National Bass Fishing Trail Inc. Official Rules and Regulations:
Page 3. Revised 02/04/2010

J. POINT SYSTEM :

1.All tournaments are scored in pounds and hundredths of pounds with points awarded for the place of finish.

2. Qualifying Tournaments are worth a total of 200 points each. There is two-point difference between places of finish for anglers weighing in fish, anglers that do not weigh-in fish will receive 50 points.

3.District Championships are worth 400 Points each. There is a four-point deduction between places of finish for anglers weighing in fish, anglers that do not weigh-in fish will receive 100 points.

4.The National Championship is worth 600 Points and there is a five point deduction between places of finish for anglers weighing in fish, anglers that do not weigh-in fish will receive 150 points.

5.In order to get full points for a tournament there must be a field of 10 Adults for the Adult division and 5 Juniors for the Junior division. There will be a single place deduction per entry below these numbers for first place decreasing from there. Example: A qualifier tournament with 8 adults will be worth 196 for first place and 194 for second, etc.

6.An anglers national point standing will be determined from their top 4 qualifier results, their top District Championship result and the National Championship result with Angler of the Year honors going to the angler with the most points in each division.

K. SCORING :

1.Only Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Spotted Bass will be weighed.

2. The official length will comply with state rules, regulations, and laws. The Director of each district will determine the lake size/length of each tournament in compliance with the State Laws. Any angler breaking the State size/length rule will not be allowed to weigh any fish for the day and will only receive the 50 participation points for that day. If State size/length rule does not apply, any angler weighing in a short fish will be penalized the loss of the short fish and 1 pound of remaining weight.

3. The official tournament bag limit will be 5 fish unless state or lake regulations are below that number, then State or Lake regulation will take precedence.  If an angler has more than the bag limit in their possession fish will be removed starting with the largest and moving down until the bag limit is reached.

4.Fish will be measured with mouth closed.

5.Angler with fish that appears to be altered will be disqualified.

6.Tournament director will have the Official measuring board.

7.Your fish must remain in your possession from catch to weigh-in.

8.Dead fish penalty is 0.50 lb per fish.

9.Catch and release only, except for trophy fish!

L: CATCH AND RELEASE

1. Culling is allowed if permitted by state regulation.

2. You must cull immediately upon catching your 6th fish (or corresponding number if tournament bag limit is below 5)  so that at no time do you violate the tournament bag limit.

3. The culling of Dead Fish is prohibited.

M . TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT :

1.Only artificial lures with the exception of pork trailers may be used.

2.Only one rod may be presented and in the water at one time.

3.All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner.

4.Use of a landing net is permitted

5.Fish may only be caught and landed from a boat.

N. OFFICAL CHECK POINTS :

1.There will be only one official checkpoint for boat check-in in the morning and one official checkpoint for check-in in the afternoon. Failure to go through boat check and checkout in the morning or failure to check-in at the check-in point will result in disqualification. Early or emergency check-in must be reported to tournament director or member of tournament staff. Contestants' failure to comply will forfeit his/her show points for tournament.

2.A angler will be penalized 1 pound per minute late at weigh-in. After 15 minutes an angler is automatically disqualified.

O. TIES :

1.In case of a tie, positions shall be resolved by equal points for that position, and the next position or positions skipped. Awards for the tied position and the next following position shall be combined and divided equally between tied contestants.

2.Should two contestants tie for first place for the National Championship or Angler of the year, the tournament director may decide to break first places ties with a fish-off.

P. PROTESTS

1.Any angler wishing to protest the actions or scoring of another angler must do so in writing 30 minutes before or after their scheduled weigh-in time. The tournament director and/or NBT will then decide any protests, rules interpretation or misconduct and take appropriate action.

Q. POLYGRAPH EXAMS :

1.At the director's option, any contestant shall receive a polygraph exam for any tournament.. In the event any contestant does not successfully complete the polygraph exam, he/she may be disqualified and forfeit any and all winnings and points, and/or he/she may be prohibited from further competition.

R. LIABILITY :

1.Liability insurance is required in a minimum of $100,000.00 per accident of all contestants utilizing their boats while fishing any National Bass Fishing Trail Inc. Touranment.

2. Proof of insurance must be shown to the tournament director at first tournament and copy of policy must be kept in the boat at all times.

 

 

PAYBACK INFORMATION

JUNIOR PAYBACK INFORMATION

88% Total Payback

100% Total Payback

76% at the ramp

67% at the ramp

12% Goes to the Classic

44% Goes to the Classic

Pay out 20% of the field

Pay out 20% of the field

 



Rules and Regulations Page: 12 • 3
National Bass Fishing Trail ContactBoard of Directors