Official Rules Updated 5/3/2010
2010 Saginaw Bay Bed Busters Saginaw Bay Open Rules
1. RULES. The following rules are the official rules of Saginaw Bay Bed Busters Saginaw Bay Open Tournament (“Saginaw Bay Open”). Interpretation of these rules shall be left up to the Saginaw Bay Open Tournament Director. The decision of the Tournament Director shall be final in all matters. THE SAGINAW BAY OPEN RESERVES THE RIGHT TO REFUSE ENTRY TO ANY INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM FOR ANY REASON THAT THE SAGINAW BAY OPEN MAY DEEM APPROPRIATE.
2. PARTICIPATION AND ELIGIBILITY. Participation is open to anyone 16 years of age and older, all contestants under the age of 18 must be accompanied by a contestant 18 years of age or older. All contestants must complete an official entry form and pay the proper entry fee before the tournament deadline.
3. REGISTRATION AND TOURNAMENT MEETING. Both members of each team must be present to register at least a half hour prior to sunrise at the designated boat launch the morning of the tournament. Contestants pre registered may change up to one member of the team at the pre tournament meeting if necessary. All entrants must attend a mandatory pre-tournament meeting a half hour prior to sunrise at the designated boat launch the morning of the tournament.
4. INSURANCE. All boats competing in the SAGINAW BAY OPEN shall maintain their own liability insurance during all practice and tournament hours. Contestants assume all risks of loss and waive any or all claims they may have for injury, property damage, consequential damages, or any damage of any nature against any director, official, sponsor or any contestant or other person connected with the SAGINAW BAY OPEN and related events.
5. BOAT LAUNCH AND WEIGH-IN AREA. SAGINAW BAY OPEN boat launch and weigh-in area are located at the AuGres DNR Boat Ramp at the mouth of the AuGres River.
6. BOATS. BOATS MUST BE A MINIMUM OF 16 FEET IN LENGTH, comply with all Michigan DNR and Coast Guard regulations and have an adequate live well capable of keeping a one day limit of fish alive. All boats shall be equipped with an emergency ignition shut-off device (“kill-switch”).
7. BOAT POSITION. Boat position will be determined by the order in which the mail entries are received. For all entries at the ramp boat position will be determined by the order in which they are received. Boat Position will be discussed at the pre-tournament meeting.
8. BOAT INSPECTION. All boats will be made available before the start of competition for inspection. At this time all live-wells, compartments and storage areas will be made accessible to SAGINAW BAY OPEN inspection personnel. NO boat shall be allowed to compete that has not been inspected the day of competition.
9. FISHING RULES. All Michigan rules regarding fishing will be observed unless the tournament director specifies more stringent regulations. Only those fish caught in normal angling methods will be accepted. ONLY ARTIFICIAL BAIT MAY BE USED. Gulp, Gulp Alive and pork trailers are considered artificial bait. Entrants must possess any required licenses. Only 1 rod per person may be used at any one time during tournament fishing. Only largemouth bass and smallmouth bass are allowed to be in the livewell and brought to the scales. All fish must be hooked inside of the mouth, any fish hooked outside of the mouth must be immediately released. Immediate culling required, a team’s 7th fish must be released before fishing can resume and or the big motor is started. Any team that does not cull their 7th fish in a reasonable amount of time will be disqualified. No culling after boat check-in.
10. SCORING. Scoring will be based on weight of bass. There will be a 6 fish limit per 2-man team. A minimum length of 14 inches will be strictly enforced. Bass presented for weigh-in which fail to measure 14 inches shall accrue penalties at the rate of 1 pound for each such bass. DON’T KILL YOUR CATCH a penalty of 0.5 pound will be enforced for each dead fish presented for weigh-in. Fish judged to be improper will not be weighed (i.e. white gill, sunken eyes, missing scales, etc.) Big bass will be awarded to the team who weighs the largest smallmouth or largemouth bass. Largemouth big bass bounty will be awarded to the team who weighs the largest largemouth bass. A single Largemouth Bass can win both Big Bass awards. In the event of a big bass tie, the prizes will be divided between the tied teams. In the event that no one weighs a Largemouth Bass, the Largemouth Big Bass prize will be added to the regular Big Bass Prize. Teams may weigh more than one big bass at the discretion of tournament director, only one largemouth and one smallmouth will be recorded in the official scoring.
11. BOUNDARIES. Fishing will be allowed in all legal waters of the Saginaw Bay and Lake Huron. A 25-yard distance between anchored boats with trolling motor up will be enforced. The use of a trolling motor while anchored to position the boat, thus blocking other boats is prohibited.
12. TROLLING: No trolling allowed. Also the use of Planner Boards are prohibited.
13. PRACTICE. Pre-tournament practice fishing can be done anytime up until the day of the tournament.
14. TOURNAMENT HOURS. Blast off will start at Safelight, and check-in time will be announced at pre-tournament meeting. BOAT INSPECTION WILL BEGIN AT 5:00 AM local time.
BOAT CHECK-IN WILL BE AT THE BOAT RAMP!!!! PLEASE LEAVE TIME AU GRES RIVER IS NO WAKE!!!
15. PROTESTS. A $50 protest fee is required to protest another team. Fee will be refunded if protest is deemed valid, this fee can be waived at the discretion of the tournament director.
16. TIES. In case of a tie, the team with the heaviest big bass weight shall be determined as the 1st place winners. This is for the 1st place only. Ties for lower places shall divide the total prizes of tied places amongst the tied teams. (i.e. a tie for 3rd shall add prize money for 3rd and 4th and divide it equally between the teams).
17. LATE RULE. Check in time will be announced at the pre-tournament meeting. A 1 pound per minute late penalty will be enforced, after 15 minutes the team will be disqualified.
18. SAFETY. Safe boating shall be observed at all times. During competition, each contestant shall wear a chest type life preserver anytime the main combustion engine is running. All boats shall be equipped with an emergency ignition shut-off device (“kill-switch”), which must be securely attached to the driver whenever the main combustion engine is in operation.
19. SPORTSMANSHIP. All contestants are required to follow the highest standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, and conservation at all times. Drunkenness will be cause for immediate disqualification at anytime during this contest. The use of illegal drugs will also mean disqualification from this event.
20. SEVERE WEATHER. Under normal conditions, no contestant may leave his/her boat during the tournament hours, except at the weigh-in area. The exception to this rule would be in the event of severe weather or emergency. In this case you may seek shelter at the nearest shoreline or shelter as you deem appropriate.
21. ALCOHOL USE. At no time will there be any alcoholic beverages aboard any tournament boat during tournament hours. There will be no use of alcoholic beverages before start of day’s competition.
22. NO WAKE ZONES. Boating safety is a must in this tournament! Any and all no wake zones will be observed. This also pertains to areas near other fishing boats please be courteous.
23. BREAKDOWNS. In the event that your boat becomes inoperable, you may be towed to the weigh-in area or ride in with another tournament participant. You may receive a tow from any other boat including U.S. Coast Guard, a non-tournament boat, or a tournament boat. You may not leave your boat unless in the case of an emergency or breakdown. The non tournament participant towboats must not come in contact with your boat in any other way than the towrope. Breakdowns are not an exception to the late rule.
24. USE OF RADIOS OR CELLULAR PHONES. We strongly recommend that each boat have an emergency communication system of either a marine radio or cellular phone. No fishing information may be relayed via radios or phones. Radios and cell phones are only to be used for emergency purposes during tournament competition hours. Binoculars or cameras with telephoto lenses will not be allowed in tournament boats.
25. Cheating: Anyone found to be cheating or suspected of cheating will be suspended from all further tournaments sponsored by Saginaw Bay Bed Busters Bass Club and prosecuted to fullest extent of the law. None of the above rules shall prohibit a properly designated tournament official from approaching or boarding any competitor’s boat at any time during tournament hours. Polygraph: Each competitor agrees to submit to a polygraph test should he be accused of any rule violation. The administration and interpretation of the polygraph test shall be solely the responsibility of the Tournament Director and his agents, and shall be used (or not used) at the discretion of the Tournament Director.
Option Pot Rules (All tournament rules apply to option pots)
2010 Saginaw Bay Open Bonus Pot Rules
100% Bonus Pot Payback Join all 3 for $20 per team
Bonus Pot- $10 Team Entry
100% of the Bonus Pot entries will awarded to the highest finishing team participating in the bonus pot.
6 Pounder Bonus Pot- $5 Team Entry
The pot will start with a balance of $100. 100% of the 6 Pounder Bonus Pot entries will be added to the pot. The team weighing the largest LIVE bass over 6lbs will win the balance of the pot. In the event that no team weighs a bass over 6lbs the balance of the pot will roll over to the 6 Pounder Bonus Pot for next year’s event.
30lb Limit Bonus Pot- $5 Team Entry
The pot will start with a balance of $100. 100% of the 30lb Limit Bonus Pot entries will be added to the pot. The team weighing the largest bag of fish (does not have to be 6 fish) over 30lbs will win the balance of the pot. In the event that no team weighs a limit over 30lbs the balance of the pot will roll over to the 30lb Limit Bonus Pot for next year’s event.