2019 High Noon Rules

By participating in the High Noon Tournament you and your team agree to the rules stated below:

TEAMS:

  1. The Captain listed on the registration form is responsible for the safety and conduct of his/her anglers on tournament days.
  2. 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.

TOURNAMENT COMMUNICATIONS:

  1. Announcements regarding weather & other important tournament information will be communicated to team captains & co-captains via posting on the High Noon Facebook Event Page and 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.

GENERAL RULES:

  1. Entry fees to participate in the 2019 High Noon are $100.00.
  2. Entry fees must be paid in full at the Captain’s Meeting.
  3. Cash or credit card only will be accepted for entry fee. A 3.5% processing fee will be added to all credit card transactions.
  4. Once registration is turned in, payment becomes non-refundable and will not be refunded in
    the event the team does not participate in the High Noon tournament. If the tournament is cancelled due to inclement weather, teams will be refunded their full entry fee.
  5. Optional calcuttas are Big Fish ($100) which is an additional prize for biggest kingfish caught for the tournament. Spanish Mackerel ($50) is an additional prize for biggest spanish mackerel caught for the day. You must be entered and paid into these calcuttas in order to win prize.
  6. 7% sales tax is included in the entry and calcutta fees.

PARTICIPATION:
1. All teams must fill out a registration form to fish High Noon
2. The Captain’s Meeting is mandatory. One person from each team must be present.

POINT SYSTEM:
1. Only one kingfish can be weighed in for the main tournament & Big Fish Calcutta.
2. 1 point per 1 lb. The heaviest kingfish weighed in during the tournament wins the 1st Place award for the main tournament and for the Big Fish Calcutta tournament (if team is registered & paid into the Big Fish Calcutta)
3. Only one Spanish mackerel can be weighed in for the Spanish Mackerel Calcutta. 1 point per 1lb is given with the heaviest Spanish mackerel weighed in during the tournament winning the 1st Place Spanish Mackerel Calcutta award (if team is registered & paid into the Spanish Mackerel 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.
  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:
1. North boundary for each tournament will be 28’17.13 line near Cote River.  South boundary will be  26’53.36 line near Stumps Pass, West boundary is 83’06. 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.
2. If Saturday’s forecast calls for tournament postponement then the next alternate tournament date will be Sunday. If Sunday’s conditions are also unfavorable then an alternate day will be announced.
3.It is the discretion of the Team Captain to determine if their craft is seaworthy for the existing conditions.
4. The captain has the choice whether or not to compete in the High Noon Kingfish 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.

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 High Noon Tournament
  3. After 7am, if your boat touches land for any reason your team will be disqualified from the High Noon Tournament
  4. One angler must hook, fight & bring fish up to point of gaff.
  5. There will be no feeding and/or stuffing of any kingfish 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 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 application fees.
  11. All decisions made by the tournament director are final.
  12. All participants in High Noon 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 the John’s Pass Village Bell Tower (Madeira Beach, FL)
  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 series before & after check in.
  4. Teams will bump the dock and one or more team members will disembark with their fish. Fish must be in a closed fish bag.
  5. Team may check in their fish starting at 1:30pm.  Teams must be in line at the John’s Pass Bell Tower no later then 2pm or they will be disqualified
  6. Teams will weigh in the order that they check in at the tournament. Weigh in will begin at 2pm
  7. Fish must be weighed in by a registered team member that fished on the team that day.
  8. No rotten or mutilated fish will be allowed to be weighed in.
  9. Kingfish must have a minimum size of 24” fork length
  10. In the event of a tie, the team that checked in first with the Tournament Check In official wins.
  11. 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:

  1. Checks for the winning teams will be made out to the person listed on the registration form
  2. 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.
  3. At least one person from each winning team must be present to receive check. If no one from team is at event for Awards Ceremony, they forfeit their winnings.
    4. If a team loses their check, they will be charged a fee of $35 in order for a new check to be written.
  4. The Lady Angler award is given to the highest winning team that has a lady angler on its team. The Youth Angler award is giving to the highest winning team with a youth 15 & under on its team. The lady angler & Youth Angler must have fished the tournament that day.