Conch House Billfish Invitational
2015 Tournament Rules
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Conch House Billfish Invitational
2015 Tournament Rules
1. Registration
All boats must be registered with the tournament and entry fee be paid to qualify for
prizes and trophies. Any boat may be substituted during the week but must be
registered with the tournament prior to fishing. Any boat entered in the Conch House
Billfish Tournament shall not be entered in another tournament simultaneously. The
tournament reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to deny entry to anyone for any
reason. In an effort to maximize participation, registrations will be accepted until 8:00
pm May 13, 2015.
2. Captains Meeting
The Captains party begins at 6 pm Wednesday May 13th. The rules will be discussed
and questions answered at 7:45 pm. At least one person from each registered boat
must be present at the rules review and Captain’s meeting for the tournament. If they
do not attend, they accept and agree to be bound by all instructions and/or rule
changes made in writing or orally during that meeting. Regardless, all participants in
the tournament are responsible for knowing all tournament rules, including any
changes to the rules that may take place at the Captains meeting.
3. Fishing Time and Laydays
Official fishing times are from 8:00 am to 3:30 pm each day. Boats must not leave the
St. Augustine Sea Buoy (STA) before 5:30 am and must return to the St. Augustine
(STA) Sea Buoy by 6:00 pm the declared day fishing. No lines or teasers are permitted
in the water before official fishing hours each day. Official time will be GPS time.
Fishing days for all eligible boats shall be any two days out of the available three days
May 14, 15, and 16, captain’s choice. No single boat can fish more than 2 days during
the tournament. One day constitutes a tournament. Lay Day forms must be turned in
by close of Captains meeting. Non-fishing day may be changed prior to 7 am on any
Declared Day at the Marina Office on the official lay-day form. Forms will be provided
in Captains bag and at the Conch House Dockmasters office. The form must be
signed by a member of the fishing team or boats crew. Boats must check out with
Billfish Tournament each declared fishing on tournament VHF channel 72 before
departing STA sea buoy. In the event of late hookups prior to 3:30 pm., all fish to be
weighed or release video must be back to the Conch House Marina weigh station by
11:59 pm on the day of the catch except Saturday May 16th which the vessel must
return by 8:00 pm if the fish is to count.
4. Rod and Reel Rules
This is a rod and reel, hook and line tournament. I.G.F.A. rules are to be followed.
Double line and leader combined may not exceed 40ft; neither which may exceed
30ft. The following practices are illegal in this tournament: 1) use of handline or rope
attached to a line or leader. 2) shooting, harpooning, or lancing. 3) the transfer of any
participant from one boat to another to aid in the landing of the fish.
5. Reporting
All billfish must be reported to tournament boat when hooked, lost, boated or
released. Radio frequency shall be vhf channel 72 and alternate 78A. If tournament
boat cannot be reached the video must support time and date of hookup and release
of fish. Fish hooked prior to tournament lines in times will disqualify boat from
tournament.
6. Boundaries
No Boundaries
7. Qualifying Blue Marlin
To be eligible to be weighed, a blue marlin must measure 110” lower fork of jaw to
middle of the tail. Points will be awarded as 1 point per pound. In the event of a tie
by weight the prize will be shared evenly at 50%. Length shall be measured from the
V-notch in the tail to the tip of the lower jaw. All fish must adhere to State and
Federal fisheries regulations to qualify for prizes in this tournament. In the event a
blue marlin does not meet the tournament specifications, the fish will be disqualified,
and the boat will be penalized 800 pts. So, a penalty of 800 points will be taken away
from the total of release points accumulated by said boat. No official weigh slip will
be given for any disqualified fish. In the event a blue marlin is boated or gaffed, the
fish shall be presented at the official weigh station. A fish is boated when it breaks
the plane of the boat. There is no deck checking in this tournament. In the event of a
team deck checking that said team will be penalized 800 points. The weigh master
has the right to refuse any fish in his sole discretion.
8. Federal and State Regulations
All vessels and participants shall comply with Florida and Federal Fisheries laws and
regulations regarding fishing licenses, vessel permits, fishing gear, season size and
bag limits. Participants shall also adhere to all Conch House Billfish Tournament rules
as contained herein.
9. Gamefish
Winning gamefish will be determined by weight. Only one gamefish of each species
can be weighed per declared fishing day. In the event of a tie, the winner will be
determined by the first fish weighed-in. Fish must be in good condition and not
mutilated. All gamefish must be weighed in the day they are caught. Gamefish do not
have to be reported as hooked and or boated. Prize money will be returned for each
species if no qualifying fish weighed. Only Wahoo, Mahi, and Tuna will be counted as
gamefish. Minimum weights are as follows: Wahoo 15 lbs., Mahi 15 lbs., Tuna 15 lbs.
10. Weigh-In
All blue marlin and gamefish eligible for prizes must be off-loaded and weighed at
the official Tournament weigh station from the boat landing the fish unless
authorized by the weigh master at the weigh station. The weigh scale will be open
from 4:00 pm until 7:00 pm daily. The fish must be entered on the official entry form
by the Tournament weigh master. Blue marlin takes priority over gamefish at the
scale. The same scale and weigh station will be used for all fish. The weigh scale will
close at 7:00 p.m. All billfish weighed in are the responsibility of each boat weighing
in. The weigh master has the right to refuse any fish in his sole discretion.
11. Mandatory Hook Requirements
Non-offset circle hooks are mandatory when deploying natural bait or natural
bait/artificial lures. “J” hooks are allowed on artificial lures only
12. Release Points
Prizes will be awarded to the boats that score the most number of points overall. To
be considered a release, the crew cannot have attempted to boat or gaff the fish. To
score an official release, the video footage must include sufficient continuous footage
to (1) clearly identify the species; (2) meet I.G.F.A. release rules by either show a mate
touching the leader while the fish is still hooked, the swivel hits the rod tip, or the
connection (knot, splice, etc.) between the leader and the mainline/double line/fly line
passes through the rod tip (3) display the correct catch control ribbon provided by
tournament (4) identify the time and date of the catch; and (5) show the catch and
full release of the fish. The video must be continuous, with no breaks in recording,
and identify all of these elements. Do not delete any video taken during fishing hours,
even if it does not include the above elements and will not be used to prove a catch.
All teams must provide their own video camera(s) to verify releases. All video
recording equipment must be synchronized to the official tournament time. Each
fishing day has a different color ribbon which must be included in the video. A fish is
boated when any portion of the fish breaks the plane of the boat. If the fish is boated
no release points will be awarded.
Release points (j-hook and circle hook) are awarded as follows:
Blue Marlin 601 points, White Marlin 200 points, Sailfish 75 points, Spearfish 150
points, Swordfish 100 points.
In the event of a tie, the first boat to achieve the winning total shall be declared the
winner. Released fish must be attested to by signature of the angler, captain and two
witnesses (if available) on board the boat at the time of the release on the Official
Release Form provided by the Tournament Committee. This form shall be turned in to
the OFFICIAL WEIGH MASTER at the Conch House Marina. Release forms must be
turned in no later than 8 p.m. on the day the fish is released unless a team is fighting
a fish after lines out at 3:30 pm.
In the event a boat designates on the “Release Form” a release as a blue marlin, and
the captain, mate, and angler (and/or others as deemed necessary by tournament
officials) are unable to successfully pass a polygraph as to the same, the boat shall be
penalized 800 points. No points shall be awarded for the fish in any category.
13. Prize Payout Schedule
The tournament winner will be the team with the most points. The tournament pays
to 1st and 2nd place. In the event no Billfish are caught the winners will be determined
by total weight of all gamefish. Payout will be 70/30 minus tournament expenses.
Prize money checks will be made payable to the person or entity so indicated on the
registration form of the winning boat. Social Security number or Taxpayer I.D. number
of the recipient must be provided on the entry form. All undisputed funds will be
distributed 10 days after the tournament.
14. Protest
Any protest by any participant against the catch of another must be submitted in
writing to the Tournament Rules Committee accompanied by a $500.00 fee. If the
dispute is won the fee will be returned. If the protest is lost the fee will be kept by
the tournament committee. Any protest must be received by 8:00 p.m. on the day the
catch is disputed. Any member of the Rules Committee or the weigh master (in their
sole discretion), retains the right to hold and keep any fish deemed questionable by
him with respect to being qualified for any prize or cash award. If retention of the fish
is refused, the fish is automatically disqualified.
15. Weight Alteration
Attempted weight alteration of any blue marlin or gamefish will be subject to
disqualification and automatically disqualify the boat from the tournament. IGFA rules
apply regarding mutilated fish. The Rules Committee reserves the right to cut open
any fish for inspection of suspected weight altering efforts such as inserted weights,
ice, water, etc.
16. Polygraph
Polygraph Tests may be administered to the top money winners, release winners,
(captain, mate and/or angler) and others as deemed necessary by Tournament
Officials. Participants must make themselves available for polygraph testing at the
Conch House Marina within 24 hours following notice from Tournament Officials.
Individuals that are required to take the polygraph test must not consume alcohol or
any controlled substance within eight hours prior to the test. A participant’s refusal to
take a polygraph test or failure to answer test questions in a manner satisfactory to
Tournament Officials, in their sole discretion, may result in disqualification. By entering
the Tournament, participants consent to the admissibility of polygraph results in any
dispute or proceeding arising out of the Tournament.
17. Withdrawal From The Tournament
No tournament entry fees will be refunded.
18. Refund
In the event that no qualifying fish are caught, the prize money will be refunded
minus tournament expenses. In the event the tournament is cancelled due to weather
the tournament will refund the entry fee minus tournament expenses.
19. Sportsmanlike Conduct
All participants are expected to maintain a reasonable and sportsmanlike demeanor at
all times throughout the tournament, Unsportsmanlike or threatening conduct toward
tournament organizers or other participants, or any other behavior which the
tournament organizers deem inappropriate, in their sole discretion, will result in
immediate disqualification of the entire team with no refund of entry fees.
20. Violation Of Rules
Any boat violating any of these Tournament Rules or any boat containing a
participant violating any of these Tournament Rules is subject to disqualification from
the Tournament (unless another sanction for a particular violation is expressly set
forth herein). Any angler, captain or mate who deliberately breaks these rules will be
immediately expelled and disqualified from this and future tournaments WITHOUT a
refund of any optional cash awards or registration fees. By participating in the
Tournament, all participants acknowledge that all Tournament Rules are material and
that disqualification is a permitted and appropriate sanction for any violation of any
Tournament Rules. Decisions regarding the interpretation of Rules, violation of Rules,
penalties, and the suspension of any Rules or penalties will be made by Rules
Committee and/or Board of Directors in their sole and absolute discretion. All
decisions by Rules Committee and/or Board of Directors are final and are not subject
to further challenge by participants. Anything not covered in these rules will be
decided by the tournament committee at that time.