Effective January 1, 2024
ENTRY FEES:
- $1,300 Package (all four events)
- $325 divisional events (Single event)
This is a SOLO Trail, meaning all anglers will fish alone and cannot have any person in the boat with them.
Registration opens at 8 am central time on October 2, 2023
The following rules shall apply to all ABA Pro League tournaments American Bass Anglers operate during the 2024 season. These rules may be changed by American Bass Anglers (ABA) at any time upon notification to its members, which will be published on the ABA website at www.americanbassanglers.com. Interpretation and enforcement of these rules will be left exclusively to the Tournament Director.
1 RULES VIOLATION: In the event of a rule violation, ABA may impose such sanctions as deemed appropriate, including, without limitation, loss of one or more fish in question, loss of the angler’s catch for the day, disqualification from the event, forfeiture of prizes and/or entry fee, probation for up to 6 months, and prohibition from participation in subsequent tournaments. The decision of ABA shall be final in all matters. Each competitor agrees to report any violation or infraction of any Tournament Rules to the Director. Failure to report violations, self-report violations, false reporting, or suggestions to another competitor of an unreported violation of these rules will be cause for disqualification. Serious Rules violations must be reported to the Tournament Director immediately no matter whether it is a self-reporting violation or another contestant’s violation. All others must be submitted on-site in writing within 15 minutes after the announcement, “The scales are closed.”
1.1 Penalties may include the following:
a) Loss of one or more fish in question.
b) Loss of catch for the day
c) Disqualification from the tournament in question
d) Disqualification from future events.
e) Any different or additional penalties determined by the Tournament Director, including but not limited to monetary forfeiture, probation, and/or loss of Angler of Year points.
2 ELIGIBILITY AND PARTICIPATION
2.1 This tournament is open only to current members of American Bass Anglers, Inc. who are 18 years of age or older. Proof of age to the satisfaction of tournament officials is the responsibility of the potential competitor. ABA may, at any time, decline to accept tournament entries for any reason.
2.2 A properly filled out and signed entry form and liability release must be presented by the angler to ABA prior to the start of the event.
2.3 During official practice and competition days, competitors are required to have documented proof of a minimum of $100,000 boating liability insurance covering the boat being used. A copy of proof of insurance must be with the boat being used and must cover the competitors using that boat. Random checks will be conducted at tournament registration and/or tournament weigh-in. Any competitor not in compliance will be disqualified.
3 REGISTRATION
EVENT ENTRY FEE: $325 Per Event and includes $10 big bass
PACKAGE ENTRY FEE: $1,300 Covers all four divisional events.
3.1 PRIORITY REGISTRATION: Beginning 8:00 am CST on October 2, 2023, is reserved for entries from ABA members who fished the 2023 Open Series and Caymas owners who pay for all four events within a division of $1,300 total.
3.2 PACKAGE ENTRY: Beginning at 8:00 am CST on October 4, 2023, anglers may begin registering for package entries by paying for all four events within a division of $1,300 total.
3.3 DEPOSITS: Beginning at 8:00 am CST on October 9, 2023, anglers may secure their position by paying a non-refundable and non-transferable deposit of $650.00 (four events) in a division. The remaining balance of $650.00 must be paid on or before January 26, 2024, or 14 business days prior to the first event in your division only for divisions with events prior to January 26, 2024, with no exceptions.
3.4 OPEN REGISTRATION: Registration begins at 8:00 am CST on October 16, 2023, for all including single entries. Online entries will be accepted through 12 noon CST Friday the week of the event. Entries are accepted at the onsite registration between 4 to 6 pm on the day prior to the event.
3.5 WAITING LIST: Priority entry will be given to package and deposit entries. A waiting list will be established if an event has more than the maximum number of entries. Open positions for an event will be filled from this list beginning January 8, 2024. Anglers not getting a position will have their entry fee returned.
3.6 TRANSFERS, RESULTS, AND LATE FEES: Anglers on a waiting list who do not receive a slot in an event will receive and full refund. Transfers and Refunds will be given only if ABA is notified by phone by Monday 5 pm, the week of the event. Refunds and transfers are to be accessed with a $20 administrative fee. The only method to request a Refund or Transfer is by calling ABA, no other method will be accepted. Entries received after Wednesday 5 pm the week of the event will be accessed a $25 late fee.
4 MEDIA COMMENTS, PUBLIC ATTACKS: The favorable public reputation of ABA as a sanctioning organization in the sport of fishing, its officials’ integrity, and the reputation of its media properties are valuable assets and tangible benefits for ABA. Accordingly, it is an obligation of competitors to refrain from comments to the news media that unreasonably attack or disparage the integrity of tournaments, tournament officials, sponsors, fellow members, fellow anglers, or the ABA organization. Competitors are encouraged to express themselves and have the right to question rules officials. Responsible expressions of legitimate disagreement with ABA policies are encouraged as opposed to attacks upon the integrity of the rules or officials. However, public comments that an angler knows, or should reasonably know, will harm the reputation of ABA, ABA officials, or sponsors shall be considered conduct unbecoming a professional and will result in disciplinary action.
5 OFF-LIMITS There are no off-limits for qualifying events. The Official Practice period is Thursday and Friday prior to the event, all tournament rules apply during Official Practice.
6 PRACTICE
6.1 PRACTICE/ASSISTANCE: During official practice for an event, contestants may only pre-fish alone, with a member of their immediate family, another contestant of the tournament, a sponsor of American Bass Anglers, or a member of American Bass Anglers staff.
6.2 Contestants may not receive assistance from anyone who is not a competitor in the event to locate or catch fish during the Official Practice or Competition days. Buying or bartering for fishing locations, including purchasing GPS locations from other than publicly available OEM commercial mapping, is prohibited.
6.3 During practice and events, competitors may not use any type Drone, “SKIN DIVE” OR “SCUBA DIVE” in the tournament waters.
6.4 Contestants are not allowed to practice after 5 PM Friday prior to the event.
7 COMMUNICATION
7.1 During official competition day(s), a competitor may not use a C.B. radio, a VHF marine-band radio, a cellular phone, texting, or any other type of communication device for the purpose of locating or catching fish. Competitors are permitted to transmit by radio or telephone only in the event of an emergency.
7.2 During official competition days competitors are allowed to use smart devices to check weather conditions, dam power generation, tidal changes, etc. Smart devices may not be used for locating fish through social media, blogs, photos, or videos.
7.3 A designated tournament official must be granted access to the competitor’s boat and cell phone at any time during the competition.
8 HOLE SITTING
8.1 Hole Sitting: During Tournament hours, the practice of “hole-sitting” is strictly prohibited in all events. Competitors may not follow non-competitors’ boats for the purpose of a non-competitor assisting in locating fish. Contestants may not block or obstruct fishing locations in any manner.
9 TRUTH VERIFICATION
9.1 Truth Verification: All events are subject to a truth verification examination, and all anglers must be willing to submit to truth verification testing. By his/her signature on the official ABA Pro League entry form, each competitor agrees to submit to a truth verification examination method as determined by ABA and abide by its conclusion. If a competitor refuses to take or fails to pass the examination, he/she will be disqualified from the event in question, and other disciplinary action taken as deemed appropriate.
10 OBSERVER: ABA reserves the right to assign an observer to any Competitor’s boat at any time. Refusal to accept an ABA-assigned observer will result in disqualification.
11 ON-SITE CHECK IN
11.1 Each angler must check-in in person (except Freedom Pass holders) at the designated place during official onsite registration hours, to be posted online with each event. Failure to sign in onsite will result in disqualification, forfeit of entry fee, and removal from the event.
11.2 All competitors must attend the pre-tournament Safety and Rules meeting. The Safety and Rules meeting may be conducted on the water at safe light on the first day of the event. If the Safety and Rules meeting is conducted on the water, all anglers must be launched and in their boat.
11.3 Launch positions will be determined by computer draw and texted after onsite check-in is completed.
12 SAFETY
Safety is paramount, and anglers must recognize that; fishing from an open boat is inherently dangerous; and as a result, American Bass Anglers seek to limit those hazards with reasonable safety rules.
12.1 Competitors must always observe safe boating conduct and speed limits. During official practice and competition, competitors must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved chest-type life preserver, which must always be worn and must have a kill switch attached while the combustion engine is in gear. This life preserver must also be strapped, snapped, or zippered securely and maintained in that condition until the combustion engine is no longer in gear. Violation of this rule shall be a reason for disqualification. “Fanny Pack” preservers are not allowed. In the event a boat is being towed, all anglers in the towed boat must wear a U.S. Coast Guard-approved chest-type life preserver.
12.2 Tournament officials may delay, shorten, restrict tournament waters, or cancel the start of an official tournament day because of bad weather or other factors that would endanger the safety of the competitors.
12.3 ABA reserves the right to impose boat speed limits during any or all tournaments. The decision to impose a speed limit, the area covered by the speed limit, and/or the actual speed limit shall be left exclusively to the tournament director’s discretion.
12.4 In the event of an emergency, competitors should call 911 immediately and then notify tournament officials. Competitors may not leave the boat Except to seek safe shelter in bad weather when danger may be imminent, at which time all fishing must cease.
13 SPORTSMANSHIP/CODE OF CONDUCT:
13.1 Anglers participating in ABA-sanctioned events shall observe this code of conduct and the applicable rules for the specific event in which an angler is participating. Anglers shall always conduct themselves in a manner becoming ABA anglers, and their actions will not reflect unfavorably on the sport of bass fishing, ABA, its members, officers or representatives, tournaments, or sponsors. To this end, anglers shall use their best efforts to demonstrate professionalism and integrity in support of the sport of bass fishing. Any angler violating any of the Angler Code of Conduct provisions will be subject to fines, forfeiture of tournament winnings, probation, suspension from competing in ABA-sanctioned events, permanent ban from competition, or any combination deemed appropriate by ABA. Competitors are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety, and conservation.
13.2 Harassment of competitors or non-competitors of any kind during any Event, or any Official Practice period will not be tolerated and will result in immediate sanctions.
13.3 Any competitor’s use, possession, or consumption of illegal drugs during official practice, tournament hours, or pre and post-tournament activities will cause automatic disqualification from this and all future tournaments. (Exception; medication prescribed to the angler by a licensed physician). The consumption or possession of alcohol during tournament hours is prohibited. Tournament hours are defined as check-out in the morning through the competition of weighing fish in the afternoon.
13.4 Chemical substance addiction or abuse, crimes involving moral turpitude, the conviction of a felony not specifically exempted by ABA, or other conduct reflecting unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, fair competition, and compliance with tournament rules shall be grounds for rejecting any application for participation and/or for disqualification. Any disqualification, suspension from, or disciplinary action imposed by any fishing organization will be grounds for rejecting applications for participation in a tournament and/or disqualification from a tournament after circumstances are reviewed by the Tournament Director.
13.5 Maximum courtesy must always be practiced, especially when boating and angling near non-competitors. Any act of a competitor which reflects unfavorably upon efforts to promote water safety, fisheries conservation, clean waters, and courtesy will be a reason for disqualification.
14 STATE REQUIREMENTS
14.1 All competitors are bound by the prevailing statutes and regulations of the state where the tournament is being held, and all participants must have the appropriate state fishing license.
15 TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT
15.1 The use of a landing net is allowed. The use of grippers in landing bass is prohibited. Only artificial lures may be used. No “live bait” or “prepared bait” will be permitted during official practice and competition, except for pork strips or rinds. Only one casting, spin casting, or spinning rod (10-foot maximum length from the butt of the handle to rod tip) and reel may be used at any one time. All bass must be caught alive and in a conventional sporting manner. When visually fishing for bedding bass, bass must be hooked inside the mouth.
16 HORSEPOWER REGULATIONS
16.1 Maximum horsepower for all outboard motorboats used in official tournament practice and in tournament competition will be 250 HP. Horsepower cannot exceed the limitations set by the U.S. Coast Guard, the manufacturer’s rating plate, or the maximum horsepower set by ABA. In the event there is reason to suspect the horsepower requirement is exceeded, the competitor agrees to submit their boat and outboard motor used in the tournament to an inspection by factory-trained personnel. Changing or altering standard factory parts of a competitor’s engine to increase the horsepower over the factory horsepower rating is forbidden and will result in disqualification.
17 BOAT, MOTOR, AND EQUIPMENT
17.1 Every boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment during official practice and competition.
17.2 During official practice and competition, all boats must have an operational and approved ignition kill switch and a single lanyard. The lanyard must be attached to the driver’s body any time the combustion engine is in gear, and the driver must be in the driver’s seat in full control of the boat.
17.3 All boats must have a properly aerated live-well capable of sustaining a limit of fish. Determination of acceptable and properly aerated live-well will be left exclusively to the Tournament director.
17.4 Any raised platforms or decks cannot be higher than the gunnels of the boat. Fishing while standing on the outboard motor or boat seats is not allowed.
17.5 An electric trolling motor may be used for slow maneuvering; however, trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.
17.6 All bladder tanks and any other type of auxiliary gas tanks that are not installed by the boat manufacturer are prohibited. Boats that do not have factory-installed gas tanks are restricted to a maximum of 18 gallons of gasoline in tanks, properly secured or strapped, and meet U.S. Coast Guard regulations. No portable gas tanks or containers capable of holding gasoline can be placed anywhere on tournament waters or shorelines for use by any tournament competitor.
17.7 No “barges” or similar craft or “stick steering boats” are permitted. Fishing boats less than 16 feet in length may not be used. Determination of acceptable fishing boats will be left exclusively to the Tournament director.
18 BOAT INSPECTION
18.1 A tournament official will inspect and check each boat before each day’s start. It is the anglers’ responsibility to ensure they are checked out and checked in.
19 PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS
19.1 The Tournament Director may establish tournament waters and off-limits areas for each tournament. Specifically, any water within tournament waters posted “Off-Limits” or “No Fishing” by state or federal agencies will be OFF-LIMITS and announced at the Tournament Briefing.
19.2 Only water open to all public fishing and accessible by water will be considered tournament waters.
19.3 All angling must be done from the boat.
19.4 No fishing within 50 yards of any other competitor’s boat, anchored or not.
20 COMPETITORS MUST REMAIN IN THE BOAT
20.1 Competitors must leave and return to the official checkpoints by boat.
20.2 Anglers cannot leave their boat to land fish or make the boat more accessible to fishing waters.
20.3 Boats must remain in tournament waters during tournament hours.
20.4 Trailering boats during tournament hours is prohibited.
21 OFFICIAL CHECKPOINT
21.1 There will be only one “official point” for check-out in the morning and check-in in the afternoon and will be designated at the tournament briefing.
21.2 At check-out time, all boats must fully conform to all rules set forth by American Bass Anglers.
21.3 At check-in, all boats shall identify themselves by the Boat Number provided, and all fishing must cease.
22 SCORING
Tournament standings, auxiliary awards, and final winners shall be determined by the pounds-and-hundredths weight of each competitor’s catch during the tournament competition days.
22.1 Only Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted, or Redeye bass will be weighed.
22.2 The creel limit shall be five (5) bass of the above species and varieties per day unless otherwise established by the tournament director. The official length for bass shall be established by State regulations or by the Tournament Director.
22.3 Culling must be performed immediately upon catching a sixth fish. In the event tournament officials observe more than the allowable limit in the boat or at the weigh-in, tournament officials will cull, beginning with the largest fish. Only bass measuring the official length or more on the longest straight line will be weighed. Short fish will accrue a penalty of 1 pound and will not be weighed. Any bass that appears to have been mangled, mashed, mauled, or otherwise altered will be weighed only at the discretion of tournament officials.
22.4 Once a competitor’s catch is verified by tournament officials, no additional fish may be added to the catch. Placing bass on a stringer is prohibited; however, culling tags with non-piercing clips may be used.
22.5 In the event of a mechanical failure (boat is inoperable), anglers may have their catch counted by one of the following methods ONLY:
Method 1: The Boat is towed to the weigh-in site by another boat;
Method 2: The Boater secures his boat to an object (pier/bank) and boards another tournament competitor’s boat only for a ride to weigh in.
Using either method, the tournament angler must notify tournament staff of the breakdown for instructions.
22.6 Competitors must not allow any bass caught by them to be counted on the score of another competitor.
22.7 Mechanical failures do not extend established weigh-in times.
23 CATCH AND RELEASE: CULLING OF DEAD BASS IS PROHIBITED
A penalty of one .5 pounds per dead fish will be assessed and deducted from the day’s total weight. In the event the angler’s big fish is dead, a penalty of .5 pounds will be deducted from the big fish’s total weight. The Tournament Director will have sole authority for assessing dead fish penalties. For fish care, ABA recommends only the use of T-H Marine G-JUICE live well treatment and G-Force Conservation Cull System with clips that do not puncture.
24 LATE PENALTY
Competitors who are not in the official checkpoint area as described in Rule 20 at the appointed time shall be penalized at the rate of one (1) pound for each minute. Any late penalty will be deducted from the total weight of their catch that day, including any weight to be counted toward a “big bass award.” No weight will be awarded if the net weight after penalties is zero or less. Any competitor more than 15 minutes late will lose all credit for that day’s catch. The exact starting and check-in times will be announced at the Tournament Briefing.
25 POINTS SYSTEM AND QUALIFICATIONS
Points will be awarded based on the place of finish and cannot be combined or transferred. Any angler disqualified from an event will not receive points for that event.
25.1 One-day Divisional Events – These events are worth 250 points to first-place anglers. Points will be awarded in 1-point decreasing increments. Contestants not weighing fish will receive last-place points minus 10. A contestant may fish as many one-day tournaments for National point accumulation, however, only the best three one-day tournament finishes will be counted.
25.2 Two-day Divisional Events – These events are worth 500 points to first-place anglers. Points will be awarded in 2-point decreasing increments. Contestants not weighing fish will receive last-place points minus 10. A contestant may fish multiple 2-day Divisional Championships for National point accumulation, however, only their best two-day finish will be counted.
25.3 Divisional Requirements – Contestants must fish a minimum of one (1) one-day event within the same division to qualify to compete in a two-day Divisional Championship.
25.4 Divisional Ranking and Divisional Angler of the Year – Ranking within a Division is based on the points accrued in the three one-day events and the two-day Divisional Championship held within one division.
25.5 National Ranking is based on the three best one-day events and the best two-day Divisional Championship the contestant competes in no matter the division in which they are held.
25.6 Angler of the Year – Divisional AOYs will be invited to compete in the National Championship event for the ABA Pro League Angler of the Year. The highest-finishing AOY at the National Championship will be the ABA Pro League Angler of the Year.
25.7 Advancement – The top 200 points holders nationally will be invited to the National Championship, provided the anglers have fished three Divisional qualifying events and one two-day Divisional Championship. Anglers in the top 200 by points standings must confirm their intent to attend by registering not later than the date provided in the invitation, to secure their position. After the date provided in the invitation, if any of the top 200 points holders have not registered, the remaining slots will be filled from a waiting list of qualified and pre-registered boaters by points.
25.8 TIEBREAKERS
Ties will be broken using the following criteria:
a) The largest number of legal fish weighed.
b) The largest number of legal live fish weighed.
c) Most Accumulative weight for the year
d) If the tie is not broken by applying the preceding procedures, place monies will be split evenly, and place points will be awarded accordingly. Event winners’ tiebreakers may result in a fish-off.
26 ABA MEMBERS SHIELD & LOGO: ABA encourages (not mandatory) the wearing of the ABA Logo and ABA Pro League logo. The suggested placement for the ABA logo is centered on the left chest, the top of the patch should hit the top center of the left collarbone.
27 PATCHES AND/OR SIGNAGE: ABA encourages the use of patches, logos, and other signage to promote the angler’s sponsors. ABA may, however, restrict the use of patches, logos, signage, etc., that promote or advertise products that are in competition with the products or services of official tour sponsors, or which are, in ABA’s sole judgment, in poor taste. In addition, if ABA provides any ancillary clothing or products (such as life vests) bearing the logos of ABA or the official sponsors of ABA, each competitor shall wear such clothing or utilize such products in a manner prescribed by ABA.
28. Special Notes: No angler will be allowed to win more than one boat in any calendar year.
29 AWARDS: All anglers must execute a Fed Tax Form W9 before receiving any awards, including cash/check and prizes.
30 TAXES: Where and when state laws require, income tax may be automatically deducted before any awards are presented. Anglers are responsible for all applicable taxes for both cash and merchandise awards.
31 WAIVER AND RELEASE: As a condition of participation in each tournament, competitors must execute a waiver (Release of Liability and Assumption of Risk) and a name and likeness release.
©2023 ABA
All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of any material in these rules is prohibited except by written permission of American Bass Anglers, Inc.
