Moonville Bass Club

2014 – 2015

Rules and Regulations

1. Obey all SC Wildlife and Marine regulations.
2. All boats should meet US Coast Guard and Wildlife and Marine regulations.
3. No wakes near boat ramps or other marked and designated areas.
4. Disorderly conduct will not be tolerated.  The tournament officials and directors can and will eject anyone from the tournament.
5. Alcohol and drugs are not permitted during tournament hours.
6. The club is not responsible for any liabilities brought on by its members.
7. The club recommends wearing a life jacket whenever the main motor is used.

      8.   Any appropriate discipline will be determined by the Board of Directors whose          

      decision is final. 

Tournaments

1. Annual club dues will be $25.00 per person/$50.00 per team.  Each team will also pay $5.00 per year to cover the internet charges and other club expenses.
2. Each club tournament will be held on the third Saturday of the month, except that none will be scheduled in December but an extra tournament will be scheduled for the first Saturday in April.  Tournament fees will be $ 20.00 per single or $40.00 per team.
3. The optional Big Fish pot will be $5.00 per person/$10.00 per team.
4. The Secretary/Treasurer will not have to pay tournament fees, but his partner will.  The Secretary/Treasurer will have to pay the big fish pot.
5. No guest can be used in the absence of a partner, but one club member can fish with another club member.  In this case, each club member will weigh in separately for the tournament.  The only exception to this rule is that a spouse (or girlfriend), any child that is 17 or younger, and anyone over 60 can be used in the absence of a partner.  The team will have to pay $40.00 if the guest is 60 or over.
6. If for some reason you are unable to attend a tournament and wish to receive credit for that tournament with regard to the Fish-off rule, a team can pay in advance for a tournament ($20.00).  The team will receive credit for the tournament as if they had fished but had not weighed any fish, excluding Show-up points.  There is a 3-time limit to this rule.
7. A team is allowed to change a partner, but only at the discretion of the Officers and Directors.  This rule does not apply to the Classic.  If both team members want to change partners and continue fishing for the year, their points will be split equally between the two and each will retain their former team’s participation credit.

8. The club will use the point system.  45 points will be earned for 1^st place, 39 for 2^nd place, 38 for 3^rd place, etc.  All teams not weighing in at least one fish will be given the last place points minus 6.  Two additional points will be awarded for fishing a tournament.
9. The club will take 20% out of each tournament for year-end payouts.
10. Each team’s big fish will be used to break ties.  The pay is as follows:

1. 1-7 boats:  100% to 1^st place

2. 7-14 boats:  60% to 1^st and 40% to 2^nd

3. 15-24 boats:   50% to 1^st, 30% to 2^nd, and 20% to 3^rd

4. 25 boats+:  50% to 1^st, 30% to 2^nd, 15% for 3^rd, 5% for 4^th

11. The blast-off order will be the order in which the teams’ entries are paid.
12. The Team of the Year will be able to blast off 1^st in each tournament.  After that, the club will blast off 5 at a time.
13. Live wells are subject to be checked.
14. Each angler is allowed to fish 1 rod at a time.  If a second rod is used (example: an angler is worm fishing and fish start to school, the angler can cast a second rod), the 1^st rod becomes void.  If a fish is caught on the 1^st rod, the fish must be released immediately.
15. All fishing must be done from the boat.
16. Each team can weigh in 5 fish per tournament.  If a team brings too many fish to the scales to be weighed, the biggest fish will be subtracted.
17. The size limit will be 12 inches on the Golden Rule for lakes Keowee, Hartwell, Russell, and Clarks Hill.  For all other SC lakes, the minimum length will be 14 inches. The fish must have its mouth closed, and the tail will be fanned.  There will be a 1 pound penalty for each short fish brought to the scales.  A team can ask for a fish to be measured without a penalty, but the team must ask before the fish are placed in the basket.
18. A 4-ounce dead fish rule will be used for calculating total weight.  This penalty will not be imposed when determining the big fish.  The tournament directors will make the call on dead fish, and all live fish must be released except for trophies.  A team will lose its tournament points if they fail to follow this rule.  Exception:  Spotted bass may be kept.
19. Any team not at the tournament ramp for weigh-in at the designated time will be penalized 1 pound per minute to a maximum of 5 minutes.  After that the team will be disqualified.  Weigh-in will begin 15 minutes after the designated time.  Officers and Directors will make any decisions in case of breakdowns or emergencies.
20. No one leaves the boat ramp until everyone is accounted for, so please leave a note or tell someone if you leave early.
21. On tournament day, the blast-off and the weigh-in will take place at the scheduled times.
22. Due to the number of tournaments and boaters, the Officers of the club reserve the right to alter the hours of the tournaments.
23. In the case of bad weather, the Officers can cancel the tournament for that weekend.  The make-up date will be the following weekend.  Each team will be responsible for calling the officers if bad weather is forecast.  Bad weather is snow, ice, sleet, extreme cold temperatures, hurricanes, etc.
24. Due to problems with low lake levels, if the designated ramp is closed before the tournament, the tournament for that month will be changed to an alternate ramp or lake if necessary.  The alternate lakes will be drawn at the beginning of the year.
25. 9 out of 12 tournaments will count toward the Team of the Year honors.
26. In case of a tie for the Team of the Year, total weight for the year will be the tie breaker.
27. The Team of the Year will have a choice of receiving $300 or of having the team’s entry fees covered for the following year.  If the team chooses the latter, the team is still responsible for paying the membership fee and the optional monthly Big Fish pots.  The $300 will be put into the next year’s Classic pool.  The team with the Big Fish for the year will get $200.00.
28. Members may be removed from the club for cheating.  A polygraph may be used for the determination, and the results of the polygraph are final.  If a team fails the polygraph, that team will be disqualified from that tournament and will no longer be part of the club.  The accusing team will be responsible for covering the cost of the polygraph.

Classic

1. The Classic will be held on the 4^th Saturday in September. 
2. The top 50% of the club will make the Classic.  Example:  25 teams = 13 teams make the Classic.
3. Each team must score points in at least 9 out of 12 tournaments to be eligible for the Classic.
4. Any team that scores points in all 12 tournaments will qualify for the Classic.
5. There will be no entry fee at the Classic, but there will be an optional $20.00 per boat ($10.00 per person) for the big fish pot.
6. The Classic lake will be determined by a draw at the September tournament.  Each lake will be put into the hat one time for the drawing.  The chosen lake will be off limits from that time until the start of the Classic. 
7. Blast-off for the Classic will be in the order of finish from the regular tournament standings.
8. The Classic will pay three places:  1^st-50%, 2^nd-30%, 3^rd-20%.
9. No guest can fish the Classic unless that guest has fished with the team previously during the year.

Officers and Directors

President:  Dale Samples, Jr. (991-1917)

Vice President:  Ronnie Timmons (246-3100, Cell-608-4563)

Secretary/Treasurer:  Sam Armstrong (229-9769, Cell- 992-4540)

Director:  Grady Howard (575-2017)

Director:  David Hall (419-2839)

Director:  Frankie Smith (640-7332)

Director:  Mack Robbins (850-3607, Cell-444-0943)