Times & Boundaries

1. Boats may sail from any inlet.
2. Boats may depart at any time.
3. There are no designated lines in or out times for this event.
4. There are no boundaries for this tournament.
5. South Jersey Marina in Cape May, NJ is the primary weigh-in location. Canyon Club Resort Marina, also in Cape May, NJ may be substituted as a weigh-in location as needed. Tournament Staff weigh-ins may occur between 10:00AM and 8:00PM. Tournament Staff must be informed that a boat intends to weigh fish a minimum of two hours in advance. Call (609) 884-0177 or text (609) 412-3778 to schedule your weigh-in.

Angling & Fishing

6. Participants shall comply with I.G.F.A. equipment and angling rules with the following exceptions: A) A fish may be hooked by someone other than the angler provided the rod is immediately transferred to the angler after hook-up. From that time on, the angler must fight the fish alone until boated or released. B) No harpoons, dart gaffs or greensticks. C) Spreader bars with hooks ARE permitted. D) Line class shall be limited to the manufacturer’s stated rating of no greater than 130 lbs. The Tournament Directors retain sole authority for interpreting and implementing the I.G.F.A.’s rules.
7. There is no limit on the number of lines or teasers.
8. South Jersey Tournaments reserves the right to request video of boated fish along with continuous video of GPS time and date.
9. Boats may fish as many days as they wish during the event. The crew members of each individual boat will be solely responsible for the decision as to which days to fish, captains’ choice; no weather committee.
10. Anglers may not switch to another boat nor can anyone from another boat come aboard to assist in fighting or boating a fish.

Scoring & Prizes

11. Only one day need be fished for the tournament to be considered official and prizes to be awarded. 80% of entries will be paid out.
12. Weights will be rounded to the nearest pound.
13. In the event of a tie in the cash prize categories, the prize money will be equally divided among those tying.
14. In the event that a qualifying fish is not caught, the tournament prize money will be rolled over and added to the prize money for the following year.
15. In order to be eligible for awards and calcuttas, fish must be caught in compliance with all tournament rules. Said rules include conformance to state and federal size limits and possession of a current NMFS angling, general or charter/headboat category HMS permit.
16. All fish eligible for cash prizes may be subject to examination by the Tournament Directors, consulting biologists and/or Torrymeter, should there be any question as to the freshness or natural state of the catch. It shall be the responsibility of the participant to keep all eligible catches in suitable and proper condition until weigh-in. In the event of any disputes arising from such examination, the decision of the Tournament Directors shall be final. Polygraph examination may be required of winning crews.

Administration

17. Fish will be returned to the boat, subsequent to examination.
18. Registration is by boat rather than by angler. The Tournament Directors reserve the right to decline the entry of any boat or crew.
19. The Tournament Directors and hosting facilities assume no liability or responsibility for any damage or loss.
20. If needed, with the advanced permission of the Tournament Directors, contestants may transfer to another boat, not entered in the tournament, and may fish in the name of the original but may not transfer back.
21. Allegations of violations of any of the above rules may be submitted only by an official tournament registrant and must be submitted in writing on the day of the alleged infraction. In the event of such an allegation, the tournament directors will have the sole and exclusive responsibility to investigate the alleged incident and to rule as to whether any violation materially aided the angler, crew, or vessel, or otherwise affected the outcome of the tournament. Any subsequent penalty will be solely at the discretion of the tournament directors and shall be final. In all cases, registrant and their crews agree to be bound by the ruling of the tournament directors.