BGFGA, 2010
Boca Grande Fishing Guides Association
All Release Tarpon Tournament Official Rules
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Addressing a continuous and growing concern for the health of our great tarpon fishery, the Boca Grande Fishing Guides Association is proud to announce a new format for our annual tarpon tournament. Beginning with the 2010 tournament, there will be no more weighed tarpon and the event will become completely all release. The membership feels that the tagging, temporary possession and slow trip to the weigh scales is not in the best interest of the fish.
The official name of the tournament is the Boca Grande Fishing Guides Association All Release Tarpon Tournament and will include the prestigious Jay Joiner Memorial Award for the winner of first place.
WHEN: Wednesday, May 26th and Thursday, May 27th
FISHING TIMES: 2:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. (both days)
WHERE: Boca Grande Pass
FINAL REGISTRATION: Whidden’s Marina…Tuesday, May 25th from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
CAPTAIN’S PARTY: Boca Bay Pass Club
WHERE: Boca Grande Pass
BOUNDARIES: The following boundaries are explicit for all tournament fishing and any tarpon hooked outside of these boundaries will not be allowed to count in any way as a tournament fish…however, once a tarpon is hooked (within boundaries) the fight of the fish can take it and the tournament boat outside the boundaries (a boundary map will be provided to all teams along with tournament rules and regulations):
· East Boundary – A straight line, running about north and south, between Intracoastal Waterway marker #75, directly off Cayo Costa, northward in a straight line to Intracoastal Waterway marker #1 off Gasparilla Island
· West Boundary – Red Buoy #12 in Boca Grande Pass
· South Boundary – A straight line running from Red Buoy #12 to the QR Test Buoy on the Gulf side of Cayo Costa and through Cayo Costa to the east, connecting to Intracoastal Waterway marker #75
· North Boundary (Bay side) – A straight line running from the Lodge Dock east to
the East boundary line
North Boundary – (Gulf side) – A line running about southwest from the end of the concrete pier at the lighthouse beach to Red Buoy #12
HOSTED BY: Boca Grande Fishing Guides Association
AWARDS PARTY: Boca Bay Pass Club
WEDNESDAY EVENING (after first day of fishing): No scheduled event
ENTRY FEE: $3,600 per team/boat plus $216 sales tax = total entry of $3,816
PERCENTAGE OF ENTRY TO WINNERS (Per % Format): 89% ($3,200 per entry to awards)
PRIZE MONEY DISPERSAL: Prize monies will be dispersed to winning teams as designated by the posted percentages for first, second and third place finishes…prize money will be paid ONLY to the designated team leader and whose social security number is on file…no prize money will be paid to any team leader refusing to supply a social security number…social security number of the team leader must be on file with the completed tournament entry form prior to the beginning of the tournament.
MONEY AWARDS FORMAT: 1ST place = 50%, 2nd place = 30%, 3rd place = 20%
HEAD JUDGE: Sandy Bylaska
JUDGE COMMITTEE: All decisions by the judge committee will be FINAL
OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT VHF CHANNEL: #71
FIRST PLACE: Most Releases
SECOND PLACE: Second Most Releases
THIRD PLACE: Last tarpon hooked in the tournament followed by a legitimate release
PROTEST: A protest must be made by boat captain within 5 minutes of the witnessed infraction and called in to the head judge on VHF channel #71…no one other than the designated captain will be allowed to make a protest.
FOR POSITION(S) WITH NO WINNER: That award money designated for the position(s) that do not result in a winner will be returned equally to entrants.
DEPOSIT TO SECURE ENTRY: $250
TOTAL ENTRY FEE DEADLINE: May 13, 2010
ENTRY FORFEITURE POLICY: Any entrant that drops out of the tournament after the May 1st entry deadline will forfeit monies deposited towards the tournament unless the tournament fills to the 40 boat limit prior to the event. In such case, with a full field of entrants, monies will be returned to anyone who previously dropped out of the tournament.
LIMIT OF ENTRANTS: 40
SPONSORSHIP LEVELS: Major = $1,000…Associate = $500…Support = $250
OVERTIME:
· One hour overtime on first day if at least one fish hasn’t been released
· NO OVERTIME on second day of fishing, tournament will end at 6:30 p.m.
· If first day is completely lost due to weather, etc…the second day of fishing will be 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
TOURNAMENT FLAG: The authorized tournament flag presented to each team must be displayed on the boat at all times during the tournament.
BOAT OPERATION: Only safe boat operation will be allowed and the head judge will have the authority to warn or dismiss from the tournament any team that exhibits unsafe boating conduct upon discussion and agreement with the judge committee…if a team is dismissed from the tournament, any releases achieved by that team will become invalid towards the receipt of any posted awards and winnings.
DISQUALIFICATION: The head judge will have the authority to dismiss any team from the tournament who is caught violating the rules of this tournament upon discussion and agreement with the judge committee regarding the severity of the infraction…if a team is dismissed from the tournament, any releases achieved by that team will become invalid towards the receipt of any posted awards or winnings.
RODS FISHED AT ONE TIME: Two rods maximum fished at a time from stern of boat…no fishing or fighting of fish can take place from the bow of the boat…all hooked fish must be fought from the stern of the boat
THOSE ALLOWED TO FISH: Anyone aboard a valid tournament entry boat can fish except the captain…limited number of people aboard any tournament entry boat is six, not counting the captain or mate…the captain or mate can help the person fishing at time of hookup of a fish regarding placement of the rod butt in the chair gimbal…if during the fight, the person in the chair with the rod becomes overwhelmed or tired, a substitute person can replace that person and finish the fight or aid that person during the remainder of the fight.
BAIT: Only live bait
FISHING LINE: 50 pound minimum rating…no monofilament from reel to swivel…judges or committee boat members have the right to request a verification of fishing line strength, which will be performed by the head judge or other designated judge and tested to verify a minimum strength rating of 50 pounds.
LEADER: Captain’s choice
LEADER LENGTH: No less than ten feet and no more than 15 feet from swivel to hook
LEAD PLACEMENT: No closer to hook than swivel distance (minimum of ten feet)
HOOK: One single barb hook per rod will be allowed and must be located the minimum distance of ten feet or maximum distance of 15 feet from the swivel and lead.
RELEASE: At the time of release, the swivel must be in the hand of the captain or acting mate and witnessed by a committee boat. If the captain or mate does not release the tarpon with swivel in hand, it is not a legitimate release even if the captain or mate had the swivel in hand earlier in the fight and did not release the tarpon at that time.
POSSESSION: No tarpon will be gaffed or taken into possession for any reason, including a mount. Doing so will result in automatic disqualification of the team. Any previous releases will not count.
SHARK RULE: If it’s a confirmed tarpon, a release is counted ONLY if the tarpon is whole and alive. If the tarpon has been hit by a shark, but is still whole and not missing part of it’s body, the release is valid. If the tarpon has been mutilated and a portion of the body is missing or if the tarpon is no longer able to swim, there will be no validated release.
OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT TIME: The head judge will be in charge of official tournament time and will communicate such via the VHF radio on channel #71…no one will be allowed to fish prior to the official beginning of the tournament via announcement over the radio…all fishing will cease at the time the head judge communicates such over the radio…any tarpon hooked immediately prior to the judge’s announcement to cease fishing will be allowed to be fought and released. It is important for all tarpon hooked to be immediately called in on the VHF radio so as to be recognized as soon as possible.
DISABLED BOAT: In case of breakdown of a tournament entry boat, the team and captain will be allowed to use a substitute boat that complies with the rules of this tournament regarding minimum boat length and the same captain will be required to operate the second boat…any such change must be called in on the radio to the head judge and the head judge must authorize the change.
CHANGE OF CAPTAIN: A change of captain must be called in on the radio to the head judge and the head judge must authorize and so note the change.
ANCHORING: No anchoring by any tournament boat unless the boat is dead in the water with no power.
LEGAL STATEMENT: It is expressly understood that, as a condition of entering the Boca Grande Fishing Guides Association (BGFGA) Invitational Tarpon Tournament, all participants in the tournament enter the event and participate at their own risk, and the tournament officers and directors, the membership of the BGFGA, and all persons or entities, and their directors, officers, employees, agents and affiliates connected directly or indirectly with the operation of the tournament shall be exempt from any liability for libel, slander, loss, damage, negligence, harm, injury or death suffered by any participant, entrant, sports fisherman, their companions, mates, boat captain, crew members, vessels and equipment which may occur during the tournament.
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