THE SMITH POINT SEA RESCUE

25th ANNUAL REEDVILLE FISHING DERBY

JUNE 13^TH AND 14^TH, 2008

 

Tournament Rules

 

 

 

1.       The deadline for entry fees shall be June12, 2008 at 8 P.M. or when the 300^th entry is received.

2.       Weather considerations will be Captain’s Choice; fishermen will fish at their own discretion and accept full responsibility for their respective crew and boat.

3.       Tournament Committee will furnish each boat with a large numbered card and identifying pennant. The pennant must be attached to the boat in such a manner as to be visible to other boats, and left in place during fishing hours. The number card must be displayed to Tournament Officials when fish are brought in to be weighed.

4.       Official fishing time will begin at 6:30 A.M. each fishing day. No lines in the water until 6:30 A.M. Check-out boats will be stationed at the Great Wicomico River, at the Smith Point Jetty from 6 A.M. to 9 A.M. and at Norview Marina in Deltaville from 6 A.M. to 9 A.M.

5.       There will be no official ending time for fishing each day, but fish must be delivered by contestant’s boat to the Official Weighmaster, or his representative by the hour of 4 P.M. Friday and 3 P.M. Saturday. No fish may be held until the next day for weighing.

6.       Only Bluefish, Striped Bass, and Croaker may be entered in the competition.

7.       All fish weighed in by the Weighmaster become property of the tournament.

8.       Fish must be caught on hook and line.

9.       In the event of identical weights, the first fish checked in will be declared the winner. However, in the remote event that two or more fish of identical weights are checked in at the same time, a tie will be declared, and the prize they tie for and the subsequent ones totaling the number of fish involved in the tie will be added together and divided equally among them.

10.   Fish shall not be mutilated in any way other than hook and gaff marks. It is the contestant’s responsibility to ice and maintain his catch in good condition. Failure to do so can result in disqualification.

11.   A boat may not be replaced after 8 P.M. June 12^th unless approved by the Tournament Committee.

12.   Two or more boats congregating close enough to pass fish may be disqualified from the competition for that day.

13.   For the purpose of safety, ALL BOATS, must adhere to all U.S. Coast Guard regulations for their size. If possible, all boats should be equipped with a VHF radio. The Tournament Committee will monitor VHF channel 66.

14.   The Rules Committee reserves the right to inspect any and all boats entered into the competition. Discovery of competitive fish held over from a prior day will result in immediate disqualification.

15.   A Marine Biologist will be on-hand for the purpose of advising the Rules Committee.

16.   The Official Weighmaster will be at Buzzard’s Point Marina. He will only accept fish for weigh-in which are brought by eligible boats to that dock, or are accompanied by one of his representatives when brought by land from the dock at the Smith Point Marina or Norview Marina.

17.   Only two Bluefish per day, per boat will be accepted by the weighmaster for weighing.

a.       Only two Striped Bass per day, per boat will be accepted by the weighmaster for weighing.

b.       Only one Croaker per day, per boat will be accepted by the weighmaster for weighing.

18.   All protests concerning the determination of the Tournament winners shall be made to the Rules Committee and shall be accompanied by $100.00 cash deposit. All protests shall be made no later than 30 minutes after the last fish has been weighed each day. If the protest is upheld by the Rules Committee, the $100.00 deposit will be refunded. If the protest is denied, the $100.00 deposit becomes the property of the Tournament.

19.   Each fish entered in the tournament will be eligible for only one primary or one daily prize, but not both.

20.   All entry fees are a charitable donation and are not refundable.

21.   All boats participating in the tournament are limited to 10 persons on-board while fishing.

22.   Contest fishing is limited to the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries south of longitude 38° 17’ and north of longitude 37° 17’. Registered boats observed outside this area during the tournament, may be disqualified.

23.   Rules, infractions, and disqualifications: The violation of any of the above tournament rules shall constitute grounds for automatic disqualification. The Rules Committee shall be the sole judge of any rule violation and their decision shall be final.

24.   The boat captain is responsible for attaching a completed fish tag (included in the captain’s bag) through the lip of each fish. It must include captain’s name, boat number, and if applicable, notation of “female” or “youth” and youth’s name and age. Youth age is up to 16 years of age.