Amended September 23, 1999
- The venue may be divided into multiple sectors to accommodate the number of anglers fishing and the differences in the course.
- The matches will be 2˝ to 4 hours long and may be one of the following:
- Rovers: This type of a match is one where the angler draws a number that determines his or her order in picking a location to fish in the venue. This is accomplished by having the angler with the lowest number drawn pick his location first, followed by the angler with the next number drawn, and so on.
- Pegged: This type of a match assigns a specific location for the angler to fish from. The angler draws a number that corresponds to a specific location on the venue identified by the same number.
- Once an angler has picked or has been assigned his/her peg, he/she must fish from that peg for the entire match. The angler may move 1 meter to the right or to the left of the peg but cannot move beyond this area even when fighting or landing a fish. The angler, however, may cast his/her presentation left or right up to half way between his/her peg and the next peg and as far forward as he/she can cast.
- Only 1 line attached to 1 rod or pole may be in the water at any one time. The angler, however, can have several rods and/or poles ready to fish with.
- Each line can only have 1 single hook. Treble hooks, jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, or any other artificial lures are not allowed.
- Only the following baits are allowed during the matches:
- Live baits – worms, spikes, leeches, crickets, etc.
- Natural baits – corn, self-made cheese baits or dough baits, etc.
- The draw for positions will be held at least one hour prior to the scheduled start of the match. Any angler wanting to fish in the match must be present or receive the next available position.
- Plummeting and preparation can begin right after the draw.
- A 5-minute warning signal will be given before the start of the match, at which time, anglers can start groundbaiting. Another signal will be given to mark the start of the match.
- A 5-minute warning signal will be given before the end of the match, at which point, no more groundbaiting is allowed. Another signal will be given at the end of the match. In the event that a fish has not been landed at the end of the match, the angler shall have 10 minutes to land the fish or it will not be included in his/her score.
- In the event that an angler hooks into a big fish and the fish surges into another angler’s peg, this fish will not be disqualified and the angler whose peg was entered may pull his/her line out of the water at his/her own discretion. The angler with the big fish, however, must make all good-faith attempts at bringing the fish out of the other angler’s swim.
- The scoring system for the matches will be as follows:
- Adult Division: The weight of all fish caught will be summed to get the total weight the angler caught for the match.
- Junior Division: The angler will be scored by the number of fish he/she caught during the match.
- Points will be awarded as follows.
- The angler with the highest weight/count for his or her sector will receive 1 point. The second highest will receive 2 points, and so on.
- In the event of a tie, the anglers will receive a score that is the average of the scores they would have received if there were not a tie. For example, 2 anglers that would have finished with 3 and 4 points would receive 3.5 apiece while 3 anglers that would have finished with 3, 4 & 5 would each receive 4 points.
- Any angler with no recordable weight/count will receive a penalty point in addition to his/her actual score. For example, if the angler should receive a score of 7 but does not have any weight or count to record, the score will be adjusted to 8.
- An Adult Division angler must have a means to hold fish alive until the conclusion of the match.
- Catch and Release is highly recommended.
- Wading is not permitted.