2023 CAST Fishing Tournament

All rules stated below will be effect for the 2022 CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT (“CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT”). All decisions made by the tournament director and/or tournament officials will be final in all matters. The tournament director and/or the tournament officials can make a change when the safety of a contestant is in question or by a unanimous decision by the tournament committee. Any changes to the rules will be posted on the website www.refishseries.com and communicated to the tournament members in the pre-tournament meeting before the tournaments. Warnings, penalties and disqualifications will be determined by the tournament officials. A signature on one set of rules and regulations is applicable for any and all CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT events and may be used as an acknowledgement for such.

RULES

Each participant (“contestant”) must read and acknowledge the following rules and indicate so by signing an entry form. A “team” shall consist of two to 4 contestants. A TEAM MAY HIRE A PROFESSIONAL GUIDE AT THE TEAMS EXPENSE. YOUR GUIDE IS CONSIDERED A TEAM MEMBER.

1) Applicable Laws: Federal, State and Local laws shall be obeyed by contestants at all times. Contestants choosing to fish outside of Texas waters shall adhere to the local and state laws of the venue in which the contestant is fishing, including purchasing and possessing a valid fishing license for that state effective for the dates of competition. Violation of any federal, state and/or local laws shall result in the disqualification of the individual and his team from the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT event, and may disqualify (at the discretion of the tournament officials) the individual and his team from the tournament.

2) Tournament Eligibility: Contestants under 18 years old must fish with their legal guardian as their teammate, or another adult approved by the minor’s legal guardian. The CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT reserves the right to refuse participation in any event to any individual and/ or team at the discretion of the tournament committee.

3) Illegal Drugs: Consumption of illegal drugs during tournament hours is prohibited and will result in disqualification. Illegal drugs may not be in the possession of any team member or on board a participating boat during the hours of tournament competition.

4) Sportsmanship: CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT participants are expected to follow the highest standards of sportsmanship, courtesy and ethics. Unsportsmanlike and unethical conduct will result in disqualification (at the tournament committee’s discretion). Please refer to the Texas Boating Safety Rules.

5) Permitted Tournament Fishing Waters: Contestants may fish in any inshore public water accessible by boat. “Inshore” for this series is defined as the navigable, tide consumable coastal waters, bays, rivers, and wetlands, extending to the inside of the passes to The Gulf of Mexico. Contestants may not fish beyond the furthest point of a pass extending into the Gulf of Mexico.

• • No fishing is allowed within 300 yards of tournament site.
• • No fishing is allowed within 500 yards of any ferry landing.
• • Contestants shall not fish in any area which has been “closed” by a governmental agency.
• • Wade fishing is allowed, but both contestants must remain within 400 yards of the boat.
• • Participants are not allowed to fish within 150 feet (50 yards) of another anchored boat or wade fisherman unless they are invited in by that team. An anchored boat is a boat held in a stable position by an anchor, a weight, push pole, Power Pole, or other “anchoring” mechanism with the trolling motor in the up position. If a team invites another team into the inviting team’s 50 yard area, any tournament participant is also allowed within the waived area.
• • The boat anchored in an area first has the right to 150 feet radius of the area.
• • If the boat does not have a trolling motor the definition of anchored still applies.

6) Permitted Fishing Methods: All tournament fish shall be taken by rod, reel, and artificial tackle, and live or dead cut bait only. Contestants shall not “harass” fish, to include such antics as “burning” or corralling of schools with a boat. Prior to and during the tournament, contestants shall not “cork” or otherwise mark fish or schools of fish for identification for the purposes of locating fish during tournament hours. Wade-fishing is allowed. Teams who wade-fish must remain within a 300 yard radius of the team’s boat. However, contestants may not leave the boat to net a fish hooked while the contestant or his partner is in the boat. A wade-fisherman must net his own fish. Teams shall not have one participant fishing from the boat with the other teammate wade-fishing; both teammates must be fishing in the same manner. Both team members must be in the boat before the combustion engine is started.

7) Checkpoints and Inspection: Team’s may launch anywhere within permitted tournament fishing waters 30 minutes before sunrise (safelight). This means you can have your boat launched in the water but may not leave the dock until this time. Check-in times will be between 2:00 PM and 4:00 PM. Contestants who are not at the official checkpoint area at the appointed time will be penalized at the rate of one-half (1/2) pound, per minute, which will be deducted from the team’s total day’s weight. Any contestant more than fifteen (15) minutes late will be disqualified from that day’s weight entry. Teams who are not able to check in due to equipment failure or other unforeseen circumstances are responsible for contacting the tournament director before the official check-in is over in order to determine an acceptable solution.

8) Polygraphs: By signature on the official tournament entry form, each contestant agrees to submit to a polygraph test and be bound by its interpreted results and conclusions. The first place team in each event shall be subject to a polygraph examination and will not receive any award until the test has been administered and determined to be non-deceptive. Polygraph tests may be issued at the discretion of the tournament director/committee for any reason, and each contestant hereby acknowledges and consents to the examination. The results and interpretations of the polygraph are final and each contestant hereby knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily waives any review of said test result, including any judicial process seeking to overturn, amend or otherwise negate the finding of the test administrator.

9) Insurance and Liability: Each boat entered into any CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT shall have a minimum liability insurance coverage to be maintained throughout the entirety of the series or for every event fished. It is the responsibility of the boat owner to carry liability insurance covering the vessel. The CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT will not issue liability coverage for its events. A current copy of the team’s insurance policy and each member’s signed DECLARATION, WAIVER, RELEASE, AND HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENT shall be given to CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT before a team may compete in any CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT event. All tournament participants are required to sign a waiver absolving all tournament officials, officers, participants, sponsors and co-sponsors from any responsibility for damage or personal injury sustained as a result of the contestant’s participation in the tournament or its related activities, and the contestant’s signature on this form shall constitute in an alternate release in the instance the member fails to sign the official DECLARATION, WAIVER, RELEASE, AND HOLD HARMLESS AGREEMENT.

10) Pre-Tournament “Captain’s” Meeting: Tournament Registration for the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT will be online. Online registration will end April 20th at midnight. Teams may register at the captains meeting with a late fee of $50 per team. The captains meeting will be Friday evening before the tournament date between 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM. At least one member of each team MUST attend the Pre-Tournament meeting. Participants may be excused from the Friday night meeting if arrangements are made with the tournament officials. If a contestant fails to attend the registration and pre-tournament meeting without permission from the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT office, a one (1) pound, per fish, will be assessed against the team’s fish at weigh-in.

11) Communication: No communication via multi-media methods, social networking, cell phone, e-tablet, laptop, radio, pager or any other device will be allowed from outside sources or tournament participants during tournament hours that will give a team or contestant any advantage from data or information regarding fishing the event. Purchasing of information and/or hiring of services from local experts or guides will not be permitted within 7 days prior to the competition. Face-to-face information shared between teams during tournament hours may not be used to give either team an advantage over other teams. If a team has an emergency, a mechanical problem, or needs immediate assistance, teams may contact local authorities, emergency services, the Coast Guard or the tournament director. Teams must notify the tournament director immediately if these circumstances exist.

12) Entry Fees, Tournament Registration and Identification: The entry fee for the event is $500.00 per, two to four-person team. Teams must have 100% of the tournament’s entry fee paid in full by 7:30PM at the captains meeting. All entry fees and deposits are non-refundable, and are in consideration for holding a team’s spot and calculation of projected winnings for tournament officials.

13) Boat, Motor and Horsepower Regulations: All boats shall be a minimum of 15 feet in length and be equipped with a minimum of 25 hp motor. Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment. ALL BOATS MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH AN OPERABLE IGNITION KILL SWITCH. The kill switch device must be attached to the driver's body anytime the combustion engine is operating. Anytime the combustion engine is operating and in gear, there must be a driver in the driver's seat in full control of the boat. Any fuel tanks that are not installed by the boat manufacturer are prohibited. Fuel may be carried only in factory installed (built-in) fuel tanks. Any additional fuel used during the tournament day must be purchased from a retail facility open to the public.

14) Safety: Safe boating will be observed at all times. Each contestant is required to properly wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved, personal floatation device anytime the combustion engine is engaged. Tournament days may be shortened or canceled due to unsafe weather or water conditions. The decision to shorten or to cancel will be left totally to the discretion of the tournament director/committee. A 4-hour period shall constitute a day of fishing. It is the competitor’s responsibility to communicate with the Tournament Director if cancellation of the event is suspected. Cancellations will be communicated via VHF radios on a channel decided at the Pre-Tournament Meeting. If conditions are not safe on the tournament day, the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT reserves the right to reschedule the tournament on the following day (Sunday). If conditions are not favorable the following day (Sunday), an alternate date will be published on the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT website.

15) Tackle and Equipment: Artificial lures, live bait, and dead bait will be permitted.

16) Fish: A team’s tournament weight will consist of TWO LIVE red fish, measuring no less than 20 inches and no more than 28 inches, in length. ONE LIVE speckled trout measuring no less than 17 inches and no more than 23 inches, and ONE LIVE flounder no less than 15 inches. No altered or mutilated fish will be accepted. Fish will be inspected for alterations in age, size, length and weight. Any altered fish shall result in the disqualification of the team weighing the altered fish, and may result in a perpetual ban from the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT. A 1/4 pound penalty will incur per dead fish brought to the weigh-in scales. IF YOUR GUIDE SHOULD CHOOSE TO FISH, ANY FISH CAUGHT BY THEM, MAY BE USED DURING THE TEAM WEIGH-IN.

17) Scoring: Tournament standings, auxiliary awards and final winners shall be determined by the total weight of each team’s catch during the tournament, measured in pounds and 100 ths of a pound. All fish must be brought to the weigh station in tournament bag provided by the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT. Fish may not be brought to weigh-in on a stringer or in a basket. Fish shall be weighed with the equipment provided by the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT.

18) Ties: If two or more teams have identical weight in the tournament, it will be considered a tie. In the event of a tie, the prize money from the consecutive places will be combined and split between the teams. For example, if two teams tie for fourth place, the amounts designated to fourth place AND fifth place will be combined, divided by two, then distributed to the teams, equally.

19) Protest Procedure: All protests must be submitted in writing, along with a $300 cash deposit. Protests must be submitted to the tournament director no later than 15 minutes following the weigh-in of the last fish. All decisions will be made by the tournament director and committee, and are final. If the protest is upheld, the cash deposit will be returned to the person submitting the protest. The protester agrees that by filing a protest, he may be subject to a polygraph test.

20) Permission to be filmed for Television: All participants agree to be filmed, photographed, taped, interviewed, quoted or otherwise revealed, without compensation, by the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT or its assigns. This includes but is not limited to the official photographers, writers, hosts, or sponsors of this event under the conditions authorized by the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT organizers. Each contestant, by his signature affixed below, hereby gives the CAST FISHING TOURNAMENT, and its assigns, the right to use (without compensation) the contestant’s name, picture, likeness, quotes, and biographical information, whether audio or visual, before, during and after the period of an individual or team participation in an event.