Rules

Florida Bass League

FBL Rules and Regulations

(* indicates rule applies to club league only, not open series.)

General Guidelines:

1. The following rules shall apply to all regular tournaments conducted by The Florida Bass League, except for special tournaments as deemed by the tournament committee.

2. By participating in any tournament conducted by The Florida Bass League, it is understood that the following tournament rules have been read, agreed on, and shall be adhered to.

3. Interpretation and enforcement of these rules shall be left to the sole discretion of the tournament director. Members of the tournament committee present at the event may be consulted if deemed necessary by the tournament director.

PROTESTS:

a. Protests of violations of the tournament rules may be made to the tournament director or a member of the officers committee at any time during the tournament or weigh in, but must be made within 15 minutes of the final fish being weighed. Protests made more than 15 minutes after the last fish weighed in will not be considered.

b. A formal protest shall require a $50.00 deposit or agreement to forfeit 75 A.O.Y. points, which will be refunded should the protest be upheld. In the event the protest is found to be not valid or overturned, money or points shall be forfeited and applied to the FBL classic fund.

5. The decision of the tournament director and/or tournament committee shall be final in all matters.

6. Tournament winnings will be issued 15 minutes after final weigh in. Once the winnings are issued, the tournament is officially over and no protests or changes may be made.

7. These rules are steadfast and not open for discussion unless all conditions are followed under “changes of rules”.

Anglers/Teams:

1. Teams will consist of 2 anglers. Anglers that wish to fish alone may do so.

2. *Should a team dissolve or separate, and both anglers wish to continue and compete in the FBL, team points shall be divided equally and awarded to each angler if both anglers will be a boat captain. If the team dissolves and the co angler decides to continue as a co angler, all points will stay with the boat captain of the dissolved team.

3. *Should a member of a team be absent from a tournament, an alternate will be allowed to fish for that team. 

4. *An alternate will be allowed to fish the classic under extenuating circumstances, and must be registered as an alternate and fished 1 event prior to the classic.

Safety:

1. Safe boat conduct must be observed at all times. A violation of state or local boating laws as well as any conservation laws resulting in a written citation shall result in disqualification from the event.

2. Each angler is required to wear a Coast Guard approved life vest at all times when boat is on plane. Safety kill switch must be operational and connected to life vest when boat is on plane.

3. Tournament hours shall be safe light (discretion of tournament director) to 3:00 pm.

4. Each boat must be properly registered and have all required Coast Guard safety equipment. In addition, it must have functional live well space, properly aerated to adequately maintain a live limit of all fish caught during the tournament.

5. Navigation lights must be used at the start of each tournament and remain on until the shoreline, on the opposite side of the lakes become easily visible.

6. The use of drugs or alcohol is not allowed during tournament hours or during the weigh in.

7. Kill switches must be used in all boats throughout the entire tournament when boat is on plane.

8. The Florida Bass League does not provide insurance, and is not responsible for any accident or injury during an FBL tournament.

9. No Kayaks, mud boats or airboats allowed.

Tackle and Equipment:

1. Only casting, spinning, or spin casting rods (not exceeding 9’ in length) may be used. Any other type of rod or reel is prohibited. Numerous rods may be rigged and ready to use, but only one rod per person is permitted to be in use at any one time.

2. Only artificial lures may be used. No live or prepared baits may be used with the exception of commercial pork rinds.

3. All fish must be caught live and in a sporting manner. Anyone found guilty of snatching or snagging visible fish will be disqualified.

4. When fishing for bedding fish, fish must be hooked inside the mouth to be a legal fish.

5. Gaffs to land fish are strictly prohibited. Every attempt shall be made to land a fish in a manner that will not harm the fish and allow for a live release. The use of landing net is allowed to boat a fish.

Tournament Rules:

1. *Team entry fees shall be $100.00 total per boat for each tournament fished, this does not include the $10.00 Big Bass fee per boat. Big Bass fee will be paid separately from entry fee. *Club Membership fee is $30.00 per angler for the season.

2. No boat shall fish within 50 yards of another boat who is anchored or have the trolling motor in the water without consent. Violators will be disqualified. You may troll around another boat as long as you remain 50 yards from the other boat.

3. No trolling is allowed.

4. No leaving the boat for any reason unless it is a dire emergency. If you need to leave your boat you must contact the tournament director Immediately before leaving the boat.

5. Fishing is only allowed in waters accessible to all fisherman.

6. *Sequence of boat launch shall be based on drawn chips at boat ramp the morning of tournament.

7. Participants must cull fish in their boat immediately after the fish is caught.( Florida State law prohibits discarding dead fish, Thus dead fish cannot be culled).

8. Any team turning in 3 or more dead fish in two consecutive events will forfeit the days weight at the second event and must show proof that their live wells have been repaired. Exceptions to this rule are gut hooked fish that still have the hook imbedded in the gullet.

9.  Minimum fish size will be 12” and no limit on oversize fish with exemptions pulled for the event. If exemptions are not pulled for the event the minimum size shall be 14” and Florida size limits will apply. If you are late and do not get the exemption certificate you must obey Florida law size limits for that lake. Only one courtesy measurement will be allowed per team. You must ask for the courtesy before your fish are in the weigh bag.

10. The tournament director and tournament committee reserves the right to refuse entry of any angler(s). 

11. The tournament director and partner fish all tournaments for free. They will however pay into the Big Bass pot if they choose to do so. *They will also pay the club membership fee as well as the classic entry fee.

Big Bass:

1. All fish presented for the Big Bass win must be alive. Dead fish are not eligible.

2. Ties for Big Bass will go to the bigger bag weighed. If bag weight is a tie, the winnings will be split evenly.

*Angler(s) Of The Year:

Team Angler(s) Of The Year points will be awarded based on team participation, and placement in each tournament they fish as well as number of fish caught. Point system is as follows; 100 points for 1st place, 98 points for 2nd, 96 points for 3rd, and so forth on down in decreasing increments of two points per position. Each team will receive 1 point for each fish weighed in. Each team will also receive 10 points for each tournament they participate in. The team weighing in the largest bass of the tournament (Big Bass) will receive 5 additional points.  Lastly, teams that do not show for the event will receive no points for the event. 

Classic Qualification:

* Only the top 15 teams in points will qualify for the 2 day Classic Championship. There will be a single tournament the Saturday after the last regular tournament of the season for a Wild Card Shootout tournament. Any angler or team outside of the top 15 teams in points will have a 1 day tournament to allow 1st place of said tournament to make the 2 day Classic Championship. The tournament will be held on a lake drawn by the tournament director. This tournament will have the same entry fee of $110.00 and payouts will be awarded the same as a regular season tournament. No trophies will be awarded for this tournament.

Penalty Points:

1. Every attempt shall be made to keep each and every fish caught, living and releasable. Each legal fish presented at the scales, as a dead fish, deemed dead by the tournament director, shall access a penalty of a half pound. Florida State Law prohibits discarding dead fish, thus, dead fish CANNOT be culled.

2. Late Penalty: Any team who is not off the water at weigh in and have their chip on the board by 3pm shall be considered late and will be accessed a 1 pound penalty for each minute they are late. Any Angler or team who do not have their chip on the board after 5 minutes will result in a Disqualification. That team will only receive 10 show up points.

3. All fish will be checked on a “Golden Rule”. If a short fish is brought to the scales and you did not ask for a “courtesy” measure, your team will be penalized and will lose the weight of said fish. You may only ask for a courtesy measure for 1 fish per tournament. 

Ties:

1. In the event of a tie, the tiebreaker will be weight of big fish. Any place thereafter shall be weight of big fish. Any dead fish will not be allowed to be weighed as a tiebreaker. 

2. Ties for Big Bass will be determined by the bigger bag weighed. If the bag weight is a tie the winnings will be split evenly.

Off Limits:

All tournament waters are off limits entirely from 5:00 pm the night before the tournament until the tournament begins.

*The Championship Classic has an OFF LIMITS period of 5 days prior to the tournament and OFF LIMITS after weigh in on Saturday.

Any angler or teams found to be in non compliance with the off limit period will be unable to compete and or finish the event.

Payback:

The payback shall be as follows, 75% payback for tournament. *25% shall go to the Championship Classic fund.

The FBL is a non-profit club. All funds paid into each tournament as well as membership fees are 100% paid back. The FBL or any officers do not retain, keep or profit from any funds /fees paid.

*Championship Classic:

To qualify for The FBL Classic Championship, anglers or teams must fall within the top 15 teams in points. The entry fee for the 2 day Classic Championship is $160.00. All fees must be paid on or before the date of the first tournament.

Sportsmanship:

1. The focus of The FBL is to promote tournament fishing. It is of the utmost importance that each and every angler retains sportsman like conduct. Failure to do so may result in disqualification and/or expulsion from The FBL.

2. Any angler can be expelled from The FBL for any, but not limited to the following:

a. Failure to pay tournament fees.

b. Any actions which would disgrace or dishonor The FBL.

c. Any unsportsmanlike conduct against The FBL, anglers of The FBL or general public. 

d. Removal from The FBL is determined by the Tournament Director. 

Committee Officers:

1. To be eligible as part of the tournament Committee, the member must be an angler fishing a full season in The FBL.

2. The tournament committee will be in place prior to the first event of the season.

Changes to the Rules:

1. Changes to the rules can only be made by the tournament committee and only by a majority vote. 

2. Any angler of The FBL may make suggested changes, however a suggested change must be made in writing at least one month prior to the next scheduled tournament. The suggested rule change will then be discussed amongst the tournament committee.

3. The tournament committee will take a vote on the suggested change prior to the next scheduled tournament and the decision of the tournament committee shall be final. Should any discrepancy arise not covered in the above rules, The FBL retains the right to revert to the suggested rules of the B.A.S.S. Nation National Tournament Rules.