Official Rules for Northwest Bass, LLC

2008 Challenge Circuit

The following rules will remain unchanged throughout the event unless State or local laws are in conflict. Interpretation and enforcement of rules will be left to the Tournament Director. In the event of a rule violation, the Tournament Director may impose such sanctions as deemed appropriate, including, without limitation: disqualification, forfeiture of prizes, entry fee and prohibition from participation in subsequent tournaments. Northwest Bass reserves the right to refuse entry.

Participation and Eligibility: Each tournament is open to anyone 18 years or older and a Northwest Bass member in good standing. In the event of a minor, at least one team member must be 18 years or older and the minor must have written authorization from a parent or legal guardian. A team must fish or pay for four (4) qualifiers to be eligible for the 2008 Challenge Championship.

Fishing Alone:  In the event that a team member is unable to fish a qualifying tournament, the remaining angler may fish alone.  For anglers fishing alone, the qualifier will still count toward team qualification for the Championship and angler of the year points.

Team Member Substitution:  Northwest Bass is a team tournament and it is intended that anglers fish with the same team member for the entire circuit. 

If for some reason one team member must drop out, with less than four (4) qualifiers remaining, the remaining angler may declare a permanent substitution and qualify for the 2008 Challenge providing at least one(1) team member will have fished or bought into at least four (4) qualifiers.  Points for anglers of the year will start over at zero.  If one team member drops out after all qualifiers are completed, but prior to the Championship tournament, the remaining team member must fish the Championship alone.  Team member substitution is not allowed for the Championship tournament.

Temporary team member substitution will be allowed for an individual tournament as long as both of the original partners have or will fish together or buy-in for the requisite number of qualifiers to qualify themselves for the championship.  In all partner substitution cases angler points for team member substitutions will not count toward permanent team angler of the year standings.  Northwest Bass reserves the right to allow additional temporary team member substitutions based on individual circumstances. 

All team member substitutions must be approved by the tournament director prior to tournament registration.  No team member substitutions will be allowed to any angler that has not observed the official off limits period.

Registration: Pre-registration is encouraged.  For mailed entries, a completed entry form and the entry fee must be received by Northwest Bass no later than the Wednesday prior to the tournament. On-site registration will be Friday, 4:00 PM - 9:00 PM & Saturday, approximately 3:30 AM- until 1/2 hour before blastoff (blastoff will be at safe light). Northwest Bass will accept late entries with the exception of tournaments with a full field.  No late entries, however, will be accepted from any fishermen that have not observed the official off limits period.  Tournament buy-ins must be received prior to tournament blast-off, unless other arrangements have been made with the Tournament Director.

Off-Limits: Tournament waters are off limits for all Qualifiers Monday prior to the tournament until tournament blastoff on Saturday.  Championship waters are off limits Monday through Thursday the week prior to the Championship tournament.  The Friday prior to the Championship tournament is an authorized pre-fishing day. 

Permitted Fishing Waters: No fishing is allowed inside the host marina area. Contestants cannot leave the boat to land a fish. Navigable waters are the only waters to be fished during a tournament. Contestants must be able to navigate boat into fishing area without getting out of the boat. All fishing must be done from an inspected boat. No tube or wade fishing is allowed. Boats may not be trailered to and from weigh-in during tournament hours.  If you are unable to return to the weigh-in site by boat your catch for the day will not be weighed. No fishing is allowed within 50 yards of another anchored or tied boat without that boat's permission. Team partners must fish from the same boat. Only the contestants may be in the boat during tournament hours, unless specifically approved by the Tournament Director prior to the tournament.  Having a non-contestant sit on a hole for you will be grounds for disqualification. If a team allows one boat into an area to fish, all teams have permission to fish that area.

Safety: Boating safety must be observed at all times during competition. A US Coast Guard approved chest type life preserver must be on and fastened any time the combustible engine is operative and the kill switch must be attached to the driver during competition.  Inflatable waist pack PFDs are allowed as long as they are US Coast Guard approved and meet all US Coast Guard requirements.  Boats must obey all state and local regulations including speed and no-wake zones.

Blast Off: Tournament registration will be halted prior to the start of the drivers meeting.  Registration will resume after the drivers meeting.  Those anglers not registered prior to the drivers meeting will automatically be assigned to flight #1 for weigh-in, however, they will not blast-off until the end of the last flight.  Late registrants will be blasted off in order of the number assigned at the registration desk but will return for weigh-in with flight #1.

It is imperative that all boats have their live wells checked and be in the water before the start of the drivers meeting.  The Tournament Director will not delay blast off due to anglers that have not had their live wells checked or have not safely launched their boats.  In the event your boat is not in the water at the time your number is called, your blast off will be delayed until the Tournament Official re-calls your number.  In most cases your number will be recalled at the end of the last flight and before the first number of the late registrants.  Regardless of blast off time, you and your partner will be required to return for weigh-in at the time of your originally assigned flight. 

Culling Fish: It is the responsibility of each team to cull their limit to (5) fish throughout the tournament.  No culling is allowed within the host marina.

Relief Rule:  In the event that an angler must leave the boat during competition to use the restroom, one angler must remain in the boat at all times and all fishing must cease.

Check in for Weigh-in:  An official timekeeper (wearing an orange vest) will be posted at the entrance to the host marina and will log the time that each team returns for weigh-in.  The official return time will be logged at the point that the boat comes "off-pad" to enter the host marina.  To avoid confusion, each team is responsible for holding up their boat number in clear view of the timekeeper.  If the timekeeper determines that a boat is late, he/she will signal the boat with an orange flag in order to notify the team that there is a time issue and that they need to see the time keeper as soon as possible.  It is the responsibility of the team and the timekeeper to resolve time dispute issues prior to weigh in.  If the issue cannot be resolved with the timekeeper, the team should weigh in their fish and immediately report to the Tournament Director/Weigh Master that there is an unresolved time dispute.  All unresolved issues must be reported during weigh-in.  It is the Tournament Director's responsibility to assess the situation and make a ruling.  Tournament Director's ruling is final.

Boat Numbers:  All boat numbers must be turned in at weigh-in.  Boat numbers must be turned in even if no fish are weighed.

Scoring: Each team may weigh in five (5) fish with no minimum size limit, unless State or lake limits are more restrictive. A quarter of a pound (.25 lb) penalty will be assessed for each dead fish. Any team bringing more than five (5) fish to scales will have their bag culled to five (5) fish, starting with the largest fish. Only largemouth or smallmouth bass will be weighed. Failure to check-in by the designated weigh-in time will result in a one pound (1 lb) per minute penalty. After 10 minutes that team will forfeit its weight for that day.  It is the responsibility of each team to make sure they are identified at the check-in site.

Anglers of the Year and Rookie Team of the Year:  Anglers of the Year and Rookie Team of the Year are determined by points total for the best five (5) 2008 qualifiers.  A Rookie Team is defined as a team where neither team member has previously fished more than two qualifying tournaments in any one season. 

Ties: Big fish will be used to break all tournament ties whenever possible.  In the event of a tie, monies will be added and divided equally.   In the unlikely event of a tie in points for Anglers or Rookie Team of the Year, the tie will be broken by first using big stringer of the season.  If a tie still exists, big fish of the season will be used.

Protest: All protests must be submitted in writing within 15 minutes of the final weigh-in.  Protests will be accepted from registered tournament anglers only.

Awards: Out of sportsmanship and respect for other fishermen, Northwest Bass appreciates those who stay for awards presentations. For those unable to attend awards ceremonies, Northwest Bass reserves the right to forfeit claim to merchandise, and prize money will be mailed.

Alcoholic Beverages and Drugs: At no time during tournament hours are any alcoholic beverages or drugs, other than prescription, allowed in the boat or to be consumed.

Sportsmanship: Each team is expected to follow a high standard of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Any team failing to do so may be disqualified.

Tournament Protection Rule: Any act or inflammatory statement by any contestant that, in the opinion of the Tournament Authority, is detrimental to the operation of the tournament, damaging to organized bass fishing, to Northwest Bass, or any of its sponsors, or to permitting agencies or their officers (such as rangers, fishery biologists, etc.), during any official practice round or tournament, may result in temporary or permanent suspension from all future Northwest Bass tournaments. IT IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF EACH ENTRANT, to know these rules. A rules violator compromises the entire field.

Boats and Motors: There is no horsepower limit, however; no engine may exceed the BIA horsepower rating for the boat on which it is used. All boats must meet US Coast Guard and State regulations. All boats must have an emergency kill switch and an aerated livewell large enough to sustain a tournament limit in releasable condition. Extra gas tanks must be secured and must be US Coast Guard approved.

Tackle and Equipment: All fish must be caught in a legal and sporting manner by casting, flipping or pitching. Intentional snagging of fish will not be allowed. Using the electric motor to “stroll” is permitted. Trolling is not permitted.  Only artificial lures may be used. No live bait or prepared bait is permitted with the exception of pork rinds. Liquid fish attractants are allowed. Only (1) rod may be used at one time. Other rods may be in the boat and ready for use, however, every cast and retrieve must be completed before another cast is made. Nets are allowed and Northwest Bass encourages the use of catch & release style nets.  During competition a competitor may not use a CB radio, a VHF marine based radio, cellular phone or any other type of communication device to aid in the catching or locating fish. These devices may be used for emergency purposes only.   Underwater cameras are not restricted at this time.

Conservation: Adequate livewells are mandatory on each boat and must provide aeration to maintain fish in good condition as every effort will be made to release as many fish live a possible following weigh-in. This is a primary concern of Northwest Bass and we will allow early weigh-in to prevent the loss of fish.

Equipment Failure or Emergency: There will be only two permitted methods of returning to the official weigh-in site: (1) by both partners remaining in their boat and being towed by water, or (2) by one or both partners entering the boat of another Northwest Bass tournament contestant and returning to weigh-in site. If one partner remains with the troubled craft he cannot continue to fish. Under these two conditions the contestant's catch may be counted without penalty (except for late or dead fish penalties). Teams who elect to return to official check-in by any other means than cited above will forfeit that day's catch to that point in time of the tournament day.

In case of a mechanical breakdown that requires a team to swap tournament boats, that team will be eligible to resume competition only under the supervision of a Northwest Bass official. Both team members must be present for a boat inspection before a restart will be granted. It is the sole responsibility of contestants to locate a tournament official to request a restart.

Insurance: Adequate liability insurance is required of all contestants utilizing their boats in a Northwest Bass tournament. All contestants must sign a waiver absolving the tournament sponsors, co-sponsors and their employees from any responsibility for any damage or personal injury sustained as a result of their participation in the tournament or related activities. Contestants are required to have proof of insurance at each tournament.

Polygraph: All contestants, winners and non-winners are subject to a polygraph. Failure to submit to or pass a polygraph test will result in immediate disqualification. Challenge Circuit Champions will be tested. Other random tests may be conducted at the qualifiers without notice.

Rules are subject to change without notice at anytime prior to the start of a tournament.

Revised: 3/12/08