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MinnBass
Fishing Club Rules
Updated:
2/14/22
Updates in bold
1. General Information:
MinnBass
Fishing Club is a team format. There will be no changing of partners between
teams and substitutions will be allowed once a season per team member. Any substitute
will be required to pay the $25 Membership Fee prior to participation in any
MinnBass tournament.
You may fish alone, but are encouraged to have a partner. There will be no
entry fee discounts for single anglers. If fishing as an individual, there
will only be a single membership fee.
Membership
and Entry fees will not be refunded after May 1 of the tournament year.
We encourage co-ed and parent/child teams and are a female and youth friendly
trail. All members will treat other members as peers and with respect.
Lakes will
be selected by the membership on a ranked voting system. There will be 2
rounds of lake selection, narrowing the field of lakes to the final five.
All anglers will wear a USCG approved flotation vest, jacket or belt while outboard
motor is running. NO EXCEPTIONS!
New Coast
Guard law regarding kill-switches: Operators of recreational vessels less
than 26 feet in length will be required to use an engine cut-off switch
(ECOS) and associated ECOS link (ECOSL) as of April 1, 2021, as the U.S.
Coast Guard implements a law passed by Congress.
All boats used in any MinnBass tournament must provide proof of liability
insurance for at least $100,000 per incident. NO EXCEPTIONS!
Boats used in any MinnBass event will not have an outboard motor that exceeds
the USCG rating placard on the boat.
All state
and federal laws will be followed at all times. Violation of any law, whether
cited by law enforcement or not, will be grounds for disqualification.
Persons under the age of 16 must fish with a parent or guardian.
Trophy’s will be presented to the winning team for each of the following:
-Each regular tournament winning team (1 trophy for
each person)
-Championship winners (1 trophy for each person)
2. Tournament Day:
Tournament hours are 6:30 AM - 2:30 PM.
You must arrive at the ramp for inspection no later than 6:00 AM.
The Big Fish pot will be paid out to the top 2 places. In the event of a tie
for first big fish, the total pot will be split between the two teams. It
there is a tie for second big fish, the money for second big fish will be
split between the tied teams.
Big bass must be identified by each team with a clip or cull
tag. There will be no weighing of multiple fish to determine big bass.
Failure to identify a big bass will result in no fish being weighed for Big
Fish or tie-breaker.
Take off numbers will be drawn the week before the tournament and published
on the MinnBass.com website.
Take-off duties will be performed by the team that has the last draw number
for that tournament.
Boat inspections (Live wells) may be done the morning of the tournament prior
to take-off.
All tournament boats may be marked with a colored ribbon, to be tied on the
trolling motor. This ribbon is not to be removed for the duration of the
tournament, if used. Not all tournaments will utilize ribbons.
Being late to weigh-in will be the loss of one pound of fish for every minute
late. After 15 minutes, the team will not be allowed to weigh in and will be
disqualified for the day.
Off limits begins 6:00 PM the Friday night before the tournament. Anyone
found fishing tournament waters the day of the tournament, prior to the
start, will be disqualified.
6 bass limit (largemouth or smallmouth) 12" minimum. Winner will be
determined by highest weight of 6 bass.
Bringing in a fish under the 12-inch minimum will cost you your biggest fish,
and the short fish.
Must not have more than one (1) tournament limit of fish in possession at
close of tournament. Any team that has more than 6 fish at the end of the
tournament will be disqualified.
Dead fish penalty will be .25 lb. per dead fish weighed in. Dead fish will
not be weighed for big bass.
All fish will be released live after weigh-in. All boats used in club
tournament must have a good working live well capable of supporting a
tournament limit of fish.
Any dead fish must be taken off-site by the anglers who brought it to the
scales. Do not place dead fish in the garbage, lake or anywhere else.
We must be good ambassadors for our sport. You may give the fish to
non-tournament anglers that may be fishing nearby if they so desire.
Fishing marked water: A team is allowed only one marker in the water at a
time. The marker allows that team casting distance around their marker
without interference (approx. 100 feet). Markers must not block water way,
channel or other navigable water.
Do not crowd other anglers, particularly if they are not
fishing the tournament. All boats will maintain a 100-foot buffer from
each other.
If a boat (tournament or otherwise) is working up a line, do
not “hopscotch” them or drop down and fish in front of them. Respect your
fellow anglers.
Ties will be broken by:
1.) Weight of largest bass. 2.) Number of bass (6
max). 3.) Coin flip.
Any team not finishing the tournament day and/or not checking in at weigh-in
will not receive any points for the tournament.
Final point standings will be based on your best 4 out of 5 tournaments.
Any protest made must be made within 10 minutes of weigh-in.
No live bait.
No alcoholic beverages allowed in boat during tournament hours.
Communication between teams during tournament hours via cell
phone, texting, radio, or any other method is prohibited, except in the event
of an emergency. Violation of this will result in disqualification of both
teams.
Tournament director decisions are final.
3. Championship
The top 50% of all teams will be eligible for the Championship
(e.g.: top 5 based on 10 total teams).
The lakes that were fished during the regular season will not
be included in the draw for the Championship, along with any lakes that may
already have tournaments scheduled.
The Championship waters will be available for pre-fishing following the last
point’s tournament until a designated time prior to the Tournament. Beginning
that day at sundown, the lake will be off limits for the days prior to the tournament.
There will be a Calcutta side bet that is collected the
morning of the Championship in cash ($50 per boat). This will be paid out to
the top 2 places.
There will be no substitutions for the Championship. The original team
members are the only ones allowed to fish this tournament. If a team member
cannot fish, the remaining team member may still fish solo.
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