1. Rules. The following rules are the official rules of the tournament. They are intended to provide a fair and safe tournament for all involved. Interpretation of these rules shall be left up to the Tournament Rules Committee. The decision of the judges and Tournament Committee shall be final in all matters.

2. Participation and Eligibility. All contestants must complete an official entry form and send along with the proper entry fee before the tournament deadline. Participants under the age of 18 must have signed parental permission.

3. Insurance. All boats competing in this contest shall maintain their own liability insurance during all practice and tournament fishing. Any director, official, sponsor, or any other person involved with this tournament shall be waived from any claims of injury and/or damage incurred in connection with this event.

4. Headquarters. This area will be located at Sawyer Park Launch Site located on Neenah Ave. in Sturgeon Bay, WI.

5. Boats. Boats must be a minimum of 16 feet in length, comply with all WDNR and Coast Guard regulations. All boats shall have an operating aerated live well capable of adequately maintaining a live catch of bass.

6. Boat Identification. All boats will be required to display a boat number, which will be supplied, on the outboard motor.

7. Boat Position. Position will be determined by entry date in which they were received.

8. Boat Inspection. All boats will be made available before the start of each day for an inspection. At this time all live wells, compartments and storage areas will be made accessible for inspection personnel. No boats shall be allowed to compete that have not been inspected.

9. Fishing Rules. All Wisconsin Rules regarding fishing will be observed unless the Tournament Director specifies more stringent regulations. ONLY ARTIFICIAL BAITS MAY BE USED. ONLY 2 (TWO) RODS MAY BE ALLOWED PER PERSON DURING TOURNAMENT FISHING. Entrants must possess a valid Wisconsin Fishing License.

9a. Livewell Rules. Due to our format change we have found it necessary to adopt a revised livewell rule.  FISH MAY ONLY BE PLACED IN LIVEWELL FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS: 1) Both anglers have a fish on at the same time.  In this case, after the first fish is landed it may be placed in the livewell while second fish is being landed.   After the second fish is landed, it must be scored then released.  Then the first fish in livewell must be immediately weighed and released before fishing may resume. 2)  Your Brecknell scale issued by SBBT fails to operate.  If this occurs the tournament director must be contacted with boat number and location.  A new scale will be delivered on the water as soon as possible.  Both anglers may continue to fish and place caught fish in livewell up to the daily limit of 10.  When the new scale arrives all fish must be scored before any fishing can resume.  At no time can a boat with fish in livewell move to a new location without scoring and releasing fish. 

10. Scoring. Scoring will be done on a pound and ounce weight of bass.  All fish must be weighed using the Brecknell scale issued to each team.  They will be handed out during morning inspection and will contain boat numbers.  The scales must be returned to Sawyer Park at the end of each competition day. There will be a 5 fish limit per two-man team per day. In the event of a tie for first place the tie breaker will be the highest weight on the second day. Ties for all other places will share the total money for the shared place. The minimum weight for a scoreable bass is 2lbs 0oz., All fish must be immediately weighed and scored on the FishDonkey app including a video of the entire fish and scale in clear view.  This is performed directly through the app.  All scoreable catches will be verified by the tournament committee.  The FishDonkey live leaderboard will display and continually sort each teams (5) biggest fish as well as their biggest fish.  The leaderboard can be viewed by all teams throughout each day of competition.

11. Boundaries. Fishing will be allowed in all legal waters of Sturgeon Bay and Green Bay within 5 miles of the Door County Shoreline. Waters within one-half mile of Chambers Island are also included. No fishing will be allowed north of Gills Rock. The southern boundary will be no farther than a 90 degree line from the south pier at Chaudoir’s Dock to the west shore. The Lake Michigan boundary will be no fishing past the U.S. Coast Guard Station. There will be no fishing allowed in Lake Michigan. A 25-yard distance between anchored boats will be enforced. Boats must maintain a safe distance at all times.

12. Tournament Hours. Flights will start at 8:00 AM and end at 4 00 PM both days.

13. Late Rule. Check in time will be announced each morning. You must be checked in by that time or you will be disqualified. NO EXCEPTIONS. Failure to check in will mean disqualification.

14. Safety. Safe boating will be observed at all times. During competition, each contestant shall wear a U.S.C.G approved chest type life preserver any time the main engine is running. All boats will be equipped with an emergency ignition shut off which must be attached to the driver whenever the main engine is running.

15. Sportsmanship. All contestants are required to follow a high standard of sportsmanship, courtesy, and conservation at all times. Drunkenness will be a cause for immediate disqualification at any time during the contest. The use of illegal drugs will also mean disqualification from all and any part of this sporting event.

16. Severe Weather. Under normal conditions no contestant may leave his/her boat during the tournament hours, except at the headquarters area. The exception to this rule would be in the event of severe weather. In this case you may seek shelter at the nearest shoreline.

17. Breakdowns. In the event that your boat becomes inoperable, you may be towed to headquarters. You may receive a tow from any other boat including the U.S. Coast Guard, a non-tournament boat or a tournament boat. You may not leave your boat unless it is in peril of sinking. The towboat must not come in contact with your boat in any other way than the towrope. Breakdowns are not an exception to the late rule.

18. Use of Radios or Cellular Phones. We strongly recommend that each boat have an emergency communications system of either a marine radio or cellular phone. No fishing information may be relayed via radios or phones.

19. Protests. Formal protests must be submitted on the day of the occurrence, before 5 pm on that day. A $100 dollar protest fee must also be submitted with the protest to the tournament director. A polygraph test may be conducted at the tournament director’s discretion.

20. Tournament Registration Meeting. At least 1 member of each team must be present to register and attend the pre­tournament meeting. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. Times and dates for the meeting will be sent with your tournament packet and boat number.

21. THE STURGEON BAY BASS TOURNAMENT COMMITTEE HAS THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ANY ENTRY APPLICATION.

WEIGHING AND VIDEO PROCEDURES TO REGISTER A FISH

All weight must be taken using the Brecknell scale provided by the SBBT.

WEIGHING PROCEDURE

·       Turn the scale on to weigh each fish – the LCD will show “8888” and then go to zero.

·       Push the Hold key

·       Attach the lip of the bass to the fish grabber and close.

·       The Scale will lock in the official weight usually within 30 seconds, but it may take longer.

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VIDEO PROCEDURE​

Wait until your fish weight is locked in before you take the video to register your fish. Your video must show a clear view of the locked-in weight shown on the scale, a view of the fish tail to show it is hanging freely and not touching anything, and a view of the fish being released – all in one video.

Open the FishDonkey App and at the “LeaderBoard” page and select “Enter a Fish”.  The app will automatically turn on your camera.

Use the video button on the screen to take the video required to register your fish.

1 – locked-in weight shown on the scale

2 – view of the fish tail to show it is hanging freely

3 – a view of the fish being released

If your video does not show all three views, the fish cannot be verified.

SUBMISSION PROCEDURE

Once your video is completed, select the green checkmark on the screen to move to the “Submission” page of the app.

•    Click on “Choose Species” and select bass from the list.

•    Click on “Size/Unit(s)” and enter the lock-in weight of your fish.

•    Enter the pounds including decimals as shown on the scale.  This year we are going back to using pounds and hundredths of a pound. 

•    Then click Submit – the app will say “Got One” and return the “Enter A Fish” page and be ready for your next fish. Your submitted fish will initially be tagged unverified.

•    Upon verification, our verification officials will verify your entry.  IF for some reason the fish weight failed to lock in, our verification officials will take the average weight observed on the scale and enter it as the official weight.

​•    Your official weight will be entered onto the leaderboard in pounds and hundredths of a pound.

This year the SBBT has created another free practice tournament to allow you practice using the Breknell Scale and our Weigh-On-The-Water procedures – AT NO CHARGE, IT’S FREE TO ENTER.  To enter search for the following tourney on the Fish Donkey app: SBBT Weigh-On-Water Practice Tourney and enter your team.  Scales will be provided in the morning at the Sawyer Park boat ramp. Our verification officials will review each of your submissions and provide constructive tips and comments.