Tournament Rules

Membership

Membership is sold as a family membership to all persons living in the same household as Husband/ Wife, Father/ Mother, and all children 17 years of age and under.

Membership cost will be $40.00 annually.

Membership is subject to approval by C.A.T.S. President, Vice President and Directors.

Membership fees must accompany Membership Application.

Membership is purchased with the understanding that all Tournament Rules must be obeyed.

Entry Fees

All entry fees to tournaments must be paid prior to the start of the tournament. Cash only will be accepted at the tournament site, no checks will be accepted unless prior arrangements have been made with the President or Vice President. No team will be allowed to fish with out first paying the entry fee, with the exception of the Tournament Directors.

Tournament entry fees for member teams will be $100.00.

The big fish and lucky 13 jackpot is included in entry fee ($10.00 each). Both have a 100% payback.

New this year is the lucky 13 jackpot. The fish closest in length to 13 inches wins this jackpot. The lucky 13 fish MUST be part of your 7 fish limit. You must designate at weigh-in which fish you choose to be measured. Only one fish per team will be measured.

Payout

80% payback on entry fees over the year plus prizes.
1 place will be paid for every 5 entries entered at the tournament. (15 teams/5 = 3 places) no more than 5 cash places per tournament.

Alcoholic Beverages

No alcoholic beverages may be in the possession of any team during tournament hours or at the weigh in.

Protest

All protests brought to the Tournament Director must be in writing with-in (5) minutes of the conclusion of the weigh -in. The Tournament Directors rulings will be final.

Guides

A Guide is defined as a person who promotes him/herself for the purpose of monetary gain while taking clients fishing, whether from a vessel or from the shores of a lake, river or other body of water. A person who promotes him/herself as a "Catfish Guide" is prohibited from fishing any C.A.T.S. tournament on a body of water in which he/she has acted as a guide within the 5 days prior to a tournament on said body of water.

Weigh-In Procedures

A member of each team must be in the weigh in line by the dead line, teams not in the line by that time will not be allowed to weigh their fish. The number of fish and species will be placed on the weigh-in form and they will continue to the scales where their fish will be weighed. The weight will be placed on the form. No changes will be made after the form is signed.

Rules and Regulations

C.A.T.S. tournament Officials, Officers, or Board of Directors shall reserve the right to bar or refuse tournament entry or association membership to any person or team.

All State and Local Fishing laws and Boating Regulations for the state we are fishing in must be followed, you are responsible to know these such rules prior to tournament.

NO TROT LINES, JUG LINES, LIMB LINES, YO- YO's or DROP LINES. All fish must be caught on a rod and reel. Anyone caught with the above will be DISQUALIFIED and any and all prizes will be forfeited. All lines will be attached to a reel in such a manner as to bring it completely to the boat or land without the aid of any device or by hand. Hand fishing or noodling is not allowed.

Only 10 (ten) rods per team while fishing unless other wise restricted by law.

Hook Limits; only 2 hooks per line will be allowed. All hooks must be attached to the main line of the reel being used.

Any live bait, dead bait or artificial bait may be used.

Fishing from the bank or from a boat will be allowed. Bank fishing team members must fish within 50 yards of each other.

A boat is defined as a registered vessel which is powered by either an electric motor or a gas powered motor.

No trailering of boats will be allowed unless otherwise posted. All boats must launch from the designated ramp.

All boats must have a current registration.

Once the tournament has STARTED it will end at the Scheduled time. If inclement weather occurs before the Start of the tournament, a vote will be taken by the members present as to fish or not. Safety is a MUST and will come first. No tournament will be canceled without a vote of the members.

Each team must decide a captain for the team and mark the team captains name on the registration form at the first tournament fished. A substitute may be used for either partner at a tournament if a member is unable to attend. If the team decides to split up, the points will go with the captain.

A team consists of no more than two persons. Members of a team must fish together from the same boat or bank area. A third member may be added provided the third person is 65 or older or 16 and under.

Only 7 fish per team will be weighed- in. ONLY 1 BLUE CATFISH PER TEAM, 30 INCHES OR LONGER CAN BE BROUGHT TO WEIGH-IN. MAKE SURE YOUR OTHER BLUE CATFISH ARE UNDER 30 INCHES OR WE WILL CULL AT OUR DISCRETION. OTHER SPECIES HAVE NO LENGTH LIMITS, THIS JUST PERTAINS TO BLUES.

Only Blue, Channel and Flathead Catfish will be weighed- in. No fish may be tied off to a tree or any other object and left. Once a team places a fish either on a string or in a live well it must remain in their immediate procession unless it is being released. In the event of a tie, the team with the biggest fish will win. If a tie still exists the team with the most fish will be declared the winner.

Chumming is allowed on the day of the tournament only.

Pre-Fishing

All pre fishing must be done by sunset the day prior to the tournament.

All tournaments are catch and release. To preserve our resources, all fish brought the scales will be come the property of C.A.T.S. and will be released back into the body of water from which they came.

C.A.T.S. and its tournament officials and sponsors are not responsible for any accidents, injuries or lost equipment.

By signing the entry form all contestants give C.A.T.S. and all sponsors permission to take and use any and all photographs, still and motion. All pictures, negatives and filming done by C.A.T.S. or any sponsors are the sole property of them and contestants have no claims written or oral to them. .

Tournament Hours

The start time will be 7:00 a.m. unless posted otherwise. There will be a short safety meeting before each tournament at 6:30a.m. All registered and paid teams will be released after this meeting. NOTE: It is urged that you register and pay early to avoid your teams delay in starting.  A member of your team MUST be in the weigh-in line by 3:00 pm. Failure to do so is a disqualification.

Polygraph Test

Polygraph tests may be performed at random. Any team failing a Polygraph Test will be disqualified. If a team fails two (2) Polygraph tests in any one (1) year, they will be banned from fishing any and all C.A.T.S. tournaments for one (1) year.