When you arrive at the launch ramp very
early in the morning, please be reminded that there are property owners and their families nearby that are still sleeping.
Please keep the conversations and the noise as low as possible. I realize that we are all excited
about getting out on the water, but not everyone shares our passion.
Before you fish your first tournament of
the year, every angler must first fill out completely and legibly sign a Northeast Membership form and a waiver and release
of liability form otherwise you will not be allowed to compete in any tournament.
All Northeast
members must conduct themselves in a professional manner both on and off the water. Competitors are expected to follow a high
standard of sportsmanship, conservation, courtesy and safety. We want our code of conduct to reflect
favorably on Northeast as a club, as well as its members and its sponsors. Anglers who violate the code
may be subject to forfeiture of tournament winnings, suspended from fishing one or more scheduled events, or permanently banned
from fishing Northeast Bassmasters tournaments in the future.
Registration begins 60 minutes before the official blast-off.
Your blast-off position is determined at the time you pay the entrance fee of $110.00 per boat/team. The
angler that arrives earliest and pays first gets the earliest blast-off spot. If you want to guarantee
a blast-off spot in the top 5 or so, you can send me a check for the tournament fee along with your filled out application
by Tuesday for the Thursday event or Thursday for the Saturday event.
All boats must have their live wells checked
by a member of Northeast before launching. In addition, tournament anglers must allow the Tournament Director
or his designee access to his/her boat at any time during a tournament both on and off the water.
Failure to do so could result in a penalty or disqualification.
All anglers must follow the rules, statutes
and regulations prevailing within the states fished, and it is the responsibility of each angler to research those fishing
and boating regulations.
Launched boats must be moved away from the launch ramps and may be tied up in empty slips.
Off limits
on the lakes we fish may change during the season and will be added to this form during the season. Currently
Barns Brothers inner docks are off limits during business hours.
Speed limits… Lake
Hopatcong 30 MPH on weekends and holidays and on Greenwood Lake and Candlewood
Lake 45 MPH at all times. Speed limits
at night or low light or visibility conditions such as fog will be 5 MPH/no wake for all
lakes Northeast fishes. Speed limits must be observed regardless of the placement of buoys on the water i.e. if “the
no wake buoys” have been removed from a lake, Northeast Bassmasters will follow the speed limits as
indicated on official lake navigation maps. Violations of speed limits will result in an automatic
tournament disqualification. Ignorance of the law is no exception or excuse.
Northeast
Bassmasters reserves the right to impose speed limits on any or all tournaments regardless of the speed limits of the lake.
Safety is our main concern for all.
Vests must be worn and secured (snapped, strapped or zippered) whenever
the big engine is in use.
Five fish limit.
Fish must be 12 inches long.
All fishing
must be done from the boat. You may not leave the boat in order to land or catch a fish. Anglers
are allowed to leave the boat in the event of imminent danger in order to seek safe harbor or in the event of a bathroom emergency.
The A-Rig
is off limits. B.A.S.S. defines a lure as a single manmade device designed to attract and/or catch one
fish at a time. The A-Rig with its multiple baits can catch multiple fish at on
time and does not fit the definition of a lure as defined by B.A.S.S. Since we are now affiliated with B.A.S.S. and
use their rules as backup we will have to comply with their restriction of the A-Rig
in all our events.
Culling must be done on the water after the 6th fish has been boated. When
you pull your boat out prior to the weigh-in there should only be 5 fish in the live well. Culling
on shore will result in the team being disqualified.
Culling of a dead fish will result in disqualification
of the team.
You lose .2 pounds per dead fish that is weighed-in, however, a 2.2 pound dead large mouth still adds 2.0 pounds to
your total weight. A dead fish my not be weighed in for the lunker/big fish of the day/big
fish for the year/tie breaker. The weight of a dead fish may only be used to add its weight less the penalty
of .2 pounds to the creel limit of the day and may not be used for any other purpose whatsoever. All dead
fish will be given to whomever wants them. If no one wants to take the fish, it is your responsibility
to dispose of it in a sportsman like manner.
Be considerate of the property owner’s docks and boats.
Tournaments
will end at 3:30 p.m. sharp. There is a one pound penalty for every minute you are late,
so be on time. Being 15 minutes late will result in an automatic disqualification.
The weigh-in will start at 3:15 p.m. giving the weigh master time to set up.
Weigh-in. Once
the weigh-in begins and your fish have been transferred from your bag to the weigh master’s tub, the fish become the
property of the weigh master and you are not to touch the fish until they are returned to your bag by the weigh master.
In the event of a tie for any position, the team with the most live fish in their creel wins. Should
both teams have the same weight and 5 live fish in the creel, the money won will be split and their position and points will
be shared (2nd $300 and 3rd $200 total $500 each receive $250 plus the second place points and second
place position, third place will be eliminated from the standings). If 3rd place and 4th
place tie, the third place payout will be split and the third place points and position will be shared by the winners and
4th place will be eliminated from the standings. If nonpaying positions tie, the higher points
and higher position will be shared by both teams.
If you must leave before the end of the event, please let someone know that you
are going or leave a note on the windshield of my truck.
Rule of thumb . . . do not fish within a 75
foot radius of another boat or 150 feet of a boat at anchor.
No alcohol or drugs, other than prescription
meds, may be used on the water.
Tournament of Champions (The Classic) . . . to qualify for the 2018 Tournament of Champions,
a team must fish a minimum of 6 tournaments out of the 11 events either on Thursday Division 2 or Saturday Division 1.
Points will be awarded for the position the team finishes in for each event fished. A team’s
total points will be based on the team’s best 6 finishes out the 11 scheduled events for either Division 1 or Division
2. Remember the points accumulated on Thursday cannot be combined with points from Saturday.
Division 1 and Division 2 are two separate trails. The top 9 teams from Saturday will then
compete against the top 9 teams from Thursday in the Tournament of Champions.
Keep
live well pumps running and ice the water in them to reduce fish stress and mortality rates when the surface temperature exceeds
85 degrees.
The official Verizon time will be given just prior to blast-off.
It is every team’s responsibility
to report infractions or violations of any tournament rules to the tournament director. All protests must
be submitted in writing within 15 minutes after the official close of the weigh-in. Should an angler or
team have three substantiated and verified written complaints submitted against them to the officials of Northeast Bassmasters
within one season, the team in question will have their membership revoked and will no longer be welcome to fish with Northeast
Bassmasters.
Northeast Bassmasters reserves the right to refuse or revoke membership from any
angler who has been disqualified, suspended, or barred from fishing any other tournament, fishing club
or organization.
It is to be understood by all Northeast members that by signing the
official Northeast membership and release forms prior to your first event, you and your partner and/or substitute agree to
submit to a truth verification test, should the need arise, and agree to abide by its results. Said test
may be administered at any time randomly during an official Northeast tournament. Should an angler refuse
to take a truth verification test when asked, this action shall then be considered an admission of guilt on the part of the
angler in question. All prize money will be withheld and the angler’s membership to Northeast will
be revoked until the test is administered and the angler is either exonerated or proven guilty of the violation or protest
in question.
Northeast is a club designed to promote friendly competition between its members. We are
not looking to disqualify anyone. However, the rules of sportsmanship, safety and fair competition will
be enforced. The president of Northeast Bassmasters has the final word on all decisions pertaining to the
organization and the interpretation of its rules.
Since Northeast
Bassmasters is a part of B.A.S.S. certain additions and amendments to some of our rules and regulations had to be made to
conform to the B.A.S.S. standards.
- Only one rod may be used at a time. Maximum rod length can be no more than 10
feet in length as per B.A.S.S. rules 2017.
