Rules and Regulations

  1. RULES: The following rules of this tournament will remain unchanged. Interpretation of these rules shall be left exclusively to the tournament rules committee. The decision of the judges and tournament officials shall be final in all matters.
  2. PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY: All contestants must have a valid fishing license issued by Mississippi, Alabama, or Tennessee. A team/boat entry must consist of exactly two (2) anglers. Any contestant under the age of 16 years of age must be accompanied by a parent or designated adult guardian. Proof of age to the satisfaction of tournament officials is responsibility of prospective competitor. A properly completed and signed official application form and the $175 early bird entry fee MUST BE SUBMITTED ONLINE by 9:00 am Friday, October 21, 2022. All entries submitted online after this date will be $200. Team blast off positions will be in order of entry received EXCEPT for teams designated as boat sponsors; those will receive first priority of selection. The tournament committee reserves the right to discontinue acceptance of applications prior to the deadline and also the right to extend the acceptance date. Refund of entrance fee will be made only if PROPER notification is made prior to the deadline. Any angler that has ever been disqualified for a rules violation in any other tournament is not eligible to fish this event.
  3. REGISTRATION: Registration will be ONLINE ONLY. There will be no on-site registration and no pre-tournament meeting Friday night. Tournament officials shall present all tournament credentials at Boat Check-in Saturday morning. Registration will be limited to the first 300 boats.
  4. SAFETY: Safe boating conduct must be observed at all times by all tournament competitors. Caution and safety on the morning start must be observed. Each competitor is required to wear a Coast Guard approved chest-type life preserver. This preserver must be worn at any time the combustion engine is operating. The preserver must be strapped, snapped or zippered securely and maintained in that condition until the competitor reaches his fishing location and the combustion engine is shut off. Violation of this rule shall be reason for immediate disqualification.
  5. SPORTSMANSHIP: Competitors are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Maximum courtesy must be practiced at all times, especially with regard to boating and angling in the vicinity of non-competitors who may be on tournament waters. Drunkenness by any competitor during the tournament will not be tolerated and shall be cause for automatic disqualification from this tournament. No alcoholic beverages or drugs other than prescription shall be allowed in the boats or at the weigh-in. Having a non-contestant sit on a hole for you will not be tolerated. Cell phones and other electronic communication devices cannot be used by competitors for the purpose of locating or catching fish during tournament hours. Any infraction of these fundamental sporting principles may be deemed cause for disqualification.
  6. TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT: Only artificial lures may be used. No “live bait” or “prepared bait” will be permitted, with the exception of pork strips, rinds, etc. Only ONE casting, spin casting or spinning rod and reel may be used at any one time. All other types prohibited. Other rigs as specified above may be in boat ready to use, however, only ONE is permitted in use at any given time. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner.
  7. BOAT AND MOTOR: ALL BOATS MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH SOME TYPE OF IGNITION KILL SWITCH AND A WORKING, AERATED LIVEWELL. Fishing boats may be used that are 14 feet or more in length. Any motor, 10 horsepower or greater, may be used. A smaller motor, gas or electric, may be used for slow maneuvering. Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.
  8. BASIC BOAT EQUIPMENT: Every boat must have all required Coast Guard safety equipment. The horsepower of the outboard engine must not exceed the U.S. Coast Guard rating for the individual boat.
  9. BOAT IDENTIFICATION: Each boat will be given, prior to day’s start, some type of identification which MUST remain in your boat until the weigh-in and then be turned in! Ribbons will also be used on the trolling motors and must stay on them for the entire fishing day.

  1. PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS: Fishing on the tournament waters is permitted anywhere except within 50 yards of another competitor’s boat which was first anchored. No such anchored boat shall permit selected competitors to fish with the 50-yard circle claimed by him, to the exclusion of any other competitor. All angling must be done from boat. Contestant must not depart boat to land fish. Boat must remain in tournament waters during tournament day. Contestants must leave and return to official checkpoint by boat. Both competitors must remain in boat at all times except in case of dire emergency. Trailering of boats during tournament hours is prohibited, unless tournament officials are notified and boat is checked before it is removed from the lake and again before it is re-launched and a new ribbon is issued. Permitted fishing area is defined as anywhere accessible by boat without removing boat from the water, including locking through the dams.
  2. OFFICIAL CHECKPOINT: There shall be only one official point for checkout in the morning, and check-in that afternoon and this point shall be designated in registration confirmations and published on the website. At the time of checkout, all competitors and their boats shall be in full conformance with all rules set forth by tournament committee and must take off in numerical order and be recognized by launch master or the days catch will not be counted; at check-in, all boats shall identify themselves by means of a number and proceed immediately to the designated weigh-in area.
  3. SCORING: Tournament standings, auxiliary awards and final winners shall be determined by the pound and ounce weight of each competitor’s catch during the tournament. Only largemouth, smallmouth, or spotted bass will be weighed. The limit shall be 5 of the above species and varieties per boat. At no time shall a competitor have more than the limit described above. There will be no culling allowed at the ramp; all must be done before you enter the weigh in area. Tournament officials will conduct checks for violation of this provision, and in the event a competitor has more than the above-described limits in possession, shall cull the largest bass first, down to the limit described. Fish must be brought to scales in a weigh-in bag with water. Only bass as described above which measure 15” inches or longer shall be presented for weigh-in. All efforts should be geared to keeping fish alive; therefore, an 8 oz. penalty will be applied for any dead fish brought to the scales. Three or more dead fish will result in disqualification. Dead fish will not be accepted for lunker prize. All bags MUST be weighed before boat is loaded at ramp. All fish except lunker fish become property of Pickwick Lake Catch-A-Dream Bass Classic.
  4. LATE PENALTY: Competitors who are not in the official checkpoint area as described in Rule 11 at the appointed time shall be penalized 1 lb. of the total weight of the catch, including any weight to be counted toward a “lunker award,” for each one (1) minute he is late. Any competitor more than 15 minutes late shall lose all credit for the day’s catch. There will be no excuse for tardiness, and in no case shall a competitor be allowed to make up “lost time.” After proper recognition at the check-in point, competitors will be allowed ample time to proceed to the weigh-in site; however, all fishing must cease upon check-in. Exact blast-off and check-in times will be published website and social media.
  5. TIES: A tie will be decided at the discretion of the tournament committee. The presentation of trophy or plaque shall be decided by a flip of the coin.
  6. CARE OF FISH: Fish should be kept in good condition in live-wells. All live fish deemed in good condition will be returned to the lake. All others will be donated as selected by tournament officials.
  7. PROTESTS: All protests must be submitted in writing to tournament officials before the scales are closed.
  8. POLYGRAPH: All contestants, winners and non-winners, are subject to a polygraph test. The results of said polygraph will be final and grounds for disqualification. Failure to submit to a polygraph test will result in immediate disqualification.
  9. OBSERVERS: The tournament committee shall reserve the right to place an observer in any competitor’s boat during tournament hours for any reason and without explanation.