Rules

ANY RULES GIVEN AT THE CAPTAIN’S MEETING BY THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR OVERRIDE ANY RULE STATED HERE.

NEW FOR 2023

  • Length limits for eligible Bass species are determined by the governing body of each fishery unless Tournament Director communicates otherwise.
  • Once an angler has legally launched, they may fish anywhere they can paddle/power/pedal/pole to without portaging over any natural or man-made obstacle. Anglers may not leave the kayak to drag through shallow water. Anglers may not leave the kayak while fishing. Shoreline/wade fishing is not allowed.
  • $40 membership per angler required to fish individual and/or team trails. One membership fee covers an angler for both.
  • Tournament location will be off-limits 10 days prior to the official practice period. *Practice period. The official practice period will begin at 6:00am the Saturday before the event. During the practice period, anglers must abide by tournament rules.
AAKS Rules Standard 

HOW KAYAK TOURNAMENTS WORK

How Kayak Tournaments work
The night before a tournament there will be a Captain’s meeting. This will be the time when the Tournament Director(TD), will go over the rules and discuss the event. Anglers will then receive the
3 digit Identifier code, that must be visible in all fish photos. Launch times, start times, and check-in deadlines will also be discussed at the meeting.

On tournament day anglers may launch their kayaks from any public access. This is referred to as a “Roadrunner style launch”. First launch time is when an angler may get on the water and get into position to begin. Lines in time is when the angler can now begin fishing.

Kayak tournaments go by the length of the fish and are Catch Photo Release style also known as “CPR”. Once an angler catches a bass, they will then place it on approved measuring device ( Ketch Board only) and take a photo of it with their phone, making sure the 3 digit identifier code is visible. The fish is then released back into the water. Once a proper photo has been taken that meets photo standards, it gets submitted to the TourneyX tournament management system app.

TourneyX is free for anglers to use and is an excellent tournament management system. You will upload the photo of your bass and it will go onto a live leaderboard, that shows what everyone has. Family at home can follow along live while watching as well. This app will place a geotag and a timestamp for the judge to see, which shows exactly where the fish was caught and at what time (only the TD/Judge can see this). TourneyX will automatically cull for you, and keep track of your total length from your best 5 bass. The angler with the highest total of length will be the winner.

Once the tournament end time arrives, which is normally 3 pm, anglers must stop fishing. No photos taken after that time will be accepted. Anglers will then need to load up and travel to tournament headquarters. Anglers must be checked in by the designated time given at the captain’s meeting. At the check-in, there will be food and drinks, free raffles and giveaways, and the awards ceremony will start shortly after.

REQUIRED GEAR

Coast Guard approved PFD
Kayak or canoe
Safety whistle
Smartphone
Free TourneyX account
Ketch brand measuring device

RULES OVERVIEW

Approved Watercraft

KAYAKS AND CANOES ONLY
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​NO GASOLINE MOTORS, NO TUBES, NO PONTOON-STYLE WATERCRAFTS

COAST GUARD APPROVED PFD MUST BE WORN WHILE ON THE WATER
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360 VIEW LIGHTS MUST BE USED IF ON THE WATER IN THE DARK

ANGLERS MUST FOLLOW ALL STATE WATERWAY LAWS AT ALL TIMES.

ANGLERS MAY LAUNCH 30 MINUTES PRIOR TO TOURNAMENT START TIME BUT MAY NOT FISH UNTIL OFFICIAL START TIME.
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PRIOR TO EACH TOURNAMENT, THERE WILL BE A CAPTAINS MEETING THAT WILL GO OVER SPECIFIC RULES AND SAFETY FOR THAT BODY OF WATER.

​PRE FISHING CUTOFF TIME IS 6 PM THE DAY BEFORE THE EVENT.

PHOTO STANDARDS
CATCH-PHOTO-RELEASE (CPR)

MEASURING DEVICE MUST BE CLEARLY VISIBLE IN THE PHOTO.
* KETCH BRAND BOARDS ARE THE ONLY APPROVED MEASURING DEVICES.

RULER MARKS/DIGITS MUST BE CLEARLY VISIBLE IN PHOTO. NO ALTERED BOARDS UNLESS PRE-APPROVED BY TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR.

COMPETITORS WILL SUBMIT THEIR PHOTOS TO TOURNEYX.

BEST 5 FISH, (THE TourneyX APP WILL AUTO CULL FOR YOU AND UPDATE YOUR SCORE LIVE.) 

BIG BASS POT

Big Bass fee is included in your entry fee.  The angler who finishes with the longest bass of the day wins the pot if they bought their chance before the registration period ended.

Big Bass Payout

1-74 contestants pays 1 place
75-99 pays 2 places
100+ pays 3 places.

Big Bass Tiebreaker rules – if a tie exists for longest bass, each angler’s next longest bass will break the tie. If a tie remains, the 3rd longest will break the tie and so on until the 5th fish. If both anglers tie for their entire culled creel then the earliest submitted fish regardless of size will prevail.

Purchase 2023 Membership