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TROUT CHALLENGE 2023 EVENT INFORMATION AND OFFICIAL RULES

BOUNDARIES: Boundaries will be all public fishable waters within St. Bernard Parish and the Lake Pontchartrain Basin (Lake Pontchartrain, lake Catherine, Lake Borgne and adjacent marshes) 

Launch: Anglers are only allowed to launch from publicly accessible launches. 

TIME: This tournament will take place on April 15, 2023.  The official LAUNCH & LINES IN time is 6:00 AM. You may launch your kayak prior to 6:00 AM and stage in the immediate vicinity of the launch, but DO NOT proceed forth or begin fishing UNTIL 6:00 AM.

REMINDER: Be courteous, DO NOT BLOCK LAUNCHES.

Anglers must stop fishing at 2:00 PM. Any photos taken after 2:00PM will be rejected. Anglers have until 2:30 PM to submit photos. 

The live leaderboard will be turned off for the duration of the event. 

The Awards Ceremony will take place at 3:30 PM following the tournament. The Awards Ceremony will be held at No Wake Outfitters located at 1926 Airline Dr, Metairie, LA 70001

YOU MUST BE PRESENT AT THE AWARDS CEREMONY TO BE AWARDED A PLACING PRIZE. Need not be present at the awards ceremony to earn Angler of the Year points. 

OBJECT: The longest total length of up to 10 Speckled Trout (12” or larger) will win. A speckled trout picture submitted to the TourneyX PRO App will be judged by one or more individuals assigned to the job by the tournament directors. In the event of a tie, the angler with the longest fish will place higher. If the first fish does not break the tie, the anglers next largest fish will be used, and so on down their list of submissions. In the event that the anglers are still tied, then the angler who submitted their final fish used in their stringer first will win.

Approved Measuring Devices: The Ketch Board (karbonate and metal) and Check-it Stik Kayak Elite Series boards are the two approved measuring devices for this tournament. They are expected to be clean and all lines clearly visible to the judges who view pictures.

Photo Submission Information / Rules: “TourneyX Pro” is the official app and tournament scoring method for Trout Challenge. It is available for Apple iOS and Android operating system smartphones. Make sure to download the PRO version as it is the only one that works.

The tournament token will be released on the TourneyX PRO app at 8pm on Friday, April 14th. The following photo submission rules are as follows:

• Photo submissions may be submitted from 6:00 am until 2:30pm (although photos taken after 2:00 pm will not count). 
• The entire fish must be on a tournament approved measuring device and the body centered between the rails. Additionally, the fish must be alive at the time of the photo being taken.
• The trout must be facing to the left with the tail to the right and the belly of the fish facing the angler.
• Trout must be submitted at 0.25” incremental measurements.

• If the tail is not obviously touching or crossing a measurement line, it will be rounded down to the next lower quarter inch length.
• The nose must be pressed up against the post of the measuring device with mouth CLOSED COMPLETELY. If the mouth is open at all, the angler will face a 0.5” length deduction
• There may be no lures or fish retaining tools in the fish’s mouth for the picture or the angler will face a 0.5” length reduction which may be inclusive or in addition to the open mouth penalty at the judge’s discretion.
• The top lobe of the tail must be on the flat part of the board and over the measurement marking lines on the flat portion of the board. Pinching of the tail is not permitted.
• The mouth, eye, and tail must be fully visible for the picture to be accepted, with the tail flat on the measuring board. 
• Only the angler’s hand may obscure the body of the fish to hold the fish down.  If the angler chooses to hold down the fish, the hand must fall between the end of the gill plate and the rearmost part of the dorsal and anal fins. The angler is NOT allowed to hold the tail of the fish in place. See example below:

• The picture must be taken overhead and not at an extreme angle.

• Pictures will only be accepted if they include original metadata which contains GPS coordinates.

Note: Assigned judges will NOT have access to metadata information. Only the BCKFC Officers assigned tournament director will have access to this information. The only situation in which it will be viewed is if a valid location based protest is submitted to the tournament directors or there is a genuine suspicion that the angler was not fishing within the legal boundaries.

• The tournament token must be visible in the picture (written on a card or the back of your hand). If written on a card, it may be placed on the back of your hand, or next to the fish, BUT not on the fish. The unique identifier will be released at 8:00 pm on April 14, 2023.
• If the judge deems your picture to be inauthentic or otherwise too problematic to accept, it will be rejected. Appeals may be made to the tournament director as described above in the protests section.

• Following completion of the tournament and awards ceremony, anglers may make a formal written request that their entry is deleted from TourneyX to the tournament directors. Doing so will delete all of the fish pictures, metadata, GPS, and statistics from the angler’s TourneyX account. This means these pictures/metadata/GPS will no longer be accessible to anyone including the tournament directors. This is a permanent irreversible decision. Making this request will not disqualify the angler from qualifying for awards in the tournament.

ANGLER OF THE YEAR / CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATION: The top 15 anglers on the leaderboard of Trout Challenge are eligible for qualification to the BCKFC Championship in November. To fully qualify, an angler must also have an additional paid entry to one of the other 3 qualification tournaments and be a paid club member in good standing with BCKFC.

Points are awarded for Angler of the Year at each tournament with 1st receiving 300 points, 2nd receiving 299 points, 3rd receiving 298 points, and so on down the line. To receive points, an angler must submit at least a single legal fish and be a BCKFC member in good standing. The Angler of the Year points total represents the 4 qualifying tournaments plus the BCKFC Championship, less a drop of the worst placing tournament for each individual angler.

At the end of all 4 qualifying tournaments, at least the top 2 anglers in angler of the year points (who had not qualified on the podium) will gain entry to the championship via wildcard. If there are still less than 40 anglers qualified for the championship after the initial 2 wildcards are earned, up to 3 more wildcard places may be awarded to the next highest Angler of the Year points earners (who had not qualified on the podium) so that a minimum of 40 anglers qualify for the championship.

ENTRY FEES: The entry fee is $50 per participant.

$27 of each entry is paid out to the winners.

$5 of each entry is paid out to the big trout winner.

$10 of each entry is held for the Championship Event.

$8 of each entry covers TourneyX platform and PayPal processing fees.

100% of the event purse is split to pay out the individual awards.

1-30 Paid Entries = Three (3) places paid out

31-50 Paid Entries = Four (4) places paid out

51-75 Paid Entries = Five (5) places paid out

76-100 Paid Entries = Six (6) places paid out

101+ Paid Entries = Seven (7) places paid out

Minimum payout = $50 with cash differentials provided by BCKFC.

MULE TROUT: Every angler who registers for the tournament will be automatically entered into the the MULE TROUT category. Winner is determined by the longest submitted trout.  Winner takes all.  If there is a tie for longest trout, the angler who presented that trout earlier in the day will win.

YOUTH DIVISION: There is a FREE youth division for anglers who are 12 years of age or younger. Enter by sending an email or a private message on the forum to any of the club officers. Youths compete for a prize valued at $50 (minimum) and do not compete against anglers who paid full entry fees.

PADDLE/PEDAL CRAFT ONLY: This event allows human powered craft only. Trolling motors, sails, gas engines, and “mother ships,” are not allowed. Your pedal or paddle craft must be human powered and includes tandem kayaks, canoes, pirogues, and paddleboards. A participant is allowed to wade fish or fish from the bank but ONLY if they remain within 100’ of their LAUNCHED paddle craft. Launched is defined as your paddle/pedal craft being off of your vehicle/trailer and that a portion of the craft is in fishable waters.

PRIVATE LAUNCHES & PRIVATE FISHING AREAS: Only publicly available launch locations are permitted.

Combat launches are allowed so long as all anglers have the legal right to launch from that location. Fishing behind gated areas of the marsh is not allowed unless the angler has arranged for all other participants to also fish the area that day AND has made that possibility known to all by posting appropriate information on our forums at least one week in advance.

WATER COURTESY / ENCROACHMENT: Do your best not to disturb someone else’s fishing area, by encroachment, or noise. An angler officially establishes his/her fishing area by having their craft anchored in place. If you come upon an angler in an egress area, as quietly as you can, ask which side he or she would like you to cross at. A good rule of thumb is that if you can both cast to a common point you’re too close.

Respect others and use the golden rule.

PROTESTS: All protests must be written and submitted electronically by 3pm to be considered. The tournament director is the final authority on deciding the merits/outcomes of a protest.

CHEATING/FOUL PLAY: All anglers are encouraged to report violations. Cheating and contest fraud in a fishing tournament is a crime in the state of Louisiana. BCKFC will enforce a zero tolerance policy with regard to cheating.

POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION: All participants, by signing up, agree to take a polygraph examination if requested. Any participant can be asked to submit to a polygraph examination. No explanation shall be required from the hosts of the tournament as to why a specific individual is asked to submit to a polygraph examination. Refusal to submit to or failure of a polygraph examination will result in disqualification from the tournament, forfeiture of any and all prizes / awards, and potential banishment from all future BCKFC events. No refunds for tournament fees will be granted for person(s) refusing to submit to or failing a polygraph examination.

RELEASE OF LIABILITY AND COVENANT NOT TO SUE: A waiver, release of liability, and covenant not to sue are part of the entry form. It is required that all contestants take responsibility for themselves while participating in event activities. Please DO NOT let your competitive nature push you into doing dangerous things. You must agree to the Waiver to participate. The Waiver is in the online registration page linked below. BE SAFE, BE SEEN, AND WEAR YOUR PFD!

DEPTH FINDERS: Depth finders / fish finders are allowed.

BAITS: Only artificial baits are allowed. Commercially produced scented baits and attractants are also allowed.

COMMUNICATION: Cell or electronic communication “to and from” non-tournament anglers during tournament hours will not be allowed except if it is not fishing related (Example: your wife, work, etc.).

PFD REQUIREMENT: You must properly wear a U.S. Coast Guard approved PFD while afloat in your watercraft during all BCKFC events. Failure to comply with this rule during competition could result in disqualification from the tournament. Disqualification will be determined by the Tournament Director based on investigation of any specific incident.

RULE CHANGES: Interpretation of rules is exclusively left to the Tournament Directors and BCKFC Officers.

The decisions of this group are final in all matters and are not subject to appeal. Please do your part in not providing a reason to place them in a position where they must make rulings, decisions, etc. Keep it simple, keep it clean, and when in doubt…do the right thing.

PARTICIPATION AND ELIGIBILITY: Participation is open to anyone 18 years of age or older. Minors are eligible to participate with a parent or legal guardian. That parent or guardian, not BCKFC, is responsible for the safety and well-being of that minor. All participants represent that they are physically and mentally competent and fit and able to participate. By entering, all participants agree to assume ALL risks of personal injury, death, and damage to or loss of property and further agree to indemnify and hold BCFKC, its officers, members, agents, and sponsors harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, and causes of action resulting directly or indirectly from participation.

LEGAL FISH:

Each participant must catch their own fish. You may not give fish to another participant. You may not net a fish for another (adult) participant. Youths should hook and retrieve their own catch. A parent/guardian may net fish for them and may handle the fish once it is netted.

DRONE/UAS USAGE: Tournament participants are not allowed to use unmanned aircraft systems (drones) during the tournament day to scout for fish, spy on other anglers, or any other means that may be viewed as benefiting/advancing their fishing.