Club Rules

Indy Bass Club 2012 Rules

Membership:  Individuals 16 years and older are eligible for club membership. Individuals under the age of 16 may fish with their parent or legal guardian.  Teams will consist of one (1) or two (2) people per boat. Club membership fee will be $50 per team or $25 per individual.  The club is open to any teams or individual to fish an event and be eligible for 75% payout.  A team is required to pay membership dues prior to the first tournament to be eligible for any cash payout.  Each club member prior to the start of the first tournament must sign a release form and/or liability waiver.  If a sub is used, he/she must also sign a liability waiver prior to the start of the tournament fished (see Substitutions’ Rule).  The club reserves the right to refuse a club membership or an entry into any of the clubs tournaments.
 
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Club Officers:  The Officers of the chapter shall consist of:
President – one-year term
Vice President – one-year term
Tournament Director – one-year term
      #1 Asst. Tournament Director – one-year term
      #2 Asst. Tournament Director – one-year term
Secretary – one-year term
Treasurer – one-year term
Weigh Master – one-year term

The Officers of the chapter will ensure proper enforcement of the rules.  The Officers shall reserve all rights for rule interpretations.  Furthermore, the Officers have the authority to announce or present any rule revisions (printed or not) as deemed appropriate.  Any rules changed at the lake by tournament officials, takes precedence over written rules, this statement only applies to start and finish time as well as current lake official rule changes.  Knowledge of these rules is the responsibility of each contestant; failure to read these rules or ignorance is no excuse and can lead to disqualification.  All protests must be submitted within 15 minutes of the weigh-in completion to the Tournament Director.  The Officers will handle all protests.  ALL OFFICERS’ DECISIONS WILL BE FINAL.

 
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Cheating:  Cheating will in no way be tolerated. Deceiving tournament officials or doing anything deemed an unfair advantage will lead to disqualification, forfeiture of all monies and banishment from the club.

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Team Numbers:  Team numbers will be issued in paid order.

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Check-In and Pre-Meeting:  One team member must check in prior to the tournament.  A pre-tournament meeting will take place at the launch site approximately fifteen minutes prior to the official start time.  The starting order will be announced at the pre-tournament meeting.  Teams will start according to designated team number. The boat that is designated to take off last will be considered the official starter boat.  If a team is late to the designated starting point and their number has been called, that team will go to the end of the starting order.
 
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Boat Equipment:  Every boat must have all required Coast Guard safety equipment.  For safety purposes, all passengers must be wearing a life jacket when the boat is exceeding idle.  In addition, it must have a functional bilge pump and live well.  The live well must be properly aerated to adequately maintain a limit catch of bass by both fishermen using the boat.  Tournament officials shall have the sole responsibility for determining whether aeration and capacity is “proper and adequate.”   Each boat must be given, prior to each day’s start, an inspection check by a tournament official.  If a team is late to the launch site, the team must find a club member to check the live wells before the team can begin fishing.  The team must also notify said member if the team will be participating in the optional “Big Bass” pots.  If notification is not given, the team will be considered ineligible for the optional “Big Bass” payoffs.

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Sportsmanship and Safety:  Safe fishing and safe boating practices are expected during tournament hours. Competitors are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. You must stay 50 yards away from a tied or anchored tournament angler (anchored is anchored to the bottom and/or tied to an object with the trolling motor up).  Alcohol and controlled substances are not permitted in a boat during tournament hours.  Horsepower of your boat may not exceed the maximum horsepower regulations set by the U.S. Coast Guard in their ruling of November 1972.

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Tackle and Equipment:  Only artificial lures may be used.  No “live bait” or “prepared bait” will be permitted, with the exception of pork strips, rinds, etc.  Only ONE casting, spin-casting or spinning rod and reel may be used at any one time.  All other types prohibited. Other rigs as specified as above may be in the boat ready for use.  However, only ONE is permitted in use at any given time. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner.  Anyone guilty of snatching or snagging visible fish will have their days catch disqualified.  No trolling.

 
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Entry Fees:  Entry fees of $70.00 per boat with an optional $10.00 Big Bass Pot shall be paid prior to the event or at the launch site of the event to the club Treasurer.  There will also be an optional $10 “rollover” Big Bass Pot.  To be eligible for the 75% ramp payout, each team must be paid concurrent prior to each tournament.  Teams not concurrent, or have not worked out an agreement with the Treasurer, will not be eligible for 75% ramp payout.  Teams not concurrent by the last tournament will face possible forfeiture of all year-end payout monies.

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Request for Refund:  A team wishing to withdraw from the club and get a full refund of their paid membership dues must make a verbal or written request to a club officer 30 days prior to the 1^st tournament of the season.

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Substitutions:  All substitutes will not have to pay the club membership fee of $25 to participate in any tournaments.  Officers are to be notified previous to any seasonal tournament or the classic tournament if a substitute is needed (see Classic Rules).  The IBC officers have the right to monitor and decline a substitute for any tournament if the team has shown previous abuse of the substitution rule.

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Lakes and Schedule: Lakes will be voted on and picked by appointed officers prior to the start of each season.  Any postponements due to unforeseen circumstances will be rescheduled or continued on an alternate lake.  The officers will then create the schedule.  Current standings, schedules and starting dates and times will be available online and issued by e-mail prior to each tournament to each team.

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Permitted Fishing Locations: The Tournament Director is responsible for establishing tournament waters to be fished at each tournament.  Any water within these boundaries posted Off-Limits or No Fishing by state or federal agencies will be OFF-LIMITS. Only the water open to all public fishing will be considered tournament waters.  Any water closed to public fishing will be closed to tournament’s contestants.  All angling must be done from the boat.   Any team or individual that receives a citation given by DNR authorities is subject to disqualification.

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Tournament Hours:  Tournament days will consist of no more than ten hours of fishing for one-day tournaments or night tournaments.  Two-day tournaments will be limited to no more than eight hours of fishing for each tournament day.  For any team leaving early without notifying a club member, a one-pound penalty will be assessed to the team’s current total weight. All boats are to be at the check-in location at the designated finish time.  There will be no grace period and an eight (8)-ounce penalty accessed per min.  After ten (10) minutes has expired, the team will be disqualified.

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Fish Measuring:  Fish will be measured and weighed by the presently appointed officers (President, Vice President, Tournament Director, Asst. Tournament Director, and Weigh Master) using the appointed measuring rule and scale.  The appointed officers will be the only individuals to handle the fish.  The Tournament Director will be the primary officer to remove each fish from the contestant’s bag and measure it.  In the event of the Asst. Tournament Director’s absence, the fish will be measured by the Weigh Master or the next available club officer.  The Weigh Master will be the primary officer to weigh the fish on to the scale.  In the event of the Weigh Master’s absence, the fish will be weighed by the Vice President or the next available club officer.  The primary appointed officers’ fish will be measured and weighed by or the next available club officer.  The Asst. Tournament Director’s and Weigh Master’s decision on a measurement and weight are final.  Fish will be measured using the standard legal method as outlined by the state DNR.

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Dead Fish:  For each legal dead bass presented to weigh-in officials, the competitor will be penalized eight (8)-ounces from the initial weight of the dead fish.  The Tournament Director and his designated appointees shall have sole authority for accessing penalty points.  All live bass are to be released after weigh-in regardless of size or weight.

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Scoring:  Tournament standings, auxiliary awards and final winners shall be determined by the pound and ounce weight of each competitor’s catch during the competition days of the tournament.  Only Largemouth, Smallmouth and Kentucky/Spotted Bass will be measured and weighed.  The limit shall be five (5) fish per boat of the above species and varieties per day.  Only 5 fish shall be allowed in your live well at any given time therefore only 5 fish are allowed to the scales.  Any team holding more than 5 fish in their live well might lead to disqualification.  You can however have a sixth fish in your possession just long enough to cull another fish.  The official length for bass shall be in accordance with prevailing state law and announced by the Tournament Director at the pre-tournament meeting.  The overall team standings will be derived from a points system (100 points system).  Tournaments are worth a maximum of 100 points. Under this system, the tournament winning team will be awarded 100 points.  The points will be awarded in five (5) point decreasing increments depending on place of finish down to 5 place, four (4) point decreasing increments down to 10 place, three (3) point decreasing increments down to 15 place and two (2) point decreasing increments for the rest of the field (see example below).  In a tie, both teams will get the points for the position of finish.  Teams not weighing a fish will be awarded 40 points with 15 boats or less, 16 boats and more will be awarded 25 points.  Teams who are not represented at a scheduled tournament by at least one team member, will be awarded zero (0) points for that event.

 
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Awards:  Trophies will be awarded to the Team of the Year.  The angler with the big bass of the year will receive a trophy.  All team awards will be awarded according to the points system outlined above.  At the conclusion of each tournament, there will be a 75% payout of all monies collected.  In the event of a tie, all monies will be added together and split evenly between the teams.  All of the end of year monies and awards will be given out at the banquet.

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Classic:  The last tournament of the season is considered to be the classic.  To qualify for the classic, a team must participate in 50% or more club tournaments plus a buy in for the Classic Fund would be the clubs share of each tournament missed.  Officers are to be notified previous to the classic tournament if a substitute is needed.   Substitutes are permitted to fish in the classic.  The IBC officers have the right to monitor and decline a substitute for the classic if the team has shown abuse of the substitution rule throughout the tournament season.  Awards for or the classic include embroidered shirts, name plate on the classic trophy, and the top 7 places will be awarded.  **Please note: the number of places to be awarded could change at the officer’s discretion.  This will be dependent on the number of boats competing.

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Optional Big Bass and “Rollover” Big Bass Pot:  Each Team wanting to enter the optional side pots will need to pay the fees at the pre-meeting or make arrangements with the organizer to pay.  An appointed organizer will collect the rollover big bass money and the treasurer will collect the big bass money.  If a team decides to enter, then both team members must pay to enter the side pots with no exceptions.  If a team enters the season late or defers on paying the “Rollover,” the team must pay on previous pots to enter the current pot.  This goes for both the Big Bass and the “Rollover” Big Bass Pot.  The big bass pot shall be awarded at the end of each tournament to the team/individual that catches the heaviest bass.  The “Rollover” big bass pot shall be awarded to the team who catches the heaviest bass 5 pounds or over.  Once this pot has been awarded the pot starts back at a zero dollar balance and rolls over until someone lands a bass 5 pounds or over.  Any remaining balance on the “Rollover” side pot will be awarded at the banquet.  Any team who has paid 4 or more Big Bass rollover entries will be eligible for the winnings.  We will payout the top 3 heaviest bass after the last roll over is hit.  The only eligible fish are ones caught after the pot has been hit.  Once the pot has been hit, all fish from that point and prior are disqualified and all weights start over.

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