~ OMBTT RULES ~

~ OMBTT RULES ~

THESE RULES WILL REMAIN IN FORCE DURING THE

COURSE OF THE 2010 TOURNAMENT SEASON.

ELIGIBILITY: Participation in the tournaments will be by paid entry. Anyone, whose entry has been received and approved, = is 16 years of age or older, is a current member of the Ohio Mega Bass Tournam= ent Trail (hereinafter referred to as OMBTT) and having paid the appropriate en= try fee or deposit by the Wednesday (prior) deadline date, may be eligible to f= ish. OMBTT reserves the right to refuse any entry/s received without showing cau= se. Anglers under the age of 16 must fish with a parent or guardian and explici= tly exempt the OMBTT from any liability thereto.

FIELD LIMITATION: Shall be limited to sixty (60) = paid entrant/team boats per event of the six-event series.

MEMBERSHIP,= ENTRY FEES, DEPOSITS AND DEADLINES: A membership fee of seventy-five (75) dollars is due and payable, along with the event’s entry fee, prior to the first tournament fished; there will be no pro-rating of this fee. Entry Fees shall be two-hundred (2= 00) dollars per event.. Teams may “reserve” their entry slot with payment of a $50 deposit, as lo= ng as the balance ($150) is paid prior to the imposition of a late fee. Event pre-pays (within the deadline) will “draw” for start number. Teams choosing to pay for the enti= re season ($1200) will be allowed to double-draw for their start number. A late fee of $20 will be a= dded to all entries starting that Wednesday prior to each tournament. At-site en= tries will be accepted prior to the start of the event if the field size has not = been exceeded. Entries received after the 3-day deadline, as well as that at-sit= e, will be assigned starting numbers in the order of receipt of entry. Deposits may be transferred to another tournament during the same year, but are not refundable. All championship side pots are optional

RESERVED ST= ATUS: Teams = may “reserve” their entry slots with the payment of fifty (50) doll= ars for each of the season’s 6 events ($300) provided, however, that the balance is due and payable within the time frames noted in the preceding section. Team’s which have chosen this option will not qualify for the double-draw option.

STARTS: Will be “by the numbers”, e.g., that is the number drawn, or assigned, = at the beginning of each event. Participant boats must pass within 50-feet of = the start boat. If planning on fishing areas “behind” the start boa= t, teams must pass around the start boat and then safely proceed to u-turn whi= le underway. At no time, will any boat pass another competitor/s boat, which is “first underway”, in any no wake zone/s.

POINTS: Will be based on a DROP “20” SYSTEM on a 100-point descending scale of one-point per pl= ace, i.e., 100-points to first place, 99 to second, 98 to third and so forth unt= il all teams who’ve caught fish have been “pointed”, we will then DROP 20 and remaining anglers will receive the total left. POINTS ARE USED FOR ANGLER (TEA= M) OF THE YEAR (AOY) ONLY! Shou= ld a tie in points standings occur in Team of the Year Standings, then the Team with the highest weight will be declared the winner. The Angler/Team of th= e Year will “fish for free” in the following season’s regular events.

OFF-LIMITS: There shall be no off-limits time periods EXCEPT that all competitors’ boats must be off of the tournament waters starting at 12:01 AM the morning of the tournament. Lake off-limit areas will consist of any area marked as “NO FISHING”= by the controlling authority as well as 50-feet from any area/dock designated = as a fueling point.

SAFETY: Safe boating conduct must be observed at all times. Each contestant is required to wear an approved pers= onal floatation device (PFD), anytime the combustion engine is operated above= an idle speed. All boats must be equipped with an ignition shut-off device, securely attached to the operator when boat is operated above idle speed. At the discretion of the Director/s, tournament days may be shortened or cance= lled due to unsafe weather/water conditions. Alcoholic beverages/drugs are prohibited (prescribed medications are allowed).

COMMUNICATI= ON DEVICES. The use of cell/mobile communication devices during tournament ho= urs for the transmission of any fishing information is strictly prohibited.

SPORTSMANSHIP: All contestants are required to follow the highest degree of sportsmanship, courtesy and conservation as we= ll as conducting themselves in a manner that will be a credit to themselves; t= he OMBTT, our sponsors and the sport of tournament fishing. Any words, conduct= or actions reflecting unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanshi= p, fair competition and compliance with tournament rules will not be tolerated= and may result in disqualification. During the hours of competition, contestants may not obtain or receive assistance from non-competitors, follow a non-competitors' boat or participate/benefit from the practice of “ho= le sitting”.

ALTERNATES: An Alternate may fish in pla= ce of one, or both, regular team members provided that they meet all other eli= gibility requirements including an Alternate Membership Fee of fifty (50) dollars ea= ch. A team may not use more than two (2) alternates per season and no two alternates may fish in place of the regular team.

CLASSIC: All teams, in paid status for six = (6) regular season events will auto qualify for Classic competition provided th= at regular team members fished a minimum of four (4) events as partners. If a = team finds themselves in a situation where one of the member’s is unable to fish the Classic, then the remaining member may either fish alone or voluntarily pair with a member of another team in similar circumstances. St= art numbers will be randomly drawn for each team, either manually or electronically, at the Classic Meeting the evening prior. Start numbers will be reversed the second day.

BUY-INS: Teams may buy-in for any “missed” event, up to a maximum of two-events per season, provided that the event/s in question was one of the first four events ONLY and with the payment of $220 per event missed.

LIMIT/CREEL: The tournament limit shall be five= (5) fish, twelve (12) inches or greater in length, OR the lake length/slot limi= t, whichever applies. Only large= mouth, smallmouth or spotted bass will be presented for weight. Fish will “bumped” with their mouth closed, tail compressed and brushed for length.

PERMITTED FISHING METHODS: All fish must be= caught in a conventional angling manner, utilizing no more than one rod, 8-feet or less in length, which must be in hand contact at the time of the catch. Only artificial lures may be used,= pork trailers being the only exception to this rule. Trolling is strictly prohibited. Anglers MAY NOT l= eave their boat to “push” their boat, in order to afford access to remote fishing areas. The use of “push poles” if used from the confines of = the boat, are allowed.

OFFICIAL CHECK POINT: There will be only one site for check-out in the morning and check-in in the afternoon. At the time of morning inspection, a= ll competitors must be in full compliance of all rules set forth in these rule= s. All boats shall identify themselves at check-in sites by means of boat numb= er and proceed IMMEDIATELY to the designated weigh-in area. Failure to check-o= ut in the morning or to check-in at the check-in point will result in disqualification of that days catch.

OFFICIAL WE= IGH-BAG: Participants are required to use OMBTT Weigh Bags which are logo’d as Bas-n-Bag. Personal bags (Bas-n-Bag or Bass-ina-Bag) may be used. A team bringing their catch = to scale in an unapproved bag will forfeit their catch.

BIG BASS: Competitors may choose only one ba= ss out of their bag as an entry into the “big bass side pot/s”.

LATE PENALTY: One-pound per minute after t= he designated end time, up to five- minutes, after which time the competitor/s will be automatically disqualified.

DEAD/SHORT FISH: Every effort shall be made to keep= the catch in a viable state of health. Dead fish presented for weight shall incur an eight (8) ounce penalty. Participants will be responsible for disposing of their own dead fis= h in an appropriate manner so as not to negatively impact future OMBTT tournamen= t activities. Short fish will incur a one (1) po= und penalty. Fish will be measure= d with their mouth shut, tail compressed/brushed.

TIES: Will be broken by first; total liv= e fish weighed, second; total fish weighed, third; big bass of the bag and fourth;= if everything else is equal, a toss of a coin. If the tie is for big bass, then p= rize money is split and the BB plaque awarded by coin toss. In case of a tie for 1st Place; teams will be sent out for a one-hour fish-off, team with the heavie= st weight will win, if still tied; number of fish, then big bass, if still tie= d, flip of the coin (or splitting of the 1^st and 2^nd Place purses).<= /o:p>

BREAKDOWNS: Teams may choose to double-up with another team in order to bring their catch to the scale, provided, however,= that the catch is kept separate and/or distinctively marked. Catch must be well cared for, if more than two fish expire, don’t bother to come to the scale.

INSURANCE/LIABILITY: Each boater, as a condition of participating in these events, shall carry a minimum of $300,000 in liabili= ty insurance. Participants will also agree to hold everyone associated with th= ese events harmless in case of injury or death.

QUALITY ASS= URANCE TESTING: By their signature on the entry form and/or participation in these tournaments, all participants agree to any quality assurance tests as required by the Direct= ors. They may include all or part of the following; polygraph test, urinalysis, blood test, and/or observer in or out of the boat. Refusal of anglers to su= bmit will result in immediate disqualification plus subsequent disqualification = from future tournaments. None of the above rules shall prohibit the Director/s o= r an authorized member of the Tournament Committee from observing, approaching or boarding a competitor's boat during official tournament hours. Quality assurance tests will be conducted as soon as possible after conclusion of official tournament hours.

THE COMMITTEE: A committee of “the whole”; Tournament Committee, will be appointed by the director/s at = each event by drawing the three (3) teams from the field. This committee will address all is= sues of note. If, for any reason, = one (or more) of the drawn teams are themselves a subject of rules violation, t= hen another team will be drawn to take their place.

KNOWLEDGE OF THESE RULES IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY: Failure to = read these rules and/or ignorance of these rules is not an excuse for prohibited conduct. Any extreme violation of rules will be grounds for disqualification from all future OMBTT events. Any announcement made by the Director/s at tournament sites takes precedence over written rules if in conflict with sa= me.

PRESUMPTIVE CONDUCT: Defined as intra-te= am interaction on the water, as an example, contestants who were FIRST ANCHORED OR TIED TO a fixed-poin= t, with their trolling motor stowed (up) and prior to the arrival of another compet= itor’s boat may claim exclusivity within a 50 yard radius of their boat. This does= apply to those instances where the boat claiming the exclusivity is blocking acce= ss to “another area” (creek, bay, slough, etc.) in those cases, eg= ress shall be allowed to other competitors boats. Competitors boats which are obviou= sly fishing in a fixed position, such as on a point, should, as a matter of courtesy, be given a wide berth when approaching, going around and going away from, as a matter of good sportsmanship. Conduct prior to, as well as after the conclusion of the event and w= hile still at site, must reflect the highest standard of sportsmanship. Cursing, fighting words, and any o= ther action or conduct which may reflect negatively on the series or its competitors, will not be tolerated and may result in disqualification from further events.

Jami Norman, DIRECTOR

OHIO MEGA BASS TOURNAMENT TRAIL