GENERAL RULES

The following rules will remain in effect throughout the entire tournament series. Interpretation and enforcement of these rules shall be exclusively left to the Tournament Officials. All decisions of Tournament Officials are final.

1. All anglers must have a valid Texas fishing license and saltwater stamp and must observe Texas Parks and Wildlife rules and regulations. All participating boats must comply with all state and federal registration, applicable fishing permit requirements and all safety rules or regulations.

2. All fish must be caught by rod and reel. Minimum line test is 30 lb test.

3. There will be the following Tournament Divisions: Tarpon Pro Division - Tarpon Amateur Division - Non-Monetary Award Kayak Division

4. Tournament teams will be composed of a maximum of four (4) anglers on board, with the exception that there may be up to four adult and two youth anglers. All teams are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, safety, courtesy and conservation.

5. The tournament reserves the right to refuse any entry with or without cause in its sole discretion. Any applicant refused entry will be entitled to a full refund of paid entry fees.

6. Tournament Officials are not be responsible for mailed entries that are not delivered by the postal service. You may send a self addressed, stamped postcard with your entry which will be returned as verification that your entry was received or you may e-mail tarpontomorrowproam@hotmail.com to confirm receipt of your entry.

7. In the event thunderstorm warnings or dangerous weather conditions exist prior to the start of the tournament, the day’s fishing may be delayed or postponed. Tournament Officials will be at tournament headquarters and can be reached at 713-819-1840 in the event of postponement.

8. If inclement weather conditions occur at any time during the tournament it is the entrant’s responsibility to seek safety until safe conditions prevail. If the Tournament Officials declare a rain-out, it will be rescheduled. A rain-out will be called by Wednesday morning at 8:00 a.m. the week of the tournament and will be posted on the tournament website.  A make-up weekend will be designated if a rain-out occurs.

9. In the event of an injury or accident, the following list offers telephone numbers and VHF channels monitored by local emergency personnel: VHF Channel 16; Local EMS: 911.

10. All participants are responsible for the operation, maintenance and safety of their vessels, themselves and their fellow team members. All participants are expected to use their own best judgment. No action by the Tournament should be construed as an endorsement or representation concerning whether it is safe to leave port or continue fishing at any given time. The Tournament will not give advice or recommendations to teams concerning weather conditions.

12. All participants must sign the entry form, which includes a waiver, release and indemnity agreement concerning liability. If any team fails to have each member of its team sign this form, it may lead to disqualification and a refusal to award prizes to that team and/or the angler.  

SPECIFIC TOURNAMENT RULES 2010

The following rules will remain in effect throughout the entire tournament. Interpretation and enforcement of these rules shall be left exclusively to the Tournament Officials. All decisions of Tournament Officials are final.

1.      All anglers General Tournament Rules apply to the Tarpon Pro and Amateur Divisions unless they specifically conflict with these rules. 

2.      There are two specific Tarpon Divisions: (1) the Pro Division; and (2) the Amateur Division.  There will also be an additional Kayak only (non-monetary prize) Division with a decreased entry fee.

3.      A boat must compete in the Pro Division if any of its team members is a professional fishing guide or a person who has accepted wages, compensation or pay for hire for the purposes of taking other individual(s) fishing at any time during the past five years.  Any boat who has a team member who fits the foregoing criteria must be captained by an individual who holds a USCG Captain’s License.  Which division a boat is permitted to participate in is left to the sole discretion of the Tarpon Tomorrow Texas Tournament Series.

4.   If a participant overpaid due to early registration and change in entry fee, the diffence will be refunded.

5.      Registration:  Registration and check-in will take place between 6:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Friday, August 6, 2010 at Harborwalk.  Also, you may register and check-in in Port O'Connor between 5:00 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. on Saturday morning.

6.   Participants Rule:  The individual participants on any given day of the tournament on a particular team may change; however the team leader/guide must be on the boat at all times during the tournament and must remain the same.  (i.e. a guide can run different charters on each day of the tournament.)  Just see the rule on total number of participants on a boat that can not be exceeded at any one time.  All participants must sign an entry form in advance and it MUST be handed it at registration.  So, download it and have them sign it before the tournament if they can't be at registration.

7.   (Reserved for future use.)

8.      Fishing Time:  6:00 a.m. (lines-in) Saturday, August 7, 2010 non-stop until 3:00 p.m. (lines-out), Sunday August 8, 2010.

9.      Geographical Restrictions:  All fish must be wild and hooked and landed in Texas State Waters.

10.  Launching Restrictions:  Boats may launch from any Texas port.  See #12 below!!!

11.  Proof of Catch Dealine:  Must be turned in, between 3:30 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, August 8, 2010 at Tournament Headquarters, Harborwalk - at Baitcamp.

12.  The requirement that all boats must return on the water has been CHANGED and REMOVED.  You may now launch, trailer and relaunch if necessary during the tournament.  You must only launch from Texas ports and fish within Texas waters, but you may launch and relaunch if you wish during the tournament.  You also ARE NOT REQUIRED to return on the water from fishing to Harborwalk. 

13.  Monetary Prizes:  One monetary prize will be awarded to the team leader in each division (pro/am) who catches and releases the most tarpon pursuant to these rules and timely provides proof of catch in conformity with these rules and the satisfaction of Tournament Officials.  Monetary prizes will be based on number of entries per division and all entry fees will go toward the purse in each division.  Montetary prizes will be mailed to the team leader and will be by check within a few weeks of the tournament AFTER DNA verification from Florida.  IF THERE IS A TIE, IT WILL BE BROKEN BASED ON THE FIRST CALL OR VOICEMAIL RECEIVED VERIFYING RELEASE PURSUANT TO THESE RULES.

14.   Secondary Prizes:  In each division, an award will be given (non-monetary) for second and thrid place.  It is anticipated this award will be a fishing reel and a rod respectively.  It will be awarded to the team leader.

15.   PROOF OF CATCH REQUIREMENTS:

These Rules MUST be STRICTLY FOLLOWED

(a)     Minimum line breaking strength – 30 lbs.

(b)     All fish must be wild and caught in Texas territorial waters.

(c)     All fish must be caught by rod and reel.

(d)     All fish caught using live or dead bait must be caught using circle hooks.  J-hooks and trebble hooks may be used with lures (which are not tipped with live or dead bait).

(e)     No leader may exceed 300 lbs and no leader may exceed 10 feet in length.

(f)       A single angler must fight the fish from hook set to release.

(g)     The catch must be video taped.  Any deviation from these rules, however slight, will disqualify a catch.  A video camera will be provided to each team with a specially marked memory card – the camera is yours to keep after the tournament – you MUST film the following sequence of events, continuously without pausing or interrupting the filming:

i.                    Leadering of fish;

ii.                  Length verification:

iii.                DNA sampling;

iv.                 Hook removal;

v.                   Fish swimming free from boat; and

vi.                 After release you must pan the camera (without turning it off) to your GPS and reveal the LAT/LON and the date and time indicated on your GPS.  The LAT/LON information will be held in confidence by Tournament Officials and not revealed to other competitors or made public in any way.

(h)  Attempt to call tournament HQ on cell phone to acknowledge release 713.819.1840.  The call is not mandatory for each release. However, if there is a tie, the call/voice-mail for the first fish released will determine the tie.

16.   LENGTH VERIFICATION:  All fish must be a minimum of 48 inches from nose to end of tail.  This will be verified on the camera by a specific length verification strip that will be provided to each team and must be used on EACH FISH (NO EXCEPTIONS).  The “verification strip” may be slid down the leader to the hook.  After the tournament, the winning team must surrender its length verification strip to insure it has not been altered in any way.

17.   DNA Sampling Kit:  To satisfy the sampling requirement in paragraph 15(g)ii, above, a special, tournament specific DNA sampling kit will be provided.  Each fish must have a unique DNA sample.  If a fish is somehow caught twice by a single team, it will only count as one catch and release.  If a DNA sample is unable to indicated and prove a unique fish, that catch and release will not be counted – no exceptions.

18.   ENTRY FEES:    $300.00 per team in both Pro and Amateur Divisions.  $50 for non-monetary award Kayak Division.

19.   NON-MONETARY KAYAK DIVISION RULES:  Kayaker must take photo of fish with identification material in the photo.  The photo will be the Kayaker’s proof of catch.

20.   These rules may be subject to change at the sole discretion of the Tournament Officials at any time prior to fishing beginning on the first day of the tournament.     

21.        An additional trophy will also be given for the most tarpon tagged with PAT satellite tags, regardless of the division.  PAT Tagging will still take place during the tournament. 

22.   If the winning team's proof of catch is challenged by another competing team, no later than 4:15 p.m. on Saturday, by written challenge, the entire winning team must undergo and pass a lie-detector test to be administered at cost of the challenging team.