Official Tournament Rules

1. Eligible Fish: One fish per species per angler per day may be weighed. Winners will be determined by the heaviest fish. In the case of a tie, the first fish weighed will be the winner. All federal and state regulations apply.

2. Official Tournament weigh station will be located at Indian River Marina at the north side of the Indian River Inlet. VHF channel 72 will be monitored by a member of the rules committee.

3. Scales open daily at Noon. All fish must be weighed by 7:00pm on Friday and Saturday, and by Noon on Sunday. Fish must be weighed in from the boat in which they were caught and on the day that they were caught. Upon return to port each boat must go directly to weigh station except as follows: to accommodate anglers from the Lewes area, a tournament official will be stationed in Lewes at Lewes Harbor Marina from Noon until 6:00pm on Friday and Saturday and 10am until Noon on Sunday tagging eligible fish that may be driven to the weigh station at Hook’em and Cook ‘em at the Indian River Marina. All fish must be either weighed or tagged directly from the boat they were caught.

4. Official Tournament fishing hours are: lines in the water at 7:00am, lines out at 5:00pm on Friday October 19, and Saturday October 20, and lines in at 7:00am, out at 11:00am on Sunday October  21, 2007. This is not a shotgun start tournament, all anglers may leave from their home port, but must display Tournament flag at all times. Boats are subject to boarding and inspection at any time during the Tournament by a member of the Rules Committee.

5. All fish must be taken on rod and reel. Any fish entered in the Tournament is subject to disqualification if the judges decide it bears suspicious marks or characteristics. All decisions by the Rules Committee are final, all protests should be submitted in writing by Noon Sunday October 21, 2007. All fish landed become property of the Tournament and are subject to inspection. All winners are subject to polygraph testing if deemed necessary by the Rules Committee.

6. Fishing boundaries are set as follows: entire Delaware Bay, Sussex County coastal waters from south of Cape May, NJ to Fenwick Island, DE, all tributaries off of IRI and Roosevelt Inlet, and 100nm radius from sea buoy. Striped Bass may not be taken from Federal waters, any boat taking Striped Bass over 3 miles from the shore line will be disqualified from the Tournament. The Rules Committee will disqualify any boat violating the Tournament boundaries.

7. Except as noted below, suitability of the weather is the captain’s choice. Fisherman fish at their own discretion and the captain accepts full responsibility for the safety of the crew and boat. In the event that extreme weather or another emergency causes cancellation of all three days of fishing, 75% of entry fees will be equally divided into 3 prizes and drawn at random. As long as fishing occurred one day or a partial day by one boat, it will constitute a tournament.

8. Once officially registered, fees are non refundable. Deadline for early entry is October 13, 2007. Late entries will be accepted until 8:00pm October 18, 2007. The total number of registered boats shall be limited to the first 150 entries received. All persons on a registered boat MUST be registered contestants in the tournament with the exception of registered charter and head boats wherein the hired captain and/or mate are not fishing in tournament and do not have to register or pay. The $50.00 admission fee for one angler on charter or head boat is waived in lieu of included captain’s fee. Additional anglers may be registered up until 8:00pm October 18, 2007, at the discretion of the Rules Committee. Entry fee must accompany registration, please send completed form and check to 34634 Bay Crossing Blvd., Suite B, Lewes, Delaware 19958. Checks must be made out to Rocktober Fishing Tournament.

9. Entry fee before October 13 will be $200.00 per boat including captain, with an additional $50.00 per angler. After October 13, the entry fee will be $250.00. A registered boat may have no more than 7 registered anglers (not including captain) on board per day. Anglers may differ from day to day but every angler must pay $50.00 to register. A registered angler may fish on different registered boats on different days. Exceptions will be made for Head boats participating in the Tournament.

10. In order to participate in the Tournament within the Tournament (TWT), the angler must be 18 years of age and a registered Tournament participant. Each TWT is a separate contest; prize money is based on the number of entrants. All prizes will be awarded, in the event there is not enough fish caught, prize money will go to the winner. In the event no fish are caught in a division, the payouts will be added to the Rockfish category. All registered anglers on a boat must participate in the TWT as a whole, all or nothing.

11. The registered angler need not be present to win. If not present the winning angler will be contacted and a time will be arranged for them to pick up the money in person and show positive ID. Winners will be announced at 1:00pm Sunday at the Tournament and prizes awarded if present.

12. Sponsors and Tournament Officials not serving on the judges committee are eligible to fish in the Tournament and collect prize money

13. The youth prize will be awarded to the registered contestant 17 years of age or below weighing in the heaviest Rockfish. Winner must be currently enrolled in school. Youth anglers cannot enter Calcuttas.

14. Entrants are strongly encouraged to release all fish not eligible for the Tournament. Please help conserve our precious resource.