. There will be no exceptions. There are no late starts after "blastoff". Any money paid in advance will be forfeited for that tournament event.
No alcoholic beverages may be consumed during tournaments hours.
All teams must check in and out at stated times to compete in tournaments. Any boat late for weigh-in will be disqualified. All disputes will be decided by the Tournament President and are final.
Livewells & coolers will be checked, before each tournaments begins.
No trolling allowed at any time.
Only one line per fisherman is allowed in water at any one time.
Artificial baits only.
No more than six (6) fish in the livewell at any given time. All culling must be completed before "banking" the boat for weigh-in. Only five (5) fish are allowed to be brought to the scales.
A 100 foot distance rule applies to other event opponents. If two boats are fishing a location within 100 feet of each other and no violation is noted, other event participants are permitted to fish the location without violation. Participants found in violation will be disqualified for that tournament. All entry fees, weigh and participation points will be forfeited. All disputes will be decided by the Tournament President and are final.
No team may remove their boat from the water BEFORE the days catch is weighed by a Tournament Official.
There is a five (5) fish limit with a 12 inch minimum size limit, per team. Fish will be measured with Golden Rule; mouth and tail closed. All decisions by the Tournament President are final.
The same set of scales will be used at each tournament. Fish will be weighed to the "hundredth" of an ounce.
All yearly participants must sign a current copy of the rule sheet for club records.
Season accumulative points will be determined as follows: 30 attendance points + 5 points for each live fish brought to scales +10 points "Big Fish" + inverted place points. For an explanation of the inverted system used, press this link!
Individual events are based purely on the most weight caught. No event dead fish penalties All weights measured in hundredth of a pound decimal.
Short fish penalties apply. Short fish weight will be taken off largest fish. Anglers must declare BEFORE fish (s) are placed in one of the BLUE baskets, while it is still in the weigh-in bag, a short fish (s) may be present and needs to be measured by Tournament Officials. If no declaration is made BEFORE the fish (s) are placed in the blue basket for drainage, and then disputed by Tournament Officials or other participating anglers, and found short, penalties will apply.
A $30.00 yearly membership fee is required by all club members. Yearly membership fees are due at the time an angler or team participates in their first tournament of the season. After two memberships are paid for a team, then substitutes can be used for the captain or partner as long as one of the original team members is present. If a captain pays a team membership without having a designated partner, then the partner can only be substituted for during a tournament. Teams may substitute as many times as needed during the year.
In case of a team split, all points will be awarded to the "Angler/Captain", which is determined at the yearly meeting or the first tournament team fished.
After 2 memberships are paid for a team, then substitutes can be used for the captain or partner as long as one of the original team members is present. No team may substitute both. Teams may substitute as many times as necessary during the year.
All Membership fees, minus any yearly maintenance costs, will go toward end of season highest "Top 5" points, "Fish Off" and "Points Champion Award".
Tournament Entry Fees (Per Angler): $25.00 entry fee, $5.00 of which will be place in the "Big Fish Pot". (Exception: No entry fee will be charged to any youth 12 years or younger, fishing with a paid member 18 years of age or older.)
The payback schedule will be based the amount of anglers per event (See 2008 Payout Schedule). Payouts will be "rounded" to the nearest $5.00.
A team or angler must fish at least five (5) tournaments throughout the Spring/Summer schedule to edible for the "Top 5" Fish Off.
No "tie breakers" will occur for overall event weights. All place money will be divided accordingly.
"Tie Breakers" for overall point positions will be determined by overall weight caught YTD.
Winner of "Big Fish Pot" on a weekly basis, will be entitled to 100% of monies entered for that weeks event..
Tournaments will be fished in rain or "bad weather". If there is thunderstorm activity at start time, a maximum delay time of one hour will be imposed. After one hour, if the weather conditions are still uncertain, a vote will be taken by members (Majority Rules). If a (no) is majority, then ALL monies paid, included all pots, will "rollover" to the next tournament event. All teams, that are "paid in full" will be automatically be awarded thirty (30) "participation" points for the "canceled" event. Any team absent from the "canceled" tournament that fishes the proceeding tournament will pay double fees if they did not fish the tournament that the rollover occurred on. Team members are responsible for "knowledge" of canceled events.
If no fish are caught or bad weather occurs, tournament entry fees & "Big Fish Pot" will rolled over to the next tournament.
The
"Top Five Fish off" lake will be determined the night before (4:30
PM EST) the tournament by random drawing in the presence of witnesses.
The top five points leaders, that have fished a minimum of 5
tournaments, at the end of the fourteenth tournament will fish for a percentage of
100% of the membership fees.
All anglers are responsible for carrying proper liability insurance, if desired. The High Voltage Bass Anglers will in no way be held responsible for actions resulting in damage or injury while an angler is in route or participating in one of our events.
All lake entry/parking/fishing, etc. fees are the responsibility of the participating anglers and are not included in regular tournament fees.
All disputes will be decided by the Tournament President and are final.
*Newly voted 2008 rules are in BOLD!