Rip Their Lips Bass Club
MEMBERSHIP RULES AND REGULATIONS
ALL GENERAL RULES will apply to all Rip Their Lips Bass Club (RTL) tournaments and contestants. It is your responsibility, as a participant, to read and comply with all written tournament rules, and any local or state rules and regulations. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH MEMBER TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THESE RULES. It is not the responsibility of officers to let club members know what happened at a meeting. It is the club member’s responsibility to find out what happened. Rip Their Lips Bass Club is a non-profit organization.
Rip Their Lips Bass Club pride ourselves in being a club unlike others. We are all friends that enjoy bass fishing in a friendly and competitive atmosphere.
If your intentions are to change and/or complain about the way we do things, this may not be the bass club for you.
Officers’ Duties
President: Preside over all meetings and direct all official business. Appoint and direct all committee functions. Supervise all club functions. Serve as weigh-master at all tournaments.
Vice President: Assist the President in all duties and preside in his absence. Assist with the weigh in at all tournaments.
Treasurer: Conduct financial business of club. Receive and disburse tournament money. Maintain an accurate accounting of club income and expenditures. Serve as custodian of the club’s bank accounts.
Secretary: Assist with all club functions; vote on all matters in regards to rule changes, tournament changes, membership eligibility, etc.
Points Master: This individual will be appointed as our “Points master”. It is his job to keep an accurate and timely reflection of the club points. He will submit the copy to our webmaster within 7 days of last tourney.
Webmaster: Maintain website in a timely manner by updating all results and information. Update website within 7 days of receiving information from “Points Master”.
Membership
1. A NONREFUNDABLE annual membership fee of $50.00 will be required upon acceptance into the club.
2. Potential new members are brought up during “new business” at the annual November fish fry. Each individual member is then discussed, voted on, and then added to the registry for active membership for the next year. Membership will be granted or denied by a majority vote of the club. That potential new member has until the January meeting to submit his completed membership form and annual dues. A prospective member must attend the December or January meeting to be eligible for membership. A member is considered in “good standing” if their yearly membership is paid and there is no cause to remove them from the membership roll. RTL reserves the right to remove any member at any time from its active roster due to violation of club rules.
RTL will not accept a new member after the January meeting. The January meeting ends the second the Treasurer cranks his truck to leave the parking lot of the January meeting location. If this is still unclear for someone, they will be asked to not join our organization.
Please pay your dues and complete an acknowledgment form BEFORE THE JAN. MEETING.
3. Membership is open to anyone 18 years of age or older; 17 years and younger will require a parent or guardian as a partner.
4. The President, Vice President, Treasurer, Secretary, Points Master, Webmaster, and Board Members will be voted into office during the November fish fry or the club members can elect to keep the officers in their present positions. Webmaster will be handed down from “webmaster to webmaster” in the event of any changes.
5. Changes in the RTL rules are to be discussed and voted on at the November meeting. A majority vote must be achieved before any rules are changed. Rule changes take place from November fish fry until first meeting in December. They are set for the next year. NO RULES WILL BE CHANGED AFTER THIS MEETINGUNTIL NEXT NOVEMBER FISH FRY.
6. Officers and/or board members can discharge a member and/or change a rule if necessary at any time without notice if they feel that an injustice has taken place.
7. ALL MEMBERSHIP FORMS AND PAYMENTS MUST BE MADE NO LATER THAN THE END OF THE JANUARY MEETING. NEW OR RETURNING MEMBERS. NO EXCUSES. PERIOD.
Meetings
RTL will hold a monthly club meeting on the second Tuesday of each month from December through October at Brown’s Landing. Any meeting changes will be communicated by an officer or a board member prior to the scheduled meeting date. Our year end meeting and fish fry will be in November at the Caney Lake State Park.
February thru October Meetings start at 7pm @ Brown’s Landing.
January and December Meetings start at 6pm @ Brown’s Landing.
Sportsmanship
1. All members are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy towards others, safety, conservation and obey all laws during club activities. Any member who displays poor sportsmanship, violates the club rules, or violates the state fishing laws or lake rules, will be disqualified from the tournament. Club members cited by law enforcement officers for violation of state or federal fishing or boating regulations will be disqualified from the tournament.
2. No alcoholic beverages are allowed during tournament hours.
Tournaments
1. Safe boating must be observed at all times. A Coast Guard approved life vest must be worn with the kill switch lanyard attached (if equipped) while the outboard motor is running and the boat is on plane.
2. Entry fees for all club tournaments will be $25.00 per member, which will include all options. $15.00 goes towards the total weight payout; $5.00 to big bass; $5.00 goes into the club bank account to assist operating expenses (printer ink, paper, etc.) and the November fish fry. The remainder funds the Top 15 Championship.
3. Minimum length will be 12 inches and all fish will be measured (Golden Rule) at the weigh-in table. The weigh-master will make the final decision on the length of fish and their decision is final at the weigh-in. An angler that brings a fish measuring less than 12 inches will only be allowed to weigh up to 4 fish. Some lakes have a slot limit; you will not be allowed to weigh in a slot fish; if a fish is found to be in the slot, you will be disqualified from the tournament. A member weighing in more than five fish will be disqualified. No penalty for dead fish. If for some reason listed in these rules, a member received “DQ” status, he receives 0 points for this tournament.
4. Only artificial lures may be used. No prepared or live bait other than pork rind strips are permitted. Trolling with the big motor as a method of fishing is prohibited. An angler can fish with only one rod at a time.
5. CHEATING will not be tolerated. Anyone caught cheating will be banned from RTL for life. Partners are not allowed to combine there fish. This is deemed as cheating.
6. The largest fish of each member must be weighed first. Then, all remaining fish will be weighed. A member’s big fish will be utilized for big fish payout and in the event of a tie.
7. All tournament protests must be made in writing within 15 minutes of the official check in time. The decision of the club officers shall be final in all matters. To avoid protests, if you suspect a possible infraction is about to take place, alert the would-be offender and check the rules. Do not engage or start “parking lot discussions”. Address the issue immediately.
8. Scoring will be determined by pounds to the nearest one hundredth for each competing member’s catch during the tournament. Only largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass will be weighed. The tournament limit will be five fish per angler.
9. Guests are not allowed to fish in a club tournament. A spouse or child IS allowed to join a member in a tournament; however, NO fishing or assisting in fishing in any way, form, or fashion will be allowed.
10. There will be an optional $5 trash fish pot for every tournament, winner takes all. You must commit to the trash fish pot for the entire year no later than the January meeting to be eligible. In the event there is no trash fish caught, a drawing will be held to determine trash fish pot winner.
11. RTL does not require anglers to release their catch for each tournament. However, RTL does encourage catch and release. It is at the discretion of each member whether or not he releases or keeps his fish.
12. Lakes and each lake’s month to be fished will be voted on and drawn during the December meeting as follows: RTL’s permanent lake pool will be placed in a “bingo”. The lake and the month will be drawn deciding when and where we fish. The order they are drawn will be the order they are scheduled. For example, as a month is rolled out, it’s put on a list as month #1; next time a month rolls out then #2, and so forth. As a lake is drawn out then the same process is followed until each number aligns with its corresponding number to create the month/lake schedule. The day that we fish each tournament will begin on the last month of January. Each 4th Saturday from that weekend will be a tournament until we have fished the regular season completely. In the event there is an issue with a lake such as aquatic vegetation, low waters, high waters, or any other reason deemed by RTL to be unfishable or unsafe, the lake for that particular month will be pulled and a alternate lake will be used which will be an alternate from the pool selection. Alternates are lakes that did not come out of the bingo hat during the previous December. In the event, there is not an alternate available, the club will vote on a fishable lake from the RTL Lake Pool.
13. The October tournament will remain a mystery until the Thursday before the selected tournament date for that month. ALL of the lakes (except the lake fished in September) that were placed in the bingo basket during the December meeting will be placed in a bingo basket again and drawn to determine where the mystery tournament will be held. The lake that is chosen will remain off limits until first cast Saturday morning. Lakes that are being drawdown will be thrown out before the drawing.
14. Places for each tournament will be paid as follows regardless of the number of anglers participating: 1st Place:50%; 2nd Place:30%; 3rd Place:20%. Big Bass: 100%. Unbreakable ties will split the prize money and receive equal points.
15. Tournament times:
-6:00am-3:00pm for January, February, March, April, May, September, October.
-5:30am-1pm for June, July, August
16. Any voting topics during regular meetings; President only votes in the case to break a tie.
17. Combining fish in the same weigh-in bag will not be allowed. An angler’s catch must be separated from another angler’s catch.
Points System
1. Points will be awarded to each member as follows: 100 points for first place, 99 points for second place, 98 points for third place, and so on. All members that fish the tournament and fail to catch a fish will be awarded half of last place points. Points for weight will be awarded as they are recorded; example 12.34 lbs equals 12.34 points. Members that attend the monthly meetings from December through October will receive 1 point for each meeting. In the event that a member pays the tournament entry fee in advance and is unable to attend, he/she will receive 20 points for the tournament.
2. If a member is unable to attend a monthly club meeting because of work or illness, he/she may receive zero points (0).
3. Also, one board member will be appointed as our “Points master”. It is his job to keep an accurate and timely reflection of the club points. He will submit the copy to our webmaster within 7 days of last tourney.
Awards
Anglers who receive the following award will have their membership dues for the following year waived:
1. Angler of the Year (Points Leader)
2. Heaviest stringer of the year.
3. Largest bass of the year.
A credit of this amount will be given to this individual if for some reason he has already paid or won an award that covers membership.
Note: In the event that one angler holds one or more of the above mentioned awards or does not want to rejoin the club, second place will NOT have their membership dues waived for the following year.
Webmaster
Our webmaster will have his dues “waived” each year in return for accurate and timely web updates. In the event he secures one of the above mentioned awards; a $50 credit will be issued for that year to the webmaster’s account. The Points master will be sending the Webmaster the points file in a timely manner to ensure accurate and timely reports to be handed out at each monthly meeting listing the full field of fisherman and their standings.
Year’s End - Top 15 Championship
The “Top 15” as it will be referred to here on out is the Rip Their Lips Bass Club Championship which will take the place of the regular Top Six Tournament as described below. RTL Bass club participates in the Top 15 unless voted on or a “Plan B” is needed. A majority vote would decide this with the current year’s Top 15 placed individuals and then carried forward or governed by active and good standing board members to enforce Top 15 Tournament rules as seen below.
1. Top15 Championship pays 15 places. There will be NO big bass pot.
2. The lake will be decided by a vote of the Top 15 individuals.
3. The Monday-Friday ahead of the tournament will be an “off-limits” time to the chosen tournament waters.
4. The tournament will be held at a voted on time and date by the Top15 qualifiers.