DICK HILEY
ST. JUDE BASS CLASSIC

Tournament rules

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I. PARTICIPATION AND ELIGIBILITY A. Participation as team: For teams entering the Dick Hiley St. Jude Bass Classic, each team must have one partner 21 years of age or older. Those anglers under the age of 18 years must have written consent of parent or guardian B. Each contestant must possess a valid state fishing license from Minnesota or from his or her state-issuing agency. C. The Tournament reserves the right to refuse entry to any team who has been barred from other Tournaments for rules violations or unsportsmanlike conduct. Determination will be made by Tournament Director only. II. TOURNAMENT FORMAT A. Entry Fee: Entry fee for Tournament is $350 per team if payment is submitted via the Online Registration on or before April 1, 2019. Beyond April 1, the fee is $400 per team. This is non-refundable. Entries must be in the Tournament Director’s possession no later than Friday, April 26, 2019. Beyond that date applications will be rejected. B. Pre-Tournament and Tournament dates are as follows: Friday, May 3 is official practice day. All boats must be on a trailer by 3:00 pm. NO EXCEPTIONS. The Tournament days are Saturday and Sunday, May 4 and 5. C. Weigh-in will take place at Beach Park. Boxing of bass or moving of fish from one location to another during pre-Tournament practice is prohibited and will result in immediate disqualification. The Tournament officials will have the right to board Tournament boats, during practice and on the Tournament day, to check live wells, etc. D. Payback will be over 100 percent of entry fees plus cash and prizes. III. PRE-TOURNAMENT MEETING D. The Pre-Tournament meeting will be held on Friday, May 3, 2019 at Slippery’s Bar & Grill, 10 Church Ave, Wabasha, MN. Check-in will be from 4:00 pm to 5:00 pm, with the meeting beginning at 5:00 pm. One representative from each team must be present by 5:00 pm. Doors will close at 5:00 pm. The meeting is mandatory for a member of each team. NO EXCEPTIONS. Flight and boat positions will be determined at this meeting. IV. SAFETY Each competitor must observe safe boating conduct at all times. A. Each angler is required to wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved chest life preserver, which is fully secured whenever the main combustion engine is running. B. All boats must be a minimum of 14-feet in length. Stick steering is not allowed. No barges or similar cumbersome craft will be permitted. Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment. Boats shall contain a properly aerated or re-circulating live well space to maintain a live limit of bass. C. All competitors must have an emergency ignition shut-off device securely attached to the driver’s body whenever the combustion engine is in operation. D. All boats must be equipped with emergency ignition cut-off device (kill switch) on any remote steered outboard while main engine is in use. Ignition cut-off device (kill switch) must operate properly, which means when the kill switch is activated the outboard main engine must stop running immediately. The ignition cut-off device (kill switch) must be attached to the boat operator at all times while the outboard main engine is in use. E. Use of and/or possession of alcohol or illegal substances (during the Tournament is prohibited; this includes the time prior to a team’s weigh-in. Violation of this rule may result in disqualification. F. The Tournament Director retains the right to delay, cancel or restrict Tournament waters in the case of severe weather. G. The Tournament Director reserves the right to disqualify the use of any boat and/ or motor he deems unsafe, inappropriate, or unsuitable for use in competition. The Tournament Director’s decision in this matter is final and may be made at any time. H. During practice and during the Tournament, contestants must follow and obey local ordinances governing the river, including speed limit laws and no wake zone. Any contestant issued a ticket by a law enforcement agency will be disqualified. V. SPORTSMANSHIP A. All contestants are expected to follow the highest standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Any infraction of these fundamental sporting principles may be deemed cause for disqualification. B. Maximum courtesy must be practiced at all times, especially with regard to boating and angling in the vicinity of non-competitors who may be on Tournament waters. Violators of this rule will be disqualified. C. During the Tournament days, anglers may not obtain or receive fishing information and/or assistance in the catching of fish from a non-competitor. Competitors may not follow a non-competitor’s boat or allow a noncompetitor to anchor and/or hold spots for competitors. Competitors may not engage in the practice of paying non-competitors to practice fishing for them. Violation of this rule or intent of this rule will result in disqualification. VI. INSURANCE All contestants using their boat in the Tournament must have a copy of a “paid in full” current boating liability policy with a minimum value of $300,000 (waivers and binders will not be accepted) with them. VII. PERMITTED FISHING METHODS All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. Only artificial lures may be used with the exception of pork trailers. Only one fishing rod may be used at a time. Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited. VIII. PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS Official Tournament Fishing locations include: Mississippi River, Pools 4 and 5 from lock and dam 3 at Red Wing to the lock and dam 5. The lateral boundaries are the main railroad tracks running north/south on the Minnesota and Wisconsin sides of the river. Contestants may fish anywhere accessible by boat, within the boundaries, except areas designated by federal, state, local officials or Tournament Director. All angling must be conducted from the boat. At no time may a contestant leave the boat to land a fish or to make the boat more accessible to fishing waters. The boat must remain in the Tournament waters during the Tournament day. Contestants must leave and return to the official checkpoint by boat, and must remain in contact with the boat at all times except in the case of dire emergency. IX. OFFICIAL CHECKPOINTS Teams who fail to arrive at the official check-in location by the time established at the rules meeting will be held for inspection until all other boats have been released. X. SCORING Scoring shall be determined by the pounds and ounces of each team’s catch during the Tournament. LARGEMOUTH and SMALLMOUTH BASS will be the only accepted species. The Tournament limit shall be six (6) bass per team. The minimum length of the bass shall be fourteen (14”) inches. Any team who possesses more than the legal limit or brings more than six (6) fish into the Wabasha Municipal Harbor weigh-in area shall be immediately disqualified. Bass presented for weigh-in, which fail to measure the prescribed length violate Minnesota and Wisconsin Fish and Game Regulation and will result in disqualification of the day’s catch. XI. LIVE FISH Every effort must be made to keep the bass alive through the use of a properly aerated or re-circulated live well. Four (4) ounces shall be deducted from the total weight for each dead bass weighed in. Under no circumstances can a fish be purposely altered. 2019 OFFICIAL RULES AND REGULATIONS XIII. LATE PENALTY Contestants who are not within the municipal harbor mouth at the appointed time shall have their day’s catch disqualified. All fishing shall cease upon check-in. XIV. TIES In case of ties on day 2, positions will be determined by: 1st tiebreaker – team fundraising total, 2nd tiebreaker – day 1 weight, 3rd tiebreaker – coin toss. *Or gentlemen’s agreement XV. RULESAND INTERPRETATIONS A. Contestants will be responsible for knowing the Tournament rules as well as state and local rules and regulations, which pertain to the Tournament waters. B. All protests must be lodged with the Tournament Director within 30 minutes of completion of daily weigh-in. Following interviews with concerned parties, a ruling will be made. The Tournament Director will interpret rules according to the spirit and intent of the rule and his decision in all disputes is final. C. Any protests must be lodged directly to the Tournament Director no later than 30 minutes prior to check presentation ceremony on Sunday, May 5. If a concern is timely presented to the Tournament Director’s, a polygraph test may be required before receiving payout checks. D. Tournament Director reserves the right to polygraph any contestant. Contestant agrees to submit to a polygraph when signing the Tournament waiver. Winnings will be withheld pending results of the test. Teams will be responsible to travel to a designated polygraph location, at their own expense, in Minnesota the week following the Tournament. E. Discovery of rule infractions will result in disqualification from the Tournament could result. and forfeiting of cash prizes and awards.