2021 CFF Tournament Trail Rules

Dropshot · Feb 14, 2021

2021 CFF TOURNAMENT TRAIL RULES 1. 2021 CFF TOURNAMENT TRAIL A. 13 Tournaments B. 9 Day Tournaments C. 4 Night Tournaments D. (7) Seven Tournament participation required for Classic qualification E. (0) Zero Tournament drop replacing previous 1 drop 2. ADMINISTRATIVE FEE A. A one-time fee of $10 will be charged to ALL participants before they fish their first tournament of the year. No one is excluded from paying this fee before fishing. 3. TOURNAMENT ENTRY FEE A. The entry fee for each tournament is $40. B. $5 from each entry is used towards the “Big Fish” reward. C. Fisherman under the age of 18 must fish with an adult, as well as have a waiver form signed by a legal guardian in order to participate. 4. ANGLER ELIGIBILITY TO PARTICIPATE A. 200 CFF Posts PER BOAT are required to fish the CFF Tournament Trail B. Qualified Member – A qualified member is designated as any active CFF member who has accumulated a minimum of 200 posts in any category at time of sign-up. An active member is one who contributes to the forum on a regular basis. C. Qualified Team - Any team consisting of a minimum of 200 posts in any combination between the two participating anglers. D. Exception - "One-pass Rule" - Each team participating in any 2021 CFF Tournament Trail Event, shall have a total of 200 CFF posts and a minimum of one (1) CFF member who is active on the forum, in any combination between the two anglers. This can consist of one member with 200 posts and a guest with 0 posts. Additionally, any CFF member lacking 200 posts ("NON-Qualified member" will be allowed to participate by using one free pass. This means that a member with less than 200 posts may fish one tournament with another non-qualified member or guest. Both non-qualified members and the guest will have used their free passes. The "non-qualified members" will be encouraged to enjoy the fun and fellowship and contribute back to CFF by posting and the guest will be encouraged to join and contribute. Any new members (non-qualified) should print their user profile and present it with their driver’s license at sign-in to verify their qualifications. In addition, anglers wishing to participate should verify that they post counts can be viewed. E. NOTE: THE ONE-PASS RULE WILL BE WAIVED AFTER THE 2ND TOURNAMENT. NO MORE NON-QUALIFIED PASSES WILL BE ALLOWED AFTER THAT POINT. NO EXCEPTIONS! F. NOTE: The CFF Tournament Committee reserves the right to refuse entry to any angler/team. 5. TOURNAMENT REGISTRATION A. All sign-ups will take place under the CFF Tournament Trail Forum. Sign-up will be posted the weekend prior to the scheduled tournament. A sign-up deadline will be posted as well, and normally will be 7pm on Wednesday evening the week of a tournament. Anyone who does not sign up online before the sign-up deadline will not be allowed to participate in the tournament. NO EXCEPTIONS! B. All day tournaments will start at safe-light and weigh in at 2:15pm EDT unless otherwise stated on the sign-up thread. Boats are to be inside buoy or designated area no later than 2pm. C. All night tournaments will start at 8pm EDT and weigh in at 2:15am EDT unless other posted/agreed upon. Boats are to be inside buoy or designated area no later than 2am. D. It will be the responsibility of the CFF Tournament Committee to post any ramp changes no later than 7pm EDT on Wednesday before the scheduled tournament. In cases of ramp changes, it will be determined by a majority vote of the CFF Tournament Committee. E. Official Tournament Deadline and blast-off order will be pre-determined before blast-off. Blast-off will be organized and numbers will be distributed at registration. Additionally, weigh-in instructions will be given at sign-in, prior to departure. Any team wishing to weigh fish, are required to return to the designated dock/ramp prior to deadline. For safety reasons, a two-minute grace period may be invoked for some ramps. CFF Tournament Committee members will be present to assist in this process. F. No passing of another boat ahead of you in the blast off order will be allowed inside of Chester Frost Park for safety reasons during blast-off. G. Check-in for tournaments will close 15 minutes before scheduled blast-off. Late check-in will not be allowed. This is non-negotiable. H. Waiver Form - A waiver form must be signed before participating each year. This form specifies additional information and guidelines. If you fish and do not sign a waiver form, you are subject to disqualification. 6. TOURNAMENT RULES AND WEIGH-IN A. Weigh-in will start promptly at 15 minutes after conclusion of tournament. If committee is ready to start weigh-in earlier, they will notify participants. B. All fish must be presented for weigh-in in a water-filled bag or container. Fish not presented in a water-filled bag or container will not be weighed in. The tournament committee reserves the right to measure any fish presented for weigh in. Anglers should strive to not stand in line with their fish. Please observe good conservation. C. Weigh-In Interference – The tournament committee asks that all anglers be mindful of the process for weighing-in and registration. This process is not always an easy one. With that said, all participants not on the tournament committee should remain in front of the scale area with the exception of the team weighing-in. We also ask all anglers to be courteous and respectful at the registration table. Anglers who do not adhere to this request will be subject to disqualification with no refund of entry fees. D. No live bait, trolling, or locking through will be allowed at any CFF Tournament Trail tournaments. E. Once entry fee is paid, there will be no fishing until the commencement of the tournament (blast-off) F. The use of the Tennessee Rig will follow state guidelines as determined by TWRA and the state guidelines of any state of which tournaments are taking place. G. The technique known as “Long-Lining” is prohibited on the CFF Tournament Trail. H. The CFF Tournament Committee member who performs the blast off process (thus being the last boat out) will be rewarded with being the first boat out at the next tournament. Tournament Committee members are not reimbursed and perform their duties due not for pay or recognition, but because they are willing to donate their time to make the trail a success. I. Live well checks will be performed prior to blast-off before each tournament. Instructions will be given prior to blast-off to check procedure. Any boat not subject to a live well check may be ruled ineligible for weigh-in. J. It is the right of the tournament committee to randomly measure any fish that may not fit the minimum length. Any fish not meeting the minimum length will be disqualified. Two fish that do not fit the minimum length will result in disqualification of the participant. K. Maximum first place payout will be $300 for regular season tournaments. Payouts for additional places is dependent on the number of overall participants. L. Big Fish Payout –There will be a big fish payout for each of the largest Largemouth Bass, Kentucky (Spotted) Bass and Smallmouth Bass. In case only 1 or 2 of the 3 species are weighed in, the big fish pot will be adjusted to reflect. M. Dead Fish – A 16-ounce penalty will be issued for weighing in a dead fish. Only one (1) dead fish will be allowed per boat. If a boat possesses more than (1) dead fish, they will only be allowed to weigh their LIVE fish. Dead fish are ineligible for participation in the big fish award. Dead fish can be disqualified at the discretion of the tournament committee based on condition of fish. N. Culling - Culling of fish is not allowed after the 2am/2pm conclusion of the tournament. Anyone found to be culling after this timeline, in the parking lot, at the dock, or waiting to load, will be subject to disqualification at the discretion of the tournament committee. 7. POST-TOURNAMENT EXPECTATIONS A. Fishing Report – In exchange for participation in the CFF Tournament Trail, each boat is expected to provide a fishing report under the CFF Fishing Reports. Boats that participate and place are required to post a fishing report, or risk participation in future tournaments. Fishing reports are the life-blood of the forum. There is no excuse for not posting a fishing report. 8. POINTS A. Points will be earned by points equivalent to each boat’s overall finish, as determined by each team's total weight. We will utilize a points system starting at 100 points, and decreasing a single point for every declining place finished through the last boat weighing in fish. B. A one-point bonus will be added to the team(s) weighing in the largest of three species of bass. A single point will be given for the overall largest largemouth bass, spotted bass, and/or largest smallmouth bass. C. The best of 13 tournaments will define your points for the Championship. With 13 total tournaments, no drops are allowed. D. A year-end point’s champion(s) (Angler of the Year) will be crowned at the Classic. In addition to bragging rights, the Angler of the Year winner(s) will have all entry fees waived for the 2022 CFF Tournament Trail. The winner must participate in the Classic to receive his recognition. If two anglers split the Angler of the Year and do not fish as a team, they will receive half-entry fees for the next year. E. Whereas in the past, boats who completed the tournament but failed to weigh in a fish received 20 points. This has now been modified: § If boat checks in at conclusion of tournament - Participants will receive 10 points lower than team weighing in least total weight. § If boat fails to check in at conclusion of tournament - Participants will receive 20 points. F. AGE TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2021 CFF TOURNAMENT TRAIL § Anglers of all ages are welcome to participate in the 2021 CFF Tournament Trail. However, at least one participating member of a team must be a minimum of 18 years of age on the date of the tournament to be fished. In addition, any boat operator under 18 years of age will need to present the following before entry will be permitted: · TWRA-issued wallet Boating Safety Education Card (Tennessee residents) or proof of completing a NASBLA course (non-Tennessee residents) before entry will be permitted. · Proof of insurance on watercraft. · CFF Waiver form signed by their parent or legal guardian to be eligible to fish. G. 2022 CFF CLASSIC § The 2021 CFF Classic will be a two-day tournament. § Days will be alternated with one day being held on Chickamauga Lake, and another day on Nickajack Lake. Ramps will be determined and posted later in the season. This is subject to change based on scheduling, etc. § The year end Classic will have double entry fees ($80), which will result in a double pay scale. § To qualify, an angler must fish a minimum of 7 out of the 13 regular season events. CFF Alias' cannot be shared in qualifying for the CFF Classic. § Both anglers have to qualify to fish the Classic § The Classic will have a five-fish limit per day. § The tournament days will end at 3pm on the two days of the Classic. § There will be a Classic Champion, and an AOY recognized at the conclusion of the Classic. 9. BASS SPECIES A. 12" Spotted bass B. 15" Largemouth C. 18" Smallmouth (The only exception is Guntersville Lake, where limit for smallmouth bass is 15" D. Any fish in question will be voted on at the weigh-in by CFF Tournament Committee members. The majority decision of the CFF Committee members will be final. 10. SAFETY A. Safety is the primary goal of the tournament trail. B. Participants are encouraged to abide by all state and federal regulations and take all necessary precautions to provide for their safety. At the discretion of the tournament committee, any event may be postponed, shortened, or cancelled due to unsafe conditions including weather. It remains the decision of the participants, as to whether conditions are safe and suitable. C. Tournament blastoff will be performed by a member of the CFF Tournament Committee. Blastoff may be by single boat, or by flight based on several factors, including number of participants, weather, visibility, ramp, etc. ANY angler/boat found violating the blastoff routing may be subject to disqualification. 11. DISTANCE A. 50-yard rule when competing in a CFF tournament. Unless waived over, stay outside a judgement distance of 50 yards and exhibit proper sportsmanship. Please exercise safety, good sportsmanship and most of all, have fun fishing! 12. PROTESTS A. Any protest shall be submitted to any tournament committee member within 5 minutes after “last call” at weigh in. B. In case of a protest, statements will be taken from parties in dispute and a FINAL RULING handed down by the tournament committee in a timely manner. 13. SOCIAL DISTANCING A. Please be cautious as using certain county parks will have observers watching that we observe safe social distancing. 14. FUN A. The most important rule of CFF is to have fun. Enjoy fellowship with fellow anglers who enjoy the same passion as you do!

2021 CFF Tournament Trail Rules

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