DIRECTORS:
Jamey & Jeff McEntyre

JAMEYM@robertbowden.com /770-265-0206 & mac2nite@bellsouth.net /678-925-6562

SUMMER 2008 - Monday Night Trail

GENERAL INFORMATION
 

This is a pot tournament for Summer 2008 on Lake Allatoona.  It’ll be on Mondays from 7 PM - 11 PM at Victoria Landing.  See schedules for specific dates and see FAQ for more common questions.  The entry fee is $40 (the director team and assistance team are exempted).

Þ    Entry Fee and Breakdown  

·         $40.00 per boat

o       $5 Classic Fund

o       $3 operating expenses (such as scale or maintenance, website hosting fee, printing, polygraph, etc.).  All extra money will go to the classic funds.

o       $5 big fish pot for the night

o       $27 pot for the night, 1 in 7 boats pay out.

o       Expense report will be available upon request.

o       There is NO PRE-PAY this year.  It's first-come first-served at the boat ramp each Monday evening.

·        This year we will be paying a monthly prize for BIGGEST sack of the month and also one for the SMALLEST sack of the month. This will be paid out on the last Monday night tourney of each month starting in April. Big sack gets a cash prize of $100.00 and smallest sack gets a cash prize of $50.00. You must be present on the last Monday night tournament of the month to win, or we will award the money to the next team with the closest weight. So you'd better not throw your dink or two back without weighing in first!

·        This is a 100+% payback trail.  Besides above funds, there are gifts, gift certificates to give away, and money from sponsors.  There are money donated by various sponsors and they will be used to help support local community via various activities.  All extra money will also goes into the Classic funds.  Also see Sponsorship Provisional for more info on sponsorships.

Þ    Blast-Off Procedure

·         The field will be divided into flights of 15 except the first flight.  The first flight will consist of 15 sponsors and 10 regular teams.      Occasionally, if/when occasional sponsors/competitors besides the regular 15 sponsors come to fish, they will also be allowed to go on first flight.  There should be few of these.  Starting positions will be determined by when the entry fee and registration are received.

·         Green flag will be used to signal blast off

·         Any time a Red flag is displayed (usually due to too many boats leaving in a given flight), we will blast off the rest of the boats one at a time and will check to see who does not leave in assigned flight.  Watch the flag.  If you are not in the right flight, you'll be disqualified.

Þ   Summer  Classic

·         It will be two days tournament.  Both will be at night.  See schedules for details.

·         Top 25 qualifying teams, plus 5 wildcard teams will participate.  The wildcard teams are the ones that fish all regular tournaments but do not have enough points to be in the top 25.  If there are more than 5, the lucky teams will be drawn from a hat.  The director teams will automatically be in the classic regardless of where the team falls.  The total will still be 30 teams in the classic (I.E. if a director team does not make the top 25, the team will automatically be in 1 of the 5 wildcard teams and there'll be 4 teams drawn from a hat, etc.). 

1)       SPORTSMANSHIP: 

·         All competitors are expected to show courtesy and good sportsmanship to all other competitors and non competitors alike. At no time during tournament hours will fighting, verbal or physical harassment on or off water, or any other act reflecting negatively on the sport of competitive fishing and the Allatoona Team Tournament trail be tolerated. They are ground for immediate disqualification from current and future tournaments. This rule is non negotiable and will be enforced diligently

·         You must observe all State boating regulations (such as observing idle zones, especially bridges and marinas).

·         No drugs or alcohol allowed.  Also see state regulations on alcohol and drugs. 

·         No littering. 

·         Commonsense rule: “The only spot that is yours (to fish) is the spot you are fishing at the time.”  You do not own any spot on a public lake regardless of where or how many brush piles you put in.  The Corps of Engineer is the only authority.  So if you are there first, it's yours (to fish) until you leave.

2)       ENTRY: 

·         The tournament is open to all persons to participate in as a team provided they have never been disqualified from any other tournament for refusing a polygraph examination or failing a polygraph examination, whether the results were “inconclusive” or otherwise. 

·         Acceptance of any entry is subject to the approval of the Tournament Director and he reserves the right to take precautionary measures to protect the integrity of the tournament, other anglers, and the resource by denying registrations to any angler wishing to participate. 

·         Each person operating the combustion engine must be 18 years of age.  Any adult choosing a minor as a partner assumes full responsibility for that minor. 

·         All Federal, State and Local laws apply.

3)       SAFETY AND BOAT EQUIPMENT: 

·         Carelessness or unsafe operation of any boat will be grounds for disqualification. 

·         Each competitor is required to wear a Coast Guard approved life vest during blast off and returning to weigh-in with kill switch attached. 

·         Safety equipment adequate to pass Coast Guard inspection must be in the boat at all times. 

·         Each boat must be equipped with an aerated live well adequate to hold a tournament limit of 5 bass. 

·         For everyone’s protection, participants MUST have boater’s liability insurance. 

·         Navigation lights must be on at dusk.

4)       REGISTRATION: 

·         Teams may register in person at the ramp. 

·         Teams will sign-in under the Captain/Partner format. 

·         Registration forms must be filled out completely and signed by both team members; failure to do so will result in loss of awards and qualification submission to Tournament of Champions at Highland Marina, West Point Lake. 

·         No partial payments will be accepted and NO REFUNDS will be given. 

·         CASH ONLY will be the accepted form of payment.

5)       TACKLE & FISHING METHODS: 

·         Only artificial lures may be used-no live or cut baits. 

·         All bass must be caught in a legal, live, conventional manner using a rod and reel. 

·         Each competitor may have only one rod in use at a time. 

·         Trolling, fishing from docks or fishing from shore is not permitted.

6)       TOURNAMENT HOURS: 

·         The hours of competition will be from 7 PM to 11 PM. 

·         The field will be divided into flights of 15 except the first flight.  The first flight will consist of 15 sponsors and 10 regular teams.  Occasionally, if/when occasional sponsors/competitors besides the 15 come to fish, they will also be allowed to go on first flight.  Starting positions will be determined by when the entry fee and registration are received. 

·         Any team leaving the flight early will be disqualified for that tournament. 

·         Teams checking in late will be disqualified for that one tournament, whether or not they have any fish to weigh-in.  Disqualification results in the loss of weight of fish and the automatic 1 pound. 

7)       PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: 

·         The lake is OFF LIMITS to fishing on tournament days (no pre-fishing).

·         Fishing is permitted anywhere on tournament waters except within 25 yards of a non-anchored tournament boat and within 50 yards of another anchored or tied tournament boat with trolling motor out of the water.

·         Other off-limits areas may be announced the evening of the tournaments.   

·         Fishing from docks or shore is not permitted.

·         Anglers shall not leave the boat during the tournament hours except in emergency events (such as heavy nature’s call!).

8)       SCORING: 

·         All fish must be brought to the scale in a bag with adequate water. 

·         Largemouth, spotted and shoal bass only will be weighed. 

·         Limit will be 5 bass per boat.  You must cull as you go - upon catching #6 you must stop and cull before the team can continue fishing.

·         All bass will be measured on a Golden Rule with the mouth closed and fanning the tail. 

·         A penalty of three (3) pounds, loss of the short fish and loss of the biggest fish will be assessed per short fish brought to the scale. 

·         The length limit is 12 inches for ALL species of bass; there will be no courtesy measurements. 

·         Only one dead fish may be weighed-in with a ½ pound penalty assessed on the dead fish.  So if the dead fish is also the big bass, ½ pound will be deducted from the big bass.  If you bring 2 dead fish to the scale you are disqualified for the event.

·         All live bass must be released.  Exception can be made for trophy fish (check with the director if you want to keep one).

·         Scoring is kept by adding the poundage from each tournament, plus 1 additional pound for each tournament fished (unless you are disqualified).

·         NOTE: At least half of all regular tournaments must be fished in order to qualify for the Classic. 

·         The top 25 teams and 5 wildcard teams will fish the Classic.  The 5 wildcard Team will be drawn from all those teams that fished all tournaments but did not make the top 25. 

·         Tournament Director team will be automatically qualified for the Classic.

·         Substituting a partner is allowed (either boater or partner).  You must let the director knows at sign in where the points should go.

9)       PROTEST & POLYGRAPH: 

·         Protests may be lodged at two times during the Tournament:  1) Before the actual start of the Tournament or 2) immediately following the weigh-in of the last boat’s catch and before the presentations of awards. 

·         All protests must be lodged in person with the Tournament Director during the specified times. 

·         After the presentation of awards has taken place, the results of the tournament will be considered final. 

·         Any competitor found or heard accusing another competitor of a violation of the rules who has not made a formal protest will be charged with unsportsmanlike conduct and will be disqualified from the that night’s tournament and possibly future tournaments. 

·         All contestants agree that, if requested to do so by the Tournament Director, one or both team members will submit to a polygraph examination.  Contestants further agree and understand that awards will not be presented until after successfully passing the polygraph examination.  Both team members hereby waive and release any and all claims and causes of action of every kind whatsoever.

10)   RULES INTERPRETATION: 

·         Interpretation of these rules shall be left to the Tournament Director and Staff. 

·         The decision of the Tournament Director shall be FINAL in all matters. 

·         Infractions of any of these rules can result in disqualification.