General Tournament Rules Live well check - Each participating team is responsible for having their live wells checked by a tournament official and, prior to fishing any tournament. Artificial baits only are allowed to be used during Tournaments(with the exception of pork chunks or strips) Largemouth bass only - FIVE (5) FISH LIMIT. Five (5) fish of any size can be brought to the scale. Anyone bringing more than five (5) fish to the scale WILL BE AUTOMATICALLY DISQUALIFIED. Dead fish will be penalized - Three tenths(.3) of a pound will be deducted from total weight for each dead fish. For the big bass pot only, the total weight of your big fish will be used to determine the overall big bass winner. Weigh-in time(s) and official time will be announced prior to the start of the tournament. You will be considered late if your boat chip is not placed on the chip board prior to your "official" weigh-in time. A penalty of one(1) pound per minute will be deducted(starting with your big bass) for every minute you are late past "official" weigh-in time. If your boat breaks down, you or your partner can transport your fish to weigh-in via another boat. One member of the team must stay with the boat at all times. NO TRAILERING YOUR BOAT PRIOR TO WEIGHING IN YOUR FISH. Violation of this rule will result in disqualification of your catch. It is up to the Tournament Director's discretion to waive this rule - notification will be provided prior to take off for any tournament where this rule is being waived. The net weight(total weight minus penalty deductions) will be used to determine the tournament payoff places. In the case of a tie - The team with the most fish breaks the tie. If the tied teams have the same number of fish, the total moneys allotted and the points allotted for the tied finishing places will be combined and split evenly between all teams involved in the tie. No gas engine trolling, one(1) pole per angler in use at a time. Fifty(50) yard limit from boat with anchor down and trolling motor up Alternates - Alternates must pay a full season membership fee prior to fishing any tournaments. One(1) alternate partner per team is allowed to fish as often as necessary, but an alternate cannot be used in the classic unless he has fished at least once as an alternate for that team during the series prior to the classic. The team that fishes the classic must only include one or two of the fishermen from this group. No alternates may fish if both other team members are fishing. No other fishermen from other teams may be combined to form a new team for the classic. If a team is unable to obtain an alternate for a series qualifying tournament, either team member or an alternate may fish alone. No boats are allowed to have more than a limit of fish on board their boat upon arrival at the weigh-in site. All culling of fish must be done out on the lake. NO CULLING AT THE RAMP. Violation of this rule will result in disqualification of your catch. Coast Guard approved life preservers must be worn when your boat is on plane. No alcohol consumption will be permitted during tournament hours. If you prepay for a tournament and do not show up, we will assign your team eleven(11) points for that tournament. If you prepay for all tournaments, your team will be assigned eleven(11) points for any tournament you do not fish. There will be no refunds. All boats not weighing in will tie for last place and receive points for the next position after the lowest weight is weighed in. Any tournament with less than twenty(20) boats participating, points double. Violation of any of these rules may result in disqualification. Any protest must be made with the tournament director no more than thirty(30) minutes after the final team has weighed in. Classic Qualification and Pay-Off Classic qualification - The top thirty(30) teams including any teams tied for 30th qualify to fish the classic. Any teams fishing six out of eight tournaments, also will be eligible to fish the classic. Tournaments with 35 boats or less pay-back 3 places, trophies will be given to top 5. Tournaments with more than 35 boats pay-back 5 places and trophies for top 5. A big bass pot equal to $10 per boat is paid at all tournaments. $200.00 of each days pot is used to cover the cost of trophies. $10.00 per boat goes to the classic pay-off fund. Classic pay-off is based on the number of boats that fish the classic. If 35 boats or less fish the classic, pay-back 5 places, trophies for top 10, if more than 35 boats fish the classic, pay-back 10 places, trophies for top 10. Payoff: < 36 Boats-38%-1st place, 27.5%-2nd place, 17%-3rd place, 11.5%-4th place, 6%-5th place 36 + Boats-35%-1st place, 25%-2nd place, 15%-3rd place, 10%-4th place, 5%-5th place, 3%-6th place, 2.5%-7th place, 2%-8th place, 1.5%-9th place, 1%-10th place. $2.50 per boat goes to the point championship fund. The point funds are accumulated over the 8 qualifying tournaments. Points championship pay-off: 70%-1st place, 30%-2nd place. Trophies will be awarded to the top three point leaders. $5.00 per boat goes to the classic and points championship trophy fund. Up to $50.00, $25.00 for less than 45 boats, will go to the Tournament Director to run the tournament. Tournament Director(s) and his partner fish for free. Each tournament payoff is based on the total pot less the items listed in rules 2 through 7. Payoff: < 36 Boats-50%-1st Place, 30%-2nd Place, 20%-3rd Place Boats-45%-1st Place, 25%-2nd Place, 15%-3rd Place, 10%-4th Place, 5%-5th Place All rules will be enforced as to the interpretation of the Tournament Director. All decisions will be final upon announcement. Points are awarded based on the table below and the place you finish each tournament. The team that wins the Big Bass pot will also be awarded two points. http://tampaprobass.com/clearpixel.gif Finish Place Points Awarded 1st 35 2nd 32 3rd 30 4th 28 5th 26 6th 25 7th 24 8th 23 9th 22 10th 21 11th 20 12th 19 13th 18 14th 17 15th 16 16th 15 17th 14 18th 13 19th 12 20th and over 11 Big Bass 2 points