Participation
Tournaments will be held at the scheduled start date, time and location on this website. Weigh-in time may be affected by sunset times and therefore will be anounced at the ramp prior to take-off. It is the responsibility of the director to announce the weigh-in time prior to take off, however it is the responsibility of the angler to know the weigh-in time. If the angler misses the announcement, they should ask the director prior to take-off or on the water during competetion.
There is a $10 yearly membership fee per angler (not team) to participate. This money is used as follows: 100% Classic fund. 100% of Membership funds are to be paid out in the form of cash or trophies during the classic.
This membership fee is waived for participants 16 years of age or younger. These participants must be accompanied by a chaperone who is 18 years of age or older. Minors fishing with non-related or non-legal guardian partners as chaperones must also have a signed permission slip from a parent or legal guardian expressley permitting the activity. Donating sponsors and directors are also exempt from this fee, but must however pay all entry fees in full at every event.
The entry fee for COTM Weeknight events is 35$ per boat. This includes a 5$ entry for the nightly big bass pot.
There is no boat limit. Commitment to participate will be decided upon by the angler by paying the entry and membership fees. In many cases, events are held at boat ramps with parking for a maximum of 15 trailers. Parking tickets or other infractions because of limited space or creative parking are the responsibility of the angler. Anglers should plan to arrive as early as possible to ensure a parking space.
Teams
Teams are a maximum 2 anglers per boat. Anglers may fish alone or with any partner they wish at any event. This will affect classic eligibility and end of the year points scoring. Please read and thoroughly understand the points and scoring details at the bottom of the page. A 3rd angler, 12 years old or younger, may also accompany and participate in the tournament.
Tournament Conduct
All state and local fishing regulations must be followed. Sportsmanship and courtesy will be shown by all teams entered towards fellow tournament anglers as well as any local fishermen or property owners. Failure to comply can result in disqualification at the discretion of the Director. Disqualification will include forfeit of entry fees.
Penalties
Late To Weigh-in:
Boats must be stationary or at idle speed within 150 feet of the ramp by the Weigh-In time.
There will be a 2 minute grace period.
After 2 minutes there will be a 1 pound per minute penalty.
Dead Fish
Every effort should be made to keep fish alive.
Dead fish will result in a 1/4 pound (4oz) penalty.
You may weigh in only ONE dead bass.
You may NOT weigh a dead fish for Big Bass
Short Fish
All fish must meet or exceed legal size limit.
Fish length is determined as the longest length from the mouth to tail, being measured with the mouth closed.
Suspect fish, may be bumped on the official measuring stick prior to weigh-in.
If the Director bumps a short fish, the short fish and the largest fish of the sack are immediately culled.
Payouts
All tournaments payout 100% at the ramp.
# of boats 1st place 2nd place 3rd place 4th place 1st BB 2nd BB
2 60 10 0
3 90 15
4 90 30 20
5 110 40 25
6 130 50 30
7 130 50 30 35
8 145 60 35 40
9 160 70 40 45
10 175 80 45 45 5
11 190 90 50 45 10
12 205 100 55 50 10
13 220 110 60 50 15
14 220 110 60 30 55 15
15 235 120 65 30 55 20
Points & Scoring
Points can be accumulated as follows (per team, per event):
Single Event Participation: 10pts
Points Per Boat: (see below)
1st Place Finish Bonus: 10pts
2nd Place Finish Bonus: 5pts
3rd Place Finish Bonus: 2pts
Big Bass Bonus: 5pts
2nd Big Bass Bonus: 2pts
End of the year Bonus Points:
Year End Big Bass: 10pts (overall, not per division)
Year End 2nd Big Bass: 5pts (overall, not per division)
Points Per Boat
One point per boat will be given based on the number of boats ( Number of Boats - (Place + 1) = Points) For example with 11 boats, 1st place recieves 11 pts, 2nd 10pts, 3rd 9pts and so on. Zero fish ties and/or last place will be awarded 0 additional points.
Yearly Big Bass
150$ of Sponsor money will be paid (split) to the anglers with the largest bass of the season per Monday night division. To be eligible, the paid angler must participate in at least 1/4 of the events (4 out of 12) in that division. Ties will result in a 50/50 splt of the pot.
Year End Classic & Eligibility
The classic will be held on TBD Date from safe light until 3pm. The classic entry fee will be 35$. Payouts will include standard entry fee payouts topped with 100% of the membership fund, sponsor donated prizes and trophies/awards. The top ~30% of each division will be eligible or up to 10 boats per division. Eligible boats must commit to participating by Sept 4th. In the result of less than 10 boats total committed to the classic, remaining spots will be filled from all divisions in order of highest points. Launch order will be determined by point standing.
Please note, team pairing rules have been updated for 2011 Points per team are calculated as the sum of:
Points earned by both teammates fishing together
Points earned by a single teammate fishing alone where the 2nd teammate is not present
Points earned by a single teammate fishing with a 1-time substitute* where the 2nd teammate is not present
A substitute may fish in the place of either teamate. A team is allowed 1 subtitution per season. The director must be alerted to the substitution at registration for the event. The substitute must pay the yearly membership fee.
Any angler fishing alone must provide his/her teammate's name to the director at registration if they wish for the points of that tournament to be included toward their team's final standings.
