1.  All boat Captains must be a member in good standing with the Flint River Valley Steelheaders Chapter at the time of the sign up. Spouse and children under age 18 are considered members. 18 and over must be a member.

2.  A $25.00 entry fee must be paid before the tournament starts. YOU CANNOT JOIN ON THE WATER.

3.  A Captain's meeting shall be held at 5:15 AM. prior to each tournament (except on days of pre-registration tournaments). This meeting is intended to collect entry fees, inform you of which channel is to be used, and relay rule changes or information concerning the tournament. All Captains must attend this meeting and abide by any changes made at the meeting.

4.  Winning boat crews; The Captain plus (2) two others must be members of the Flint River Valley Steelheaders or membership fees will be assessed before any prize money will be sent out.

5.  Points will be awarded as follows: 10 points per fish, 1 point per pound.

6.  All fish must be 16 inches in length to be entered in the tournament. Lake Trout size limits are determined by the Management Unit set by the Michigan DNR and/or Flint Steelheaders size limits. (The club suggests that fish less than 16 inches be returned to the water but it is not mandatory).

7.  You may use 2 lures per rod and reel and a maximum of (9) rods per boat during a tournament.

8.  All boats must stay inside the peirheads or in the designated area and may not begin fishing until the Chairman calls the start of the tournament. The starting time will be announced at the Captain's Meeting along with the official VHF Channel to be monitored for tournament information and updates.

9.  The tournament chairman shall announce the official end of the contest on the designated VHF Channel picked at the Captains Meeting. At this time all boats must be inside the peirheads and have all lines out of the water.

10.  All boats MUST depart from and return to BY WATER, the port where the tournament is being held.

11.  All boats must have their fish at the weigh-in location by 45 minutes after the announced end of the tournament. Any Captain and cooler not present at this time shall be disqualified for the DAY.

12. Each boat is allowed to catch their daily limit of fish according to the rules set by the Michigan DNR.  NO CULLING OF ANY KIND ALLOWED....(2 people on boat = 2man limit, 3 people on boat = 3 man limit, and so on….)

13. Boat crews will be allowed to weigh in their best 2-man limit of fish.  A 1-person limit of fish is determined by the Michigan DNR as 5 fish total with no more than 3 Lake Trout, Steelhead or Brown Trout.  In other words, no more than a total of 10 fish will be weighed. (Example: 8 kings+2 steelhead / 2 browns+6 kings + 2 coho)

14.  If a boat has caught more than 10 fish, it is the Captain’s responsibility to sort through his catch and pick the best fish of a 2 man State limit.  It’s the Captain’s responsibility to determine the species of each fish weighed in from his cooler.  This must be done before the cooler is brought to the line at the weigh-in.  Any person’s cooler that contains more than 10 fish will give up his place in line and not be weighed in until the count is corrected.  If a cooler contains 10 fish but more than a 2 man limit of any one species set forth by the Michigan DNR, the largest fish of that species will be removed and the remainder of the fish will count for the total weight for that days fishing.  In case of a dispute in identifying a fish that may be eligible for weigh-in, the FRV Tournament Director and/or Committee will have the final say in identifying as what species of fish it is.

15.  If you experience boat problems, you must notify the tournament chairman or another tournament boat. The Tournament Chairman needs to know if you leave the water for any reason.

16.  If you feel that present or impending weather conditions pose a threat to you or your crew, your entry fee will be reimbursed to you prior to the START OF THE TOURNAMENT. If during the tournament you deem it unsafe to continue fishing, you MUST RELAY THIS TO THE CHAIRMAN AND RETURN TO PORT.

17.  The tournament is valid if one or more LEGAL FISH are weighed in. Otherwise all entry fees will be returned.

18.  Fishing inside the pier heads and within rivers where the river bottom is dredged for freighter traffic is allowed. 

19.  It is the Captain's responsibility to make sure that all fish are free from foreign material, such as ice or water. Any questionable fish will be disqualified by a selected committee.

20.  ALL VIOLATIONS OF STATE OR CLUB RULES WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF THE PARTICIPANTS.

21.  Any protests or complaints must be made before final results are posted or announced.

22.  A copy of these rules will be made available to all participants.

23.  ALL DECISIONS MADE BY THE TOURNAMENT CHAIRMAN OR Its COMMITTEE ARE FINAL.

24. The "Tournament Committee" may comprise of any number of the FRV Board of Director's Members present or whatever number of Directors the Tournament Chairman sees fit to come to a conclusion.

PRIZE AND SPECIAL AWARDS

1.  Prize money will be awarded as follows:  1^st =34% or $100.00, 2^nd=25% or $75.00, 3^rd=12% or $35.00, 4^th=12% or $35.00, 5^th=8.5% or $25.00, 6^th=8.5% or $25.00.  All entry fees will be returned 100% in the form of prize money. There is now a minimum payout of each place 1^st to 6^th.

2.  A $50.00 prize sponsored by the Club will be awarded to those who catch the largest fish in each of the following categories. Steelhead, Brown Trout, Lake Trout, Coho, and Chinook (King) salmon.

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