Rules & Regulations

A man fishing by himself on a Virginia waterway with an autumn forest in the background.

Check Out Tournament Rules & Regulations

The Tournament will follow the rules as set forth below. You will be required to agree to these rules upon your registration into the Tournament, online, by app, or at the sign-in tournament morning. Please click each tab to get the information.

THE TOURNAMENT

Decisions of the Tournament Director are final and are not subject to appeal. Interpretation of these rules will be left exclusively to the Tournament Director at his sole and absolute discretion. Each competitor agrees to report any rule violation to the Tournament Director immediately upon discovery of the violation. The violation of a tournament rule may result in weight loss, the loss of weight up to a specific time during the tournament day, total loss of weight for that particular day, or any other penalty deemed appropriate by the Tournament Director in his sole discretion. Protests must be made in writing within 10 minutes of the official closing of the scales.

PARTICIPATION 

PARTICIPATION AND ELIGIBILITY: Participation is open for NFL, NBA, WNBA, Veterans, Olympians, VIP Celebrities, Business Owners, and Pro Anglers, College Anglers, Music Stars. Any person entering this Tournament under the age of 18 years must also have the signature of their parent or legal guardian in the provided space on the official check-in form on the morning of the event.

  • All Contestants must have a valid fishing license
  • All boat owners must have Boater’s Insurance/Signed Wavier
  • TOURNAMENT PRACTICE: Off limits the week before the tournament

REGISTRATION TIMES: Registration is open online prior to the event, tournament meeting, and at the event site beginning at 5:00 am the morning of the event. Each team must check-in in person at the designated site or on the BWL app morning of the event. A completed and signed entry form must be received before the start of the Tournament (can be online).

SAFETY: Safe boating must be observed at all times. Each Contestant is required to wear a fastened (fully zipped and/or all clips fastened), U.S. Coast Guard approved, personal flotation device anytime the combustion engine is in operation from boat check until weigh-in. All boats must be equipped with an emergency ignition shut-off device, which must be securely attached to the driver’s body any time the combustion engine is in operation. The driver must be seated in the driver’s seat anytime the combustion engine is engaged in gear. The Tournament may be shortened or canceled due to unsafe weather or any conditions that would endanger the safety of the competitors at the Tournament Director’s sole and absolute discretion. Competitors are allowed to leave the boat and seek shelter in bad weather, at which time no fishing may occur.

PERMITTED FISHING METHODS: Only artificial lures may be used, with the exception of pork trailers and Berkley Gulp products. Only one fishing rod per angler may be used at any one time. Additional rods may be in the boat and ready for use; however, each cast and retrieve must be completed before another cast is attempted or rod is used. Trolling with the combustion engine as a method of fishing is prohibited. Switching or sharing fish with other teams or individuals is a violation of these rules and will result in immediate disqualification. All Bass must be caught alive in a conventional, sporting manner. When sight fishing for Bass, all fish must be hooked inside the mouth to be counted as legal fish. All angling must be conducted from the boat. At no time may a contestant leave the boat to land a fish, make the boat more accessible to fishing waters, or locate bass.

SPORTSMANSHIP AND CONDUCT: All Contestants are required to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety, and conservation. Examples of conduct not complying with those standards include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • Consumption and/or possession of alcoholic beverages or any mind-altering substance during tournament hours extending through the weigh-in procedure;
  • Any previous conviction, charge, arrest, or investigation for a felony, a crime involving moral turpitude, or a crime related to, arising out of, or involving any fishing tournament or event, except with full, prior written disclosure to the Tournament Director under oath and by affidavit of all facts and circumstances surrounding such conviction, charge, arrest, or investigation at least ten (10) days before the Tournament, and thereafter subject to the Tournament Director’s sole and absolute discretion that such conviction, charge, arrest, or investigation does not result in the Contestant’s honesty, integrity, character or qualifications to enter the event being unreasonably questionable.
  • Actions or words which reflect unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, and fair competition;
  • Chemical substance abuse or addiction;
  • Disqualification from tournaments or other fishing organizations that resulted from unexplained rule violations that result in a Contestant’s honesty, integrity, character, and qualifications for entry into this event being questionable in the Tournament Director’s sole and absolute discretion.

Upon review of the circumstances by Bass World League and the Tournament Director, the Tournament Director shall have the right to refuse any application or to deny a confirmed application by returning the entry fee of a previously accepted application or disqualifying a Contestant. Teach a Child to Fish (and Bass World League) reserves the right to place an official observer in a Contestant’s boat at any time during competition hours.

RULES

ASSISTANCE: During hours of competition, Contestants may not receive fishing information from non-competitors or participate in the practice of “hole sitting.” The use of mobile communication devices such as cellular phones, marine radios, walkie-talkies, CBs, etc., to communicate fishing information during tournament hours is strictly prohibited. In the event of an emergency situation, competitors should call 911 first and then notify the Tournament Director at Phone #.

BOAT AND HORSEPOWER REGULATION: Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment. Boats must contain a properly aerated live well space to maintain a live limit catch of Bass. Maximum horsepower for all outboards used in tournament competition may not exceed the horsepower limitations as set by the U. S. Coast Guard in such vessel. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the horsepower numbers on the motor or rating plate to conceal such limitations will be cause for disqualification from the tournament. No Contestant may have a platform, raised deck, or ladder which is higher than the gunnel of the boat. Standing on the fishing seats or the outboard motor will not be allowed in this Tournament. All boats must be propeller-driven and must be equipped with wheel steering. No other steering device will be permitted. No air, jet drive, or surface drive boats will be permitted during official practice or competition days.

PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: Contestants may fish anywhere on tournament waters accessible by boat and available to the public, except in areas designated as “off limits” or “no fishing” by state or federal officials or within 50 yards of a competitor’s boat which was first anchored (an anchored boat is a boat held in a stable position by a line attached to a weight with the trolling motor in the up position), or within 25 yards of a non-anchored competitor’s boat unless otherwise agreed upon by the other tournament angler. The act of moving Bass from one area of the lake to another confined area of the same lake at any time, whether or not during official practice days or competition days, is not permitted.

TOURNAMENT PRACTICE: Off limits the week before the tournament at any BWL tournament. No Angler entered in the tournament shall fish or go boating on tournament waters. Any such areas established and announced at the registration for this Tournament are deemed off limits as well. Contestants may not fish inside the established “off-limits” area. Violation of the rule will result in immediate disqualification. Contestants’ boats must remain in the tournament waters during the event.

TRAILERING IS NOT ALLOWED: All boats must leave the official checkpoint by boat in the order designated at registration. Contestants may launch their boat at a ramp other than the designated take-off location, but all Contestants must come through the official checkpoint location before leaving to fish. In the event of severe weather, alternate take-off instructions will be given at the registration site, at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director.

OFFICIAL CHECKPOINTS: There will be only one official checkpoint for boat inspection in the morning and one official check-in point in the afternoon. Failure to go through boat check-out in the morning or failure to officially check-in at the check-in point will result in disqualification from such event. During morning check-out, all teams are required to idle a minimum of 100 yards before putting the boat on plane. It is the sole responsibility of each Contestant to arrive at the designated check-in location on time. Regardless of what you are told or understand, it is the angler’s responsibility to verify their provided flight card time. All fishing must cease upon check-in, or upon such other time as may be designated by the Tournament Director.

SCORING

SCORING: Will be determined by the pounds and ounces of each angler’s catch during the tournament. Only Largemouth or Spotted Bass (collectively, “Bass”) are accepted species. The limit will be Five (5) Bass per team. Any Contestant who possesses more than the tournament limit at any time will have their catch for that day disqualified. The minimum official length limit for all species for this Tournament will be provided at the event. Bass presented for weigh-in, which fails to measure the prescribed length limit, will result in loss of that particular fish and a one-pound penalty to the weight of the remaining fish. No regurgitated forage or other foreign matter may be placed in a bass. Any artificially weighed, preserved, or altered bass will be disqualified, and that contestant will be subject to prosecution under federal and state laws. Each Contestant’s catch must be presented in an official weigh-in bag and verified by the signature of at least one team member. The Pro-Rule Measuring Board is the official measuring board of the Bass World League. Bass will be measured with mouth closed, tail compressed, and swiped to achieve the overall greatest length.

LIVE FISH: Every effort must be made to keep bass alive through the use of a properly aerated live well. The use of chemical live well additives made by Sure-Life, which promote the healthy return of bass to their natural habitat, is recommended. A one-pound penalty will be deducted for each dead Bass presented for weigh-in. Any team that weighs in a dead fish for the big Bass award will receive a one-pound penalty from the total big Bass weight. Culling of dead Bass is prohibited.

LATE PENALTY: Contestants who are not at the official check-in point at the appointed time will be assessed a ONE pound per minute penalty from their total weight, including any weight to be counted toward a big Bass award. Any Contestant more than 15 minutes late will forfeit that day’s catch. In the event of a mechanical breakdown, a Contestant may return to the check-in location with their catch by receiving a ride from another registered Contestant or tournament official only. The Contestants must return to the official check-in location by the methods set forth above by their assigned check-in time to avoid a late penalty.

PAYMENT: All anglers who come in the top 10 prize money will be subject to a review and or lie detector test. A $20,000 dollar cash prize is a guarantee with 50 boats entered in the tournament. Every three boats after 50 boats entered adds one money prize place in each tournament. Five percent of all tournament revenue will be donated to Teach A Child To Fish! INC.

CLOSING OF THE SCALES: Scales will close 30 minutes after the last flight is due. Due to certain weigh-in locations, this time may be lengthened or shortened at the Tournament Director’s sole and absolute discretion. Any change to the above-stated official scale closing time will be announced during registration, during boat check-out, or during the weigh-in. It is the angler’s responsibility to verify the official scale closing time and to be in the weigh-in line by such time.

TIES: All ties will be resolved by splitting that place and the next place’s money