PARTICIPANTS & ELIGIBILITY: Participation in this tournament is open only to individuals who are 18 years of age and older unless fishing with parent or guardian. Proof of age is to the satisfaction of tournament officials is responsibility of prospective competitor. The Tournament Committee reserves the right to discontinue acceptance of applications and has the right to refuse any application for any event. There will be a $20.00 late fee in addition to tournament entry fee on all applications received after Wednesday prior to the tournament date. There will be no entries accepted the day of the tournament. There will be a $30.00 NSF charge on all returned checks. Refund of entrance fee will be made only if PROPER notification is made to the Tournament Director prior to the deadline. A $10.00 service charge will be retained on all refunds of entry fees and deposits regardless of the date of cancellation. A sponsor may pay the entry fee.

PRE-TOURNAMENT PRACTICE: EACH INDIVIDUAL TOURNAMENT LAKE IS OFF LIMITS TO ALL CONTESTANTS FROM 12:01 AM THE DAY OF THE TOURNAMENT UNTIL THE START OF THE TOURNAMENT.

REGISTRATION: Each competitor must register in person at tournament headquarters by 5:30 AM on the tournament day. Each tournament boat will be given a numbered paddle to be presented at ease-off and again upon weigh-in. A $20.00 charge will be assessed to any boat not returning a paddle, and the team will not be allowed to fish another WABTA event until the paddle is returned, or the non-return fee is paid.

SAFETY: Safe boating conduct must be observed at all times by tournament competitors. Each competitor is required to wear a Coast Guard approved chest type life preserver any time the combustion engine is operating. The preserver must be strapped, snapped, or zippered securely and maintained in that condition until the competitor reaches his fishing location and the combustion engine is shut off. Violation of this rule shall be reason for immediate disqualification.

SPORTSMANSHIP: Competitors are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety, and conservation. Any infraction of these fundamental sporting principles may be deemed cause for disqualification. Drunkenness by any competitor during the tournament will not be tolerated and shall be cause for automatic disqualification. Maximum courtesy must be practiced at all times, especially with regard to boating and angling in the vicinity of non competitors who may be on tournament waters. Any act of a competitor which reflects unfavorable upon the effort to promote fisheries, conservation, clean waters, and courtesy shall be reason for immediate disqualification. No Seeding/Salting: Moving fish to an area with the intent of gaining an unfair advantage is strictly prohibited. NO ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES OR OTHER STIMULANTS OR DEPRESSANTS, SHALL BE ALLOWED IN THE BOATS. USE OF ILLEGAL DRUGS AT TOURNAMENT HEADQUARTERS, ALL EVENT GROUNDS, & FACILITIES WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION.

TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT: Each contestant may use only one rod with one lure at a time. ARTIFICIAL BAIT ONLY may be used. You may have as many rods rigged and ready to use as you desire. TROLLING IS NOT ALLOWED. Fishing from the front deck while under power from the main motor is prohibited.

HORSEPOWER REGULATION: MAXIMUM HORSEPOWER FOR ALL OUTBOARD MOTOR BOATS USED IN TOURNAMENT COMPETITION, WILL NOT EXCEED horsepower limitations set by the U.S. Coast Guard in their ruling of November 1, 1972. All boaters in W.A.B.T.A. are required to have or obtain boaters liability insurance. Please fill out your entry form completely.

BOAT AND MOTOR: An electric motor may be used for slow maneuvering. No "barges" or similar cumbersome craft will be permitted.

BASIC BOAT EQUIPMENT: Every boat must have all required Coast Guard safety equipment. In addition, it MUST have a functional LIVE-WELL SPACE, PROPERLY AERATED, TO ADEQUATELY MAINTAIN A LIVE LIMIT CATCH OF BASS BY THE FISHERMEN USING THE BOAT. The use of binoculars and cameras with telephoto lenses is prohibited during tournament hours.

BOAT IDENTIFICATION: Each boat MUST be given, prior to the tournament start, an inspection check by Tournament Official and assigned an boat number, which must remain with your boat until turned in at the end. All boats must have the pre-tournament inspection tag affixed to thier boat during competition. This number must be displayed upon the request of Tournament Officials, and be turned in to the officials at the check in.

PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: Fishing is confined to the tournament lake. Fishing on the tournament waters is permitted anywhere except within 50 yards of a marina gas pump. Competitors are restricted from impeding another competitors immediate water (25 yards is considered a courteous distance). No anchored boat shall permit selected competitors to fish within 25 yard circle claimed by him, to the exclusion of any other competitor. All angling must be done from the boat. Contestants must leave and return to official check-in by boat and must remain in tournament waters during tournament day. Contestants must not depart boat to land fish, and are only allowed to leave the boat in case of eminent danger or to retrieve a lure which has become entangled in a dock or moored boat. In such emergency, competitors may be removed from their boat by other competitors or a rescue boat so designated by Tournament Officials. PARTNERS MUST REMAIN TOGETHER AT ALL TIMES, in sight of each other and each other's catch. Under the conditions cited above, in order of their catch of the day to be scored in the tournament. If a competitor must violate any of the above conditions other than for an emergency, his catch of that day shall not be counted in the tournament. Trailering of boats during tournament hours is prohibited.

SCORING: Tournament standings shall be determined by the catch during the day of the tournament. Only Largemouth and Smallmouth bass will be weighed. THE LIMIT SHALL BE A TOTAL OF 6 OF THE ABOVE SPECIES IN AGGREGATE PER DAY FOR A TEAM OR 5 OF THE ABOVE SPECIES FOR A SINGLE. All competitors are bound by the prevailing statutes and regulations of the State of Wisconsin. At no time shall a competitor have reduced to possession more than the limits described above. Tournament Officials will conduct checks for violations of this provision, and in the event a competitor has reduced more than the above described limits to possession, shall disqualify the team accordingly. Only bass as described which measure 14 inches or more in length as measured with mouth closed, shall be weighed-in. BASS PRESENTED FOR WEIGH-IN WHICH FAIL TO MEASURE 14 INCHES SHALL DISQUALIFY THE TEAM. THERE WILL BE A 1 POUND PENALTY FOR EACH DEAD BASS brought to the scales. This penalty shall be deducted from the total score of the competitor. Any bass that appears to have been illegally harvested will be weighed and credited only at the discretion of Tournament Judges. In the event of mechanical failure, electrical failure, or acts of God prohibiting or disrupting the weigh in process, the Tournament Committee reserves the right to return all competitors money for the event.

DON'T KILL YOUR CATCH: Each team is expected to keep their bass alive by use of a properly aerated livewell.

LATE PENALTY: LATE IS LATE. IF YOU ARE LATE, YOU ARE DISQUALIFIED.

TIES: In case of a tie, the first tie breaker shall be the number of fish. If a tie still remains, the purses will be combined and divided equally (trophies will be decided by a coin toss). Last place ties will split the last place purse.

PRE-TOURNAMENT MEETING: There will be a pre-tournament kick-off meeting of all contestants at the Tournament Headquarters site at 5:30 a.m. ALL CONTESTANTS ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND MEETING. Each competitor must register before the meeting.

None of the above rules shall prohibit a properly designated Tournament Official from approaching or boarding any competitor's boat at any time during the practice period or the competition day.

ORDER OF START: A lottery system will determine boat position for all entries received before April 1 st. After April 1 st, boat position wiLL be determined by entry postmark.

PROTEST: Each participant will have the right to protest another participant for rules violations. Protests must be submitted in writing before the official close of the scales by tournament officials. A protest fee of $50.00 must accompany the protest, and will be returned if the protest is upheld. Tournament Official's reserve the right to review and act on rules infractions after the close of scales.