RULES & REGULATIONS
Tournament Director: Dwight Keall - 705-492-0077
1. Penalties At any time the tournament director, may impose a penalty without refund when he deems appropriate for any violation of the rules, procedures or sportsmanship code. Penalties for rule violations may include but are not limited to the following:
• Disqualification from the Tournament.
• Disqualification for a specific period of time or a life time expulsion.
*All decisions of the tournament director regarding penalties are final and may not be protested
2. Maximum Field 35 BOATS WILL BE THE MAXIMUM FIELD FOR ALL EVENTS
3. Tournament Hours Qualifying Tournaments and both days of the Classic will be from 8:00am to 4:00pm.
4. Late Penalty You will be charged a penalty of .50lbs (1/2 pound) per minute that you are late.
5. Boat Inspection The tournament director may request a boat inspection at any time.
6. Eligible Species Only large mouth and small mouth bass greater than 12” inches in length (tip of tail to tip of nose) are eligible. A maximum of 5 fish may be weighed in. Weighing in a bass less than 12 inches will result in a .50lb (1/2 pound) penalty, additionally the short fish will not count. No other species may be retained during tournament hours. Dead fish will count with a .50lb (1/2 pound) penalty per dead fish.
7. Culling Only five (5) fish of the eligible species are permitted in the live-wells while under power of the main engine. CULL BEFORE YOU MOVE
8. Weigh-In Procedure
• Weigh in bags will be provided and must be used.
• Once a bag of fish is presented to the officials at the tanks for inspection, that bag will be considered final. No fish may be added or subtracted.
• Anglers can weigh in any time after 3pm on both days.
9. Re-Weigh Each team is allowed one (1) re-weigh. The team must keep the (2nd ) second weight regardless of the result.
10. Big Fish Only one (1) fish may be allowed to weigh in. This fish will be weighed first, therefore a culling tag can remain on for identification. *A dead fish will not qualify for big fish.
11. Live well & Fish Care All boats must have an operational live well. Culling tags and scales must only be non-invasive clip type (i.e.: non-piercing)
12. Cell Phones
• Cell Phones during tournament hours are for EMERGENCY USE ONLY.
• Competitors may NOT use cell phones during tournament hours to gain advantageous information from third-parties or other competitors. This includes social media, texting, calling, and email. *Cell Phones CAN be used at anytime to contact tournament officials
13. Transfers Fish may be transferred to another competitor’s boat as a result of a mechanical failure of a vessel, provided that one member of the downed vessel stays with the fish and provided that the boat has its live wells separated. A call to the tournament director is mandatory in this circumstance. Late penalties will apply to this situation.
14. Pre-Fish Competitors must be off the water by 5 pm the night prior to the tournament.
15. Insurance All boats must carry a minimum $2,000,000.00 insurance liability. Proof of insurance must be presented before fishing the Tournament.
16. Eligibility Two (2) anglers per boat, with the operator having a valid Boaters Card. Both anglers must have a current Province of Ontario fishing license, one being a sport license.
17. Only Artificial Lures & Rods No live bait. Scent or pork rind may be used. Only one rod per angler may be used, having a bait in the water close to the boat after a cast and making a cast with another rod is a violation of this rule (All baits not in use must be on the deck of the boat).
18. Kill Switch All boats must have a working kill switch which must be attached to the driver when the outboard is in gear at any speed.
19. Life Jackets All anglers must wear a personal floatation device (PFD) or life jacket at all times while under power of the internal combustion engine during tournament hours. Please note that a self-inflating PFD does not qualify as an approved floatation device unless it is worn. Therefore anglers are cautioned to have at least 2 conventional PFD’s or life jackets on board if they wish to remove their inflatable PFD while fishing.
20. Sportsmanship All contestants are required to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy and conversation. Any violation of the sportsmanship code during practice, or tournament may result in a temporary suspension or expulsion from all future events. Examples of conduct not complying with those standards include, but are not limited to the following:
• Failure to comply with any of the rules, regulations, guidelines and procedures.
• The use and or possession of illegal drugs or the consumption of alcoholic beverages or marijuana.
• Failure to comply with municipal, provincial and federal laws and regulations.
• Following/Fishing too close, or any interference to another angler’s day of fishing, including pre-fishing.
• Abuse of tournament Officials, Sponsors or Volunteers, this includes social media or any other form of communication.
21. Boundaries There are no boundaries. **Exceptions:
• No fishing inside the slow zone (9km) on the Sturgeon river at any time of the tournaments, including after passing the check in boat at the end of the day.
• No Fishing inside Hunters Bay Marina.
• No Fishing inside Bear Creek Bay
22. PROTEST/ANGLER’S CHALLENGE Any protests made by competitors must be submitted to the tournament director by 9pm following the final weigh-in. The cost to submit a protest is $100.
23. THE CLASSIC Qualification:
• The angler must have paid and fished three (3) of the qualifying tournaments.
• The anglers must have paid the CLASSIC entry fee of $300 (per team) & the membership fee of $50.00 (per angler) before September 1st 2025. Official Practice:
• Official practice for the Classic will be from Tuesday September 2nd, 2025 to Friday September 12th, 2025 at 5:00pm.
• During this time competitors can only practice on Lake Nipissing with their CLASSIC partner, spouse/significant other, and children. For example, you may NOT practice with a fellow competitor, a past competitor, a guide, or someone with local knowledge of Lake Nipissing.
• A violation of this rule will be cause for automatic disqualification, without refund. *The only exception to this rule is for CLASSIC competitors who make their living as a guide on Lake Nipissing or competitors who must be on the water for employment purposes.