The Top Stick Tour Official Rules and Regulations
2013 Top Stick Tour Rules
These rules and regulations are to be understood as the Law of the Top Stick Tour. The Tournament Director will be acknowledged as the regulator of this mandate, whose discretion in the interpretation of the following laws will be without prejudice. A pre-determined Tournament Committee (comprised of non-participating tournament officials) will preside over any discrepancies of rule, regulation or circumstance worthy of consideration. The Top Stick Tour is an entry level tournament circuit meant for the average Joe, weekend fisherman and family members, not the seasoned veteran tournament angler.
1. Participation/Partner Pairing - Any team or angler may be deemed ineligible to fish if they individually or collectively have won more than $3500 and/or finished in the top 10 in the points race in a Pro-Am event (as a Pro) during a calendar year (Jan 1st – Dec 31st). Money won from the back seat of a Pro/Am event and or any TOC does not count towards an individual’s winnings. Any angler who has qualified for a Pro Championship (100% BASS, B.A.S.S., F.L.W., EVERSTART, WESTERN BASS, W.O.N., ANGLER’S CHOICE, ABA, WEST COAST BASS, FEDERATION, REDMAN or CBC) in the past 10 years could be deemed ineligible to fish on the Top Stick tour. Guides are ineligable to fish any Top Stick Team events.
Final decision of all contestants allowed to participate will be at the tournament director’s discretion as well as the Board of Directors. If you have questions regarding eligibility contact one of the Top Stick Tour officers.
2. Membership - All participants of the Top Stick Tour must be current members of The Top Stick Tour Inc. Membership application and fees must be received prior to participation in any event can occur. The minimum age for any Professional participant is 18 years, while the minimum age of an Amateur participant is 16 years. All Amateur participants under 18 years of age must have signed parental consent to participate in the Top Stick Tour.
3. Safety - A life vest must be used by all competitors whenever the outboard engine is engaged. Coast Guard compliance for said life vests is mandatory. Life jackets MUST be worn at all times the outboard combustion engine is operating, this includes picking up and dropping off your co-angler, idling in the marina waiting for your tow vehicle, driving your boat on the trailer until it is no longer floating(this allows you to hook up the bow.) Co Anglers that do not have an approved PFD on when they are picked up at the dock, must dawn said PFD as soon as he/she sets foot on the boat if the combustion motor is running.
4. Boat/Licensing Regulations- Each boat entered in the Top Stick Tour must be in compliance with all manufacturer hull/outboard limitations. Each boat must be outfitted with a working kill-switch, aerating live wells and be registered, insured and licensed in satisfaction to the code of law for California. All anglers must have a valid fishing license. A life vest must be used by all competitors whenever the outboard engine is engaged. Coast Guard compliance for said life vests is mandatory. All boats must follow the lakes’ operating procedures as to speed, no-wake zones and off-limits areas. Any deviation from these procedures or citation from lake or law enforcement staff will result in disqualification from the event.
5. Championship Qualifications – The finishers in every Top Stick Tour event will earn points on a per team basis in a descending scale from 100-1 in their division. 100 points for 1st place, 99 points for 2nd place and so on. Every team will collect 5 points for showing up. Top 20 point finishers, including all ties, will qualify for the end of the season Championship in addition to sponsorship exemptions.
6. Tournament Common Sense- The use of live or cut bait, trolling, fishing with more than one rod, or violating any California Sport Fishing regulations is not allowed.
Encroachment shall be defined as moving within 25 yards (roughly 3-4 boat lengths) from a sedentary competitor. Casting within 10 yards (roughly 1-2 boat lengths) of another sedentary competitor will also be construed as encroachment. These infractions can result in disqualification for the offending party. If an encroachment occurs it is recommended that a civil dialogue is opened to resolve the situation. Verbal or physical intimidation in regards to encroachment can also result in disqualification. Sportsmanship is the responsibility of all Top Stick anglers to both tournament participants and non-competing anglers/boaters.
Culling must take place once the tournament limit per TEAM is exceeded. No casts can be made by either team member while in possession of the sixth fish, until the culled fish is released. Only the tournament limit of fish may be possessed at any time.
Sight fishing will be a technique used during the Top Stick Tour. Snagging of fish (whether intentional or accidental) will be defined as hooking a fish that has not ingested the lure through the mouth. All fish submitted for weigh-in must be hooked from the inside of the mouth. The Weighmaster of the Top Stick Tour will inspect all fish at weigh-in and determination of a non-sporting hooked fish will result in disqualification.
Fish that ingest hooks must be presented at weigh-in with the line cut at the hook (when possible) with all weights and lures removed. Fish presented at weigh-in with artificial ingested weight (aside from a hook) will subject the TEAM to disqualification.
Dead fish presented at weigh-in are subject to a .25 (1/4 pound) penalty. All anglers of the Top Stick Tour will be responsible for deflating deep caught fish. Fish that measure less than the tournament allowance will not be counted to the total weight, and a 1 (one) pound penalty will be implemented. If quantity of fish presented at weigh-in is more than the allowed quantity, the TEAM will be disqualified. Species and size limits for each tournament will be communicated to all TEAMS prior to each event. The Weighmaster’s discretion in any infraction is absolute.
TEAMs that suffer a breakdown during tournament hours can have their catch transported to weigh-in by a competitor. One member of the broken down TEAM must accompany the catch to weigh-in. Cellular phones or any other source of communication may only be used for emergencies and no informative on-lake communication between TEAMs can take place.
Protests of any infraction must take place within ½ hour of the completion of weigh-in to be considered by tournament staff. While each protest will be investigated, most protests will require the acknowledgment of at least 2 TEAMs who observed the offense. It is the Tournament Director who will make the final determination of any protest.
The Top Stick Tour reserves the right to subject any competitor to a lie-detector test.
7. More Common Sense – Alcohol and Drug use or possession is forbidden during any Top Stick Event. Abusive behavior (either verbal or physical) exhibited by any competitor to other anglers, tournament staff or the public can result in automatic exclusion from the Tour.The Top Stick Tour reserves the right to use any photographs, images or comments of competitors for its’ own publication.
8. Provisional Tournament Rules – Any provisional rules and regulations will be disclosed at the tournament location prior to each event.
Any questions regarding these Rules and Regulations will be addressed by the Tournament Director.
Contact:
John Barron 909-263-7185
Ray Leyerly 714-308-2734
Daren Lacher 714-264-4796
