REGISTRATION | RULES | SPONSORS

By participating in the Dogfish 25 Tournament you and your team agree to the rules stated below:

TOURNAMENT COMMUNICATIONS:
1. Announcements regarding weather & other important tournament information will be communicated to team captains on the Dogfish 25 Tournament page on Angler Armory.com
2.Tournament Officials will operate on Channel 68 for any communications that need to be directed from or to teams while they are participating in each event.

PARTICIPATION:
1. All teams must fill out an application form & pay entry fee in order to participate in the Dogfish 25 Tournament
2. The Captain’s Meeting is not mandatory. If teams chose not to attend they must read these rules in their entirety and they are responsible for abiding by the rules throughout the tournament. Captain’s meeting will take place Thursday, April 4th at Doc Ford’s located at 8790 Bay Pines Blvd. St. Pete, FL
3. Teams must be entered into the Closest to 25lbs Kingfish Division in order to enter into any other category/calcutta division.
4. Teams must be entered into the Spanish Mackerel Division in order to participate in the Big Mack Calcutta
5. A Florida saltwater fishing license is required for each team member except from a boat which has a valid recreational vessel saltwater fishing license or any FL Resident 65 years or older, or anyone excluded by FL law. License not required when fishing with a charter captain. Go to www.myfwc.com to obtain current Florida fishing regulations.

POINT SYSTEM:
1. Only one kingfish can be weighed in for the main Closest to 25lbs kingfish division. A separate fish may be weighed in for the Big Fish kingfish calcutta.
2. In order for a kingfish to count in either the Lady or Youth Angler Division, the Lady/Youth angler must hook, reel and bring  fish to point of gaff by themselves.
3. A fish caught by a youth angler or a lady angler can be entered into the main event and for the youth or lady’s divisions.
4. Only one Spanish mackerel can be weighed in for the Spanish Mackerel division and spanish mackerel Calcutta.
5. 1 point per 1lb for both the kingfish and spanish mackerel divisions and calcuttas
6. Teams must be registered and paid in each division and/or calcutta in order to weigh in a fish for that division/calcutta.

CHECKOUTS:
1.There is no check out for this tournament.
2.Lines in the water at 7am

BOATS:
1.Tournament competition open to motorized boats and kayaks. Boats and kayaks are fishing for same prize – there is not a separate kayak division.
2.All boats must carry a Coast Guard approved flotation device for each person on their vessel plus all other safety devices required by the Coast Guard. Go to http://myfwc.com for current Coast Guard regulations.

BOUNDARIES:
North: 28’11.000
South: 27’22.000
West: 83’15.700
This includes all of Tampa Bay.

WEATHER:
1. Alternate fishing date will be announced if weather or another Act of God should affect fishing conditions. Teams will be advised after Friday’s 4pm weather advisory if the tournament will be postponed. Generally the make up date will be that Sunday so please plan accordingly
2. It is the discretion of the Team Captain to determine if their craft is seaworthy for the existing conditions.
3. The captain has the choice whether or not to compete in the Dogfish Family Tournament.

TOURNAMENT:
1.Fishing begins at 7am.
2.Bait fishing is allowed prior to 7am inside the call regs.
3. Hand held rods & reels only
4.The tournament encourages release of all fish not intended to be weighed in at tournament.
5. Fish weighed in at the tournament becomes the property of Angler Armory Inc. Proceeds from the sale of the fish will be donated to charity. (CLICK HERE to see the list of charities Angler Armory donates to)

CONDUCT:
1. The Honor System applies throughout the tournament
2. No passing of anything between boats during tournament hours. This will result in automatic disqualification from the Dogfish Family Tournament
3. One angler must hook, fight & bring fish up to point of gaff.
4. There will be no feeding and/or stuffing of any kingfish or spanish mackerel with any bait fish, fish and/or any foreign objects (ie ice, weights, etc). This will result in immediate disqualification.
6. Hooks,wire,rigs (terminal tackle)and/or any other foreign objects must be removed from kingfish and/or spanish mackerel in order to be eligible for competition.
7. All fish entered into the tournaments will be inspected for cheating prior to fish being brought to the scale.
8. Fish will be sliced open after the fish has been weighed to verify there are no foreign objects or stuffing of fish.
9.Team members may be subjected to a polygraph test after the tournament. Failure to submit to a polygraph test will result in disqualification of the entire team for the remainder of the tournament series. Refunds of tournament entry fees will not be given for failure of a polygraph test. All decisions of the polygraph examiner will be final.
10. If a team is found guilty of cheating by the Tournament Director, they will automatically be disqualified from the tournament without refund of their entry fee, membership dues or calcutta fees.
11. All decisions made by the tournament director are final.
12. All participants in Dogfish Family Tournament must maintain a high level of professionalism at all times.
13. Anglers are expected to be role models, and set a positive example to the recreational angling public.
14. Alcohol is not allowed on stage during the weigh in.

 

WEIGH IN:
1. Fish will be weighed in at Doc Ford’s on April 6th
2.Fish may be brought to the scales by boat or by car.
3. Tournament officials have the right to inspect any or all boats entered into the tournament before & after check in.
4. All fish brought by boat must drop off at the “Fish Drop Off” dock. Fish will be unloaded and brought to Check In Tent by team member. Boat must immediately depart the dock after dropping off fish.
All fish brought by car will be dropped off at “Vehicle Drop Off” location and brought to Check In Tent by team member. Vehicle must then be parked in available parking spot (see above map)
5. Check in begins at 3:00pm. Teams must be in line no later then 4:30pm or they will be disqualified
6. Teams must check in with the Tournament Official before proceeding to the weigh in line.
7. Teams will weigh in the order that they check in at the tournament.
8.  Fish must be weighed in by a registered team member that fished on the team that day.
9. No rotten or mutilated fish will be allowed to be weighed in.
10. Kingfish must have a minimum size of 24” fork length
11. In the event of a tie, the team that checked in first with the Tournament Check In official wins.
12. Results are unofficial until determined by tournament director.

DISPUTES:
1. Protests must be submitted in writing along with a $500 cash deposit to a tournament official within 10 minutes of the last fish weighed in.
2. The cash deposit will be returned to the contestant submitting the protest if the protest is upheld.
3. If there is a dispute of any kind, the decision of the Tournament Director is final.

TOURNAMENT DISCRETION:
1. The tournament director reserves the right to implement his discretion at any time during the tournament as it may apply to the rules or any other circumstance that should arise during the course of the tournament series.

AWARDS:
Kingfish Division
Main Event – Closest to 25lbs wins (can go over or under 25lbs). In the event there is a tie the team that checked in with tournament official first will win 1st Place. $10,000 First Place prize based off 75 registered teams. Tournament will pay out 1 spot per 10 teams entered in the main division.

Ladies Division – The registered lady angler on the team must angle the kingfish to the point of gaff by themselves without help from any other team member. Team may also chose to use this fish for the ladies division and the main event. 1st through 3rd Place Ladies will receive a product prize.

Youth Divisions – The registered youth angler on the team must angle the kingfish to the point of gaff by themselves without help from any other team member. Team may also chose to use this fish for the ladies division and the main event.  1st through 3rd Place in both age youth divisions will receive a product prize.

Closest to 25lb Calcutta – The same fish weighed in for the main event will also be used for this calcutta. A separate kingfish cannot be weighed. 50/30/20 split

Closest to 25lb High Roller Calcutta – The same fish weighed in for the main event will also be used for this calcutta. A separate kingfish cannot be weighed. 50/30/20 split

Big Fish Calcutta – A separate fish can be weighed in for the Big Fish Calcutta. 50/30/20 split

Big Fish High Roller Calcutta – A separate fish can be weighed in for the Big Fish Calcutta. 50/30/20 split

Reeling Freedom Calcutta – in order to qualify for this calcutta, there must be a current or former military service person on board the boat and registered with team for the tournament. The closest to 25lbs wins. The fish weighed in the main event will also be used for this calcutta. A separate kingfish cannot be weighed. 1st through 3rd Place will receive a product prize. 1 spot per 10 boats will be paid out

Family Fish Calcutta – in order to qualify for this calcutta, there must be a youth angler 17 years old and younger on board the boat and registered with team for the tournament. The closest to 25lbs wins. The fish weighed in the main event will also be used for this calcutta. A separate kingfish cannot be weighed.  1 spot per 10 boats will be paid out.  1st through 3rd Place will receive a product prize.

$10,000 First Place payout is based off 75 boats registering for event and is for the Main Kingfish event.
Teams must have a paid entry into the main kingfish division in order to qualify for the kingfish calcuttas

Spanish Mackerel Division
Main Event – biggest spanish mackerel wins. In the event of a tie, the team that checked in with tournament official at weigh in first will win 1st Place. 50/30/20 split. 1st through 3rd Place will receive a product prize. Teams must be entered into the overall Closest to 25lb kingfish division in order to enter into the Spanish Mackerel Division.

Big Mack Calcutta – same spanish mackerel that is weighed in for main event will be used for this calcutta. Separate fish cannot be weighed in. 50/30/20 split. Teams must be entered into both the overall Closest to 25lb kingfish division in order to enter into the Big Mack Calcutta.

Checks for the winning teams will be made out to the person listed as Captain on the registration form unless otherwise noted at the Captain’s Party.
W9’s for all winnings over $599 will also be made out to the person listed on the check that was written for the team’s winnings.
Lady Angler and Youth Angler awards for Kingfish Division only
At least one person from each winning team must be present to receive check and/or products. If no one from team is at event for Awards Ceremony, they forfeit their winnings. We will not hold onto prizes for winners not present. If a team does not claim their prize at the awards ceremony their prizes will be forfeited.
If a team loses their check, they will be charged a fee of $35 in order for a new check to be written.

Product Prizes
1st through 25th Place Overall will receive product prizes on top of any cash payouts
1st through 3rd Spanish Mackerel will receive product prizes on top of any cash payouts
1st through 3rd Ladies, Youth, Military and Family divisions will receive product prizes