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BARTLESVILLE BASSMASTERS

2007

FISHING RULES

1.  CLUB DUES - Dues for membership in the club are due prior to the first tournament scheduled.  Dues for the current year are $45.00.

A. Fishermen paying dues at the ramp will pay dues of $100.00, unless he/she had a paid membership the year before. If he/she  attends the next monthly meeting and fishes the next tournament the club will refund $55.00. 

B. Dues can be paid by mail prior to the first tournament for participants who are unable to attend meetings.

C. Only paid members may vote on any club business.

2.  TRAILERING - Trailering is allowed on the same lake.  Member to be eligible for weigh-in must be at the designated ramp at starting time.

3.  TOURNAMENT ENTRY / SAFE START TIME - Every contestant should pay their entry fee prior to start of fishing hours. Tournament start time and ending times will be voted on at the club meeting prior to the tournament.  Safe start time will be specified by the highest ranking officer and one club member, the morning of the tournament, to be dictated by safe conditions.

4.  WEIGH-IN TIME -  All contestants are to be back at the official weigh-in area by appointed time.  A five (5) minute grace period will be allowed.  Contestants who are not in the official weigh-in area by the end of the grace period shall be penalized eight ounces per minute they are late, including Big Bass.  Any contestant more than 15 minutes late shall forfeit their entire weight.  No fishing will be allowed after returning to the official weigh-in area for check-in.

5. BAIT:   No live bait is allowed:

A. in the boat, or

B. to be used in catching fish.

6. TIES - All gross weight ties will be settled by the comparison of the weight of the stringers largest single bass.  If a tie still exists it will be settled by the stringer with the most fish. If a tie still exists the points will be totaled then split between the two contestants.

7.  PARTNERS:

A. The area of the lake to be fished should be shared equally.

B. The front of the boat should be shared equally.

C. Pairing will be done by drawing at the meeting before the tournament.  A paid member will be allowed only one (1) guest, one (1) alone or may fish self twice or quest twice and three (3) self pairing tournament during the year, (2) two dayers and (1) night tournament].

*** THE NIGHT TOURNAMENT WILL BE SELF-PAIRING WITHIN THE CLUB ***

THE ODD MAN/BOAT WILL HAVE THE OPTION TO FISH SELF OR HAVE A GUEST IF ALL OTHER MEMBERS HAVE BEEN CONTACTED AND VERIFIED BY THE PRESIDENT, AND WILL NOT BE COUNTED AS A SELF. 

Thus if a member fishes all seven one day tournament he will be REQUIRED to be placed in the draw for a partner four times (as one of these tournaments is the night tournament and is self pairing).

Boaters who do not draw out with a non-boater can go “self” and not have to pair out with another boater or use their “self”.  Boater can take any non-member they choose with them and not lose their “self”. 

D. The deadline for entry in a tournament will be the end of the draw at the club meeting prior to the tournament.  If a member enters late, boaters fishing alone will have the option to pair up with the late member or not.

E. If a member refuses to fish with a member he has drawn, the refusing member will not be allowed to fish that tournament.

F. Each member is to furnish his own food and drink. The boat owner will provide an ice chest.

8. EXPENSES - Expenses for both the boat and tow vehicle should be shared equally. This covers gas, oil and toll road expenses.

9. LEAVING BOAT - No participant may leave the boat to fish. However, if a participant's boat should become disabled making it impossible to return to the weigh-in, he may elect to leave his boat to come to the weigh-in or to send his fish to the weigh-in via another person.

10. TROLLING - No trolling is allowed.

11. LENGTH LIMIT - STRINGER SIZE:

A. 14 inch length limit unless state and local laws allow otherwise.

B. Five (5) fish limit and the sixth (6th) fish will be culled immediately.

C. Bass will be measured on the official club board only.  Measurement will be determined by placing bass on the official board with the mouth closed and, if any part of the tail touches the line, the fish is eligible for weigh-in.

12. WEIGH-IN: Club officers shall conduct the weigh-in of fish.  Any fish which is questioned by any member as to its weight and/or length shall be directly measured and weighed by a club officer.

A. If a member presents a fish to an officer for measurement, it will be assumed that the member intends to weigh-in the fish.

B. If a member attempts to weigh-in a fish that does not meet the tournament length limit (14 inch or the lake limit), the penalty is an automatic disqualification of the largest fish on the stringer.

C. All participants should be off the water before weigh-in begins.

D. If the Vice President is not at a tournament to bump the smallest fish in each and every stringer, the presiding officer will appoint a member to be sure all stringers are bumped equally.

E. Judgment of if a fish is dead or not will only be made in the weigh-in basket. If    a fish is near death, yet still alive when weighed in, then is unable to swim off or dies in the water, this shall not be a deduction for a dead fish, because it was alive at the time of weigh-in.

F. You can only weigh-in using an official club bag.

13. DEAD FISH PENALTY - There will be an 8 oz. deduction for each dead fish. All live fish will be released except for trophies.

14. PROTESTS - If a member wishes to protest a violation of the club rules by another member, the protest must be submitted in writing within one (1) hour after the close of the tournament weigh-in to a club official. The protest will be decided upon at the next regular club meeting.

16. MEETING DATE/TOURNAMENT DATE - Unless otherwise specified by club officers, the club will meet the first Thursday of each month at 7:30 p.m. Unless the lake committee has selected another date, the tournament will be held on the Sunday following the first Thursday beginning in March and continuing through November.

17. ELECTION OF OFFICERS - At the last club meeting of the year, last years officers will present a slate of officers for the upcoming year for consideration by the membership. Nominations for each office will be accepted from the membership at this time. The new officers shall take over their office at the year end banquet. Thus making for a month of transition where the new officers can get with the out going officers to ask questions and learn the ropes.

18. DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS:

President - The President presides at each meeting, conducts the weigh-in at tournaments and handles the Federation business.

Vice-President - The vice-president serves as president in his absence and assists at weigh-ins.  The vice-president is also responsible for measuring the fish. He will insure that at least the shortest fish of each and every stringer is measured.  The vice-president or his designee shall ensure that all contestants are at the official weigh-in area by the end of tournament. Another officer of the club shall resume this responsibility if the vice-president or his designee is unable.

Secretary/Treasurer - The Secretary records minutes of meetings, maintains point system and records tournament results. Also prepares monthly tournament results article for the newspaper. The Treasurer maintains club financial records, keeps track of dues payments which must be paid prior to a member fishing a club tournament, provides club membership roster and is responsible for having all club members sign a Waiver of Liability form prior to a member fishing a club tournament. The club Secretary will also be responsible for submitting all tournament results to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife per regulations concerning tournament fishing in the state of Oklahoma.

19. FINANCIAL REPORTS - Any member with up-to-date paid dues may request the financial status of the club from the secretary/treasurer at any time and the secretary/treasurer should have the financial status of the club available to each member at each club meeting.

20.  No electronic communication devices will be allowed in use by contestants for any communication relating to the tournament during tournament hours. 

21. SELECTION OF LAKES/LAKES COMMITTEE - At the January meeting the club will vote on the lakes to be fished the upcoming year. A list of two-day and one-day lakes will be provided, and write-in nominations are permitted. The membership should pick "2" from the two-day list plus an alternate and "7" from the one-day list plus an alternate. The newly elected president shall appoint a "3" member lake committee to decide dates on which the lakes and which ramps are to be used. The lake committee shall present the tournament schedule to the club for final approval of the dates. NO lakes may be changed after a majority of the club members present accept the proposed tournament schedule as presented by the lake committee. A lake can "only" be changed by the lake committee to the alternate lake because of hazardous conditions unless it is also hazardous. Then a second alternate lake will be selected by the lake committee only from that years’ scheduled lakes.  Once a change has been made by the lake committee, it cannot be changed back unless the alternate lake is unsafe.

A. The scoring for each tournament will be determined by the total weight of each participant’s stringer after dead fish penalties. Plaques will be awarded for Big Bass, First, Second and Third place finishes from the membership, money permitting.

B. Scoring for each club year will be done on a point basis (see below). Trophies will be awarded for first, second and third place each year. Yearly scoring will be based on the best seven (7) of nine (9) tournaments.  Year-end point ties will be broken by dropping the next lowest tournament score or scores until the tie is broken.  A trophy will also be awarded for the largest "Bass of the Year". The membership may also elect to award a jacket to the "TOP TEN" tournament champion and to the "ANGLER OF THE YEAR" depending on available funds. 

C: The "Angler of the Year" will be determined by the member who accumulates the highest number of points for  the seven (7) highest individual tournament scores of the nine (9) tournaments plus any Meeting Attendance points as noted below. If a two or more members are tied with the same number of points after the nine regular tournaments, then those members will share the title of "Angler of the Year".

C. WEIGHT POINTS:

Place Tournament Points Place Tournament Points Place Tournament Points Place Tournament Points Place Tournament Points
1st 100 21st 80 41st 60 61st 40 81st 20
2nd 99 22nd 79 42nd 59 62nd 39 82nd 19
3rd 98 23rd 78 43rd 58 63rd 38 83rd 18
4th 97 24th 77 44th 57 64th 37 84th 17
5th 96 25th 76 45th 56 65th 36 85th 16
6th 95 26th 75 46th 55 66th 35 86th 15
7th 94 27th 74 47th 54 67th 34 87th 14
8th 93 28th 73 48th 53 68th 33 88th 13
9th 92 29th 72 49th 52 69th 32 89th 12
10th 91 30th 71 50th 51 70th 31 90th 11
11th 90 31st 70 51st 50 71st 30 91st 10
12th 89 32nd 69 52nd 49 72nd 29 92nd 9
13th 88 33rd 68 53rd 48 73rd 28 93rd 8
14th 87 34th 67 54th 47 74th 27 94th 7
15th 86 35th 66 55th 46 75th 26 95th 6
16th 85 36th 65 56th 45 76th 25 96th 5
17th 84 37th 64 57th 44 77th 24 97th 4
18th 83 38th 63 58th 43 78th 23 98th 3
19th 82 39th 62 59th 42 79th 22 99th 2
20th 81 40th 61 60th 41 80th 21 100th 1

                                      

 

D: OTHER  POINTS:

Ramp points - 25 (Will be awarded to all participants of the tournament which do not weigh any fish) 

Big Bass point - 1 (Will be added to tournament weigh in score) 

Meeting Attendance points – 2   (March - November, see Rule 23)

23. MEETING POINTS - There will be 2 points given for attending the clubs monthly meetings for the 9 tournaments up to a maximum of 12 points per year. Thus allowing a member to miss 3 monthly meetings during the tournament season and still be able to accumulate the maximum number of available meeting points. In place of meeting points, for those who have obligations which do not allow them to attend regular meetings, the President of the club will have the option of awarding points for participation outside of regular club events (i.e. Casting Kids competitions, the Annual Youth Tournament, etc.).

24. TOP TEN CHAMPIONSHIP - If a qualifying non-boater is unable to borrow a boat to fish the tournament, he will first be required to fish with a qualifying officer or with a non- qualifying officer (observer only). If an officer is not available, a non-boater may get another club member with a boat as an observer only. A positive pairing must be set up for the qualifying non-boater. The observer can fish, but it must be from the back of the boat and will not be allowed to keep fish in the live well. Observers may not net a qualifiers fish, likewise neither shall another participant. Each qualifier must land his own fish. No qualifier will be allowed to trailer. Each qualifier will be required to have their live well’s inspected by an officer of the club before the start of the tournament. If an officer is unavailable, this duty falls back to member of the lake committee. If still unavailable, one of the qualifiers will be picked to inspect all live wells.  Only the "TOP TEN" members who qualified by the clubs point system will be allowed to participate in the tournament. If a qualifier is unable to fish for any reason, the next available in the club rankings (i.e. #11) "will not" be allowed to be pulled up to participate. The "TOP TEN" lake will be off limits from the finish of the last regular season tournament to the morning of the "TOP TEN" Championship. Any qualifier on the lake for any reason during this time shall be disqualified from the "TOP TEN" Championship. The lake committee should, if at all possible, try to schedule the last regular season tournament on a Saturday followed by the "TOP TEN" Championship the very next day (Sunday).

25. SPORTSMANSHIP - If a member shows poor sportsmanship thru actions or verbally spoken word during any club function and a written protest is filed with an officer of the club, that member shall be, after a meeting of the 3 officers of the club, punished accordingly up to the point of expulsion from the club. Expulsion of a member for acts detrimental to the club can only be done if a 2/3 majority of the members present at the next meting approve.

26. RELEASE OF ALL BASS - All bass are to be release into the lake in a manner so that their well being is assured. The open end of the bag containing water and fish will be laid in the lake, the closed end grasped and raised so as to dump the contents back into the lake gently.

27. LIFE JACKETS - A coast guard approved life jacket MUST be worn by any contestants ANYTIME the boat is on plane. Each boat must include a kill switch which is to be attached to the driver while on plane.

28. LIABILITY WAIVER - All tournament contestants must read and sign the form entitled "WAIVER & RELEASE" which may be available at the meeting before the tournament and/or on tournament day. Your signature on this form will constitute a certification that the contestant has read and understood the "Waiver & Release" form. All terms of the "Waiver & Release" form are hereby incorporated by reference into these rules in the same manner as if the terms of the "Waiver & Release" form were printed verbatim in these rules.

29. PENALTY FOR RULES VIOLATION - The penalty for violation of any rule (unless otherwise noted) will be a loss of that tournament day's fish weight and the member will only be awarded the ramp points.  

30. CLAYTON DONNELL SPORTSMANSHIP AWARD - This award will be awarded at the year end banquet to the member/members who the club members vote to best represent the Bartlesville Bassmasters. The vote shall be on paper and only the Secretary will know the results until the banquet. The member chosen shall attend 80% of the club functions, (including tournaments, meetings and other functions), show a high level of sportsmanship, and best represent/promote the Bartlesville Bassmasters.