Fish for a Cure Official Tournament Rules
Below are the rules for the 2022 tournament.
Entries
Fundraising
The Fish For a Cure (F4AC) is a tournament to raise money for the survivorship program at the Geaton and JoAnn DeCesaris Cancer Institute at Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center. All entries are expected to raise at least $1,500.
Entry Fee
$500.00 per boat (for the Captain and up to three additional anglers) $150.00 per additional angler.
KAYAK DIVISION: A four-man Kayak team may register as one boat. The four-man Kayak team will be afforded the same privileges and be required to abide by the same rules as any individual registered boat.
Fishing Area
The Chesapeake Bay and its Tributaries.
Fishing Hours
Saturday, November 5, 2022 – Fishing lines in at 6am and fishing lines out at 4pm.
Catch and Release photos must be submitted by 4pm to qualify.
Weigh-in for SLAM, Perch, Invasive Species must be checked in at SAYC by 5pm to qualify.
Eligible Fish and Prize Categories
Eligible Fish
This is a Catch & Release Tournament for Striped Bass.
Rockfish (aka Striped Bass) – 3 Longest fish may be eligible for prizes
Grand Slam – Heaviest stringer of 3 unique bay sport fish species (explicitly excluding Rockfish) such as, but not limited to: Perch, Bluefish, Catfish, Toadfish, Pickerel, Red Drum, Black Drum, Cobia, Tautog, Speckled Trout, Croaker, Flounder and Spadefish. Non-sport fish bay species, such as Menhaden, Spot, Clam, Eel, Crab, etc. are NOT eligible. Tournament officials reserve the right to disqualify any fish that they deem is not a true bay sport fish.
Perch – Heaviest stringer of 3 fish.
Invasive Species – Heaviest stringer of 3 invasive catfish and/or snakehead with no limit on the number of invasive species entered.
It is the responsibility of the angler to present their Grand Slam, Perch stringer, or Invasive Species stringer to tournament officials at the time of check-in at the South Annapolis Yacht Center prior to the Shore Party. The 3 Bay Species will NOT be weighed if not presented as a possible Grand Slam to tournament officials.
Catch & Release Rockfish – Overall length of 3 longest fish caught per boat (see section 8.2 for details).
All fish must be legal according to MD DNR rules and laws.
Fishing Method
All legal forms of fishing (hook and line only) are allowed, including chumming, trolling, live lining, etc.
Line
All types of line may be used in the tournament.
Measurement
Only photo entries will be accepted.
All fish must be measured with an official 2022 F4AC measuring stick.
Measuring stick must be labeled with an indicator – which will be emailed to each boat on Friday evening, November 4th.
All participants are required to register for no charge at ianglertournament.com
All anglers hand carrying cameras MUST arrive at the South Annapolis Yacht Centre prior to the 4 p.m. deadline.
Tournament officials reserve the right to examine the metadata of any photo image to confirm the validity of a claim. Photos with edited or missing/altered metadata will be disallowed at the official’s discretion. (THIS IS KEY and is where we protect against fish caught on a different day. It is especially important if someone catches a fish over the size of the ruler and turns in a picture where there is no evidence of the ruler. Metadata is just one more piece of evidence to help the judges).
The length of each fish will be determined by length measured from the tip of the snout to the tip of the tail (you may pinch the tail). Put the 2022 measuring stick on the deck of your boat. Lay the fish on the measuring stick, or next to the stick if the fish size will cover the entire ruler. Put the snout on the zero mark (the end of the stick). It helps to jam the measuring stick against a vertical surface to ensure that the zero mark, and the snout of the fish are even. Fish will be measured to the nearest 1/8th of an inch.
In case of a tie, the fish submitted first will be the winner, and the time considered will be the time that the iAngler tournament servers received the photo.
Weather
Participants enter the Tournament at their own risk and discretion.
Protests/Compliance
A registered angler may protest any other registered angler’s catch by filing a written protest to the tournament committee within 30 minutes of the end of the check-in period 4 p.m. EST. The judges committee will settle any protest and their decision will be final.
Failure to comply with any rule or regulation of the tournament, or law, rule, or regulation of Maryland State Fishing guide, may cause the disqualification of an angler or the anglers catch. If a registered angler is so disqualified, their boat will not be entitled to any prize, award, or refund.
Disclaimer of Liability
All participants and guests of participants are responsible for their own personal safety and the security of their personal property and expressly assume any and all risks to their personal safety and well-being, as well as their personal property, as a result of their participation in the tournament. It is a pre-condition of participation in the “Fish For A Cure Tournament” that all participants shall release and hold harmless anyone associated with this tournament from any and all claims, losses, costs and expenses, personal injuries, wrongful deaths and property damage, of any nature whatsoever, arising from or during participation in the Fishing Tournament. By electing to participate in the “Fish For A Cure Tournament,” all participants agree to, and grant, this release of liability and shall not be permitted to withdraw or disavow that release of liability.
