RESULTS

RULES:

TEAMS:
1. The Captain listed on the registration form is responsible for the safety & conduct of his 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. 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 text message and email. 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 a registration form to fish the Kingfish Island Tournament
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. If entered into the Closest to 20.19lb Calcutta, teams may weigh in their overall fish for this Calcutta or chose to weigh in a separate fish.
2. 1 point per 1 lb. The heaviest kingfish weighed in during the tournament wins the 1st Place award for the main tournament & for Big Fish Calcutta tournament (if team is registered & paid into the Big Fish Calcutta)
CHECKOUTS:
1. There is no check out for this tournament. Lines in the water at 7am
BOATS:
1. Tournament competition open to motorized boats &  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 will be 28’17.13 line near Cote River.  South boundary will be  26’53.36 line near Stumps Pass, West boundary is 20 miles (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.
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 Kingfish Island Tournament.
TOURNAMENT:
1. Tournament Fishing begins at 6am.
2.Bait fishing is allowed prior to 6am 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
3. If your boat touches land after 6am for any reason your team will be disqualified from the 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) & 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. 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 from the tournament. Refunds of tournament entry fees will not be given for failure of a polygraph test. All decisions of the polygraph examiner will be final.
9. If a team is found guilty of cheating by the Tournament Director, they will automatically be disqualified from the tournament without refund of their membership dues or calcutta fees.
10. All decisions made by the tournament director are final.
WEIGH IN:
1. Fish will be weighed in at the Island at Bunce’s Pass. In the event of bad weather, the weigh in will be moved to Don’s Dock in John’s Pass Village (Madeira Beach)
2. Tournament officials have the right to inspect any boats entered into the tournament.
3. Teams must be checked in by tournament boat no later then 4pm or they will be disqualified.
4. Teams will weigh in the order that they check in at the tournament.
5. Fish must be weighed in by a registered team member that fished on the team that day.
6. No rotten or mutilated fish will be allowed to be weighed in.
7. Kingfish must have a minimum size of 24” fork length
8. In the event of a tie, the team that checked in first with the Tournament Check In official wins.
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. The cash deposit will be returned to the contestant submitting the protest if the protest is upheld. 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
AWARDS:
1. The tournament will pay out 1st thru 3rd guaranteed. Based on the # of boats entered into the tournament, additional places may be paid out. 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 registration form
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.

I have read the above rules and agree to obey rules stated above or face expulsion without refund from the Kingfish Island Tournament