1. PRIZES Prizes will be awarded after the tournament.
1A. 100% Payback at all events. Payback is 1 in 5 teams.
1B. Entry fee is $80.00. Big Fish included in entry fee.
1C. Big Fish award will be paid out as 1st Big Fish 70% of the pot, 2nd Big Fish 30% of the pot.
1D. Big Fish Tie: Pot will be split 50/50
1E. A tournament tie for first place will be decided by Big Fish. Ties for other places will split the purse for those places.
1F. Team members must be present at the time of weigh-in to be eligible for prizes.

2. MEMBERSHIP $20.00 membership per team is required to fish a NBL event.

3. PRE TOURNAMENT MEETING Pre-Tournament meeting time starts at 6 pm with late registration (Div. I Only) and/or voucher pickup from 5 to 6 pm. The pre-tournament meeting will be held the evening prior to tournament day. One team member must be present for the meeting. The anglers are responsible to know any changes announced at the pre-tournament meeting.

4. TEAM may be 1 or 2 youth anglers with a boat captain . Boat captain may fish but may only catch 2 of the 4 weighed fish. Spectators are not allowed in the boat with a team during tournament hours unless the tournament director places spotter with the team.

5. FISH Teams may weigh in up to 4 LIVE Bass (Large or Small Mouth Bass Only). Once you enter the weigh in line your fish will be check. A team entering the weigh in line with more than 4 bass will be disqualified.
5A. Teams may have only 4 fish in the weigh in line.
5B. Bass must be caught during tournament hours, on the legal tournament waters, by the team presenting the bass
5C. Bass must be hook in lip or through the mouth.
5D. Bass must be legal in length as stated in the State Regulations. Violation results in disqualification.
5E. Dead fish: If a team presents dead fish there will be a 1 lb penalty for each dead fish,  If fish have been checked by the tournament official and any fish dies after the check, the fish will be weighed without penalty.

6. TOURNAMENT WATERS shall be defined as areas open to all participants of the event and accessible by normal navigational means only. Fishing within 50 feet of a marina gas pump or within 50 feet of a competitor’s boat is prohibited. Any violation of off limits water will result in disqualification.

7. WEATHER In the case of extreme weather/water conditions, NBL reserves the right to postpone or delay the start of a tournament. Cancelled tournaments due to weather will have teams entry fee returned by mail.

8. START-TIMES/STOP-TIME/WEIGH IN CLOSED Tournament Start times-Stop times will be listed on the tournament information page and announced at the pre-tournament meeting. No team will be able to enter the weigh in line after the announced weigh in line “closed” time that is announced at the pre-tournament meeting.

9. STATE REGULATIONS Teams must comply with ALL state fishing and boating regulations,
9A. Including but not limited to the use of PFDs and kill switches.
9B. Fishing and boating licenses are the responsibility of team members.
9C. Fish length regulations. Bringing fish to the weigh in line that is in violation of state length regulations results in disqualification.

10. SCALES Scales will be set up and open two hours before the stop time of each tournament. NBL reserves the right to open the scales earlier if conditions are such that fish are stressed. Only allowed one weigh-in.

11. BOATS/MOTORS ONLY ONE (1) BOAT MAY BE USED BY A TEAM AT ONE TIME DURING PRACTICE. Official practice time is 7 days prior to the tournament. For the safety of all contestants, all boats must be a minimum of 16 feet in length, propeller driven and equipped with an operable ignition kill switch. Rubber Rafts, Canoes and Go-Devils are not allowed in practice or during official competition. Two-person teams (one boat per team) must stay within 25 feet of each other while fishing.

12. POLES Teams may use rod and reel combos, hand-held pole and reel combos or hand-held poles.

13. BAITS No live bait may be used.

14. SCORING Largemouth, Smallmouth, Spotted “Kentucky Bass” and Meanmouth “Red Eye” are counted. Four fish per team may be weighed in at each event. The official length limit will be determined by the Tournament Director and announced before the tournament. Bass should measure on a flat board with mouth closed and the tail of the fish must touch the legal length line to qualify. A SHORT FISH results in a complete loss of your weight for the day. A dead fish results in a one (1) pound penalty per fish. At no time during tournament hours shall a boat possess more than a 5-fish  or weigh in more than a 4-fish limit. Anyone bringing more than four (4) fish to the weigh in scales will not be allowed to weigh in any fish. All fish must be brought to the scales in an official weigh-in bag. A dead fish may not be weighed in for big bass.

15. Culling: Culling must be done immediately. Youth Angler or Boat Captain may put 5th bass in the live well before getting the cull fish out of the live well as long as the cull fish comes out immediately after doing so. You may not cull a dead fish and all fishing must stop until culling is complete.

16. OTHER EQUIPMENT Binoculars and other magnifying devices are not allowed during pre-fishing or tournament at any time. The use of mobile communication devices such as cellular phones, marine radios, walkie-talkies, CB’S, etc. to communicate fishing information during tournament hours is prohibited.

17. COMPENSATION NO ONE can be hired or compensated in any way to fish with you or mark fishing spots for you, 60 days prior to any tournament.

18. INFORMATION SHARING-SPOTTING During tournament hours no one may spot fish for you or mark fishing spots for you. There is NO sharing information in any way including but not limited to the sharing of way points, coordinates or any other method for locating fish.

19. FISH TRANSFER A team may transfer fish to another boat to get to the weigh in on time, only in the case of boat or motor damage.

20. ALCOHOLIC beverages, drugs or substances that can impair anglers are not allowed in the boat or during NBL competition hours and until polygraphs are given. Anglers on medical subscription must notify the tournament director.

21. REFUNDS shall only be made in a life threatening emergency or death in the family. Entry fees may be moved and credited to another event with 2 full week notice and payment of $25.00 transfer fee. (NO TRANSFER OR REFUND WITHIN 14 DAYS OF EVENT FOR ANY REASON – NO EXCEPTIONS)

22. SPOTTERS-OBSERVERS: NBL reserves the right to have a spotter and/or observer and/or a tournament film crew staff member on any team’s boat at any time during the tournament phases.

23. PROTEST must be made in writing to the tournament director within 30 minutes following the end of the official weigh-in. All protests must cite the rule number(s) allegedly broken.

24. SPORTSMANSHIP Instances of poor sportsmanship during the tournament or using social media posts in a negative way towards the trail, its competitors or its sponsors may be grounds for disqualification or banned from competition if circumstances require.

25. POLYGRAPH Any team having a member who has failed or refused to take a polygraph test or was on a team that was disqualified or denied a prize because either member of that team failed or refused to take a polygraph or who has ever been denied a prize because he or she misrepresented compliance with a tournament rule will be disqualified.

26. RELEASE By your participation in this tournament, you agree to comply with the rules and agree to submit to and pass POLYGRAPH TEST or similar truth test in order to qualify for the receipt of any prize. Tests may be given to teams at random at any/all events. A contestant who fails to pass a polygraph test or whose condition does not permit the administration of a test because of the contestant’s use of alcohol / drugs will be disqualified and the team will not be allowed to participate in any future NBL events. At the request of NBL, one member of each team that qualified for a prize must submit to and pass a POLYGRAPH TEST and/or any other test deemed necessary to determine compliance with tournament rules. Polygraph tests will be given at random at all events. Only one member of the team selected by the tournament director will be tested. If that member passes the test, the prizes earned by the team will be awarded. If that member fails the test the team will be disqualified and neither member of the team will be awarded a prize. The test will be given only once, and no contestant will be eligible for a second test under any circumstance. The decision of the test examiner as to the contestant’s compliance with tournament rules will be the final decision as to eligibility for any prize. Contestants agree to release National Bass League LLC, NBL and all sponsors of these events from any liability arising from the administration of the test and/or the decision of the test examiner. Participants in NBL events agree to release NBL and its sponsors from any obligation for using names and photo likeness in promotional materials and/or video productions. All decisions regarding compliance with these rules and the interpretation of these rules will be made by the tournament director and NBL which reserves the right to make additional reasonable rules for the conduct of its tournaments if circumstances require, including placing spotters in a team’s boat during competition. NBL tournaments do not discriminate for reasons of race, creed, color, national origin, and we abide by all rules set forth in the American Disabilities Act.