New Brunswick Bass Tour

Supporting and promoting bass tournament fishing in New Brunswick, Canada.

Rules

  1. TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR DECISIONS
    The tournament director will have the final say in all matters. These decisions may not be protested. Any questions concerning the understanding of the rules or procedures must be directed to the tournament director exclusively.
    The tournament director may impose penalties deemed appropriate for any violation of the rules or procedures. No refunds will be given for disqualifications. Rules violations may result in the loss of the total day’s weight or disqualification from the event.
  2. ELIGIBILITY No No more than 2 anglers per boat/team. Anglers may choose to fish an event(s) solo if their registered team partner cannot attend and they are unable to find an alternate. It is still highly recommended that individuals try and find an alternate due to safety reasons. NB Bass Tour reserves the right to decline an application at any time.
  3. OFFICIAL COMMUNICATION
    Official announcements by the NB Bass Tour will be done via email, NB Bass Tour website and social media pages.
  4. PREFISHING
    Only single-barbless hooks are allowed during prefish. Tournament waters will be off limits at sunset on the Sunday prior to the event. Official prefish days will be Thursday prior to the event and Friday (until 12 noon). All competitors must be OFF the water by 12 noon to avoid disqualification from the event.
  5. TOURNAMENT HOURS
    Tournament hours will be from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m unless instructed otherwise. Boats are only permitted to launch after being checked by tournament staff. The tournament director has the right to delay, shorten or cancel an event due to inclement weather or any other factors that may jeopardize the safety of the competitors.
  6. TOURNAMENT WATERS
    Only waters which are accessible by boat from the event launch site and in accordance with provincial/federal regulations may be fished during an event. Tournament waters may also be restricted at any time because of potentially dangerous conditions. Any waters deemed “off limits” will be communicated to competitors prior to the event.
  7. ENCROACHMENT
    There will be a 75ft encroachment rule in place when fishing near other boats. The exception to this rule is when anglers are fishing designated community holes. When fishing community holes, anglers are expected to practice a high level of sportsmanship. Community holes include Eel River, Meduxnekeag River, and Tobique River.
  8. CELL PHONES AND ELECTRONIC COMMUNICATION DEVICES
    Cell phones and any other electronic communication devices are to be used for emergency purposes only during an event. The use of any communication device to obtain and use fishing information from anyone during tournament hours is strictly prohibited.
  9. ELIGIBLE SPECIES
    Only smallmouth bass are eligible for weigh in. A maximum of five (5) smallmouth bass per team may be weighed in.
  10. TACKLE & EQUIPMENT
    Artificial lures only (pork rind included). No trolling permitted in any NB Bass Tour events. Trolling is defined as trailing a bait or lure from the boat while being propelled in any direction by the power of an outboard or inboard motor. The use of underwater cameras is strictly prohibited during NB Bass Tour events. Anglers must abide by all provincial and/or federal angling regulations and guidelines.
  11. BOAT & MOTOR
    All boats must be equipped with a functional livewell capable of keeping fish alive. Competitors must wear their life jackets or PFD (fully fastened) any time the inboard/ outboard is being operated. All competitors must abide by all provincial and/or federal boating regulations. All boats must be equipped with an operable ignition kill switch and lanyard which is to be fastened to the driver at all times the inboard/outboard is running and in gear. Boats will be subject to a pre-tournament inspection. No team will be allowed to fish unless their boat has been inspected.
  12. STARTING POSITION
    Starting positions will be drawn live on Facebook and will be posted to the website. Competitors will receive their number card in the morning during boat check. Please note: Some events may require at least 1 member of each team to attend a pre-tournament meeting.
  13. STARTING PROCEDURES
    All boats must be officially inspected before they can be launched. Takeoffs will be done via trickle start in order by starting number. Each starting number will only be called ONCE. Failure to maintain blast off order or delaying the blast-off will result in being sent to the end of the blast off order. Any modifications to the starting procedures will be communicated at each event by the Tournament Director. No team will start fishing until their starting number has been called.
  14. TEAM CAPTAIN DESIGNATION
    At the time of registration, teams must designate a team captain. In the event of a breakdown of the team during the season, the team captain will retain rights to the team’s accumulated points. The captain may choose to transfer all points to their teammate, at which point the teammate would become a captain. Transferring of points can only occur once per year, per angler.
  15. CULLING
    Only five (5) smallmouth bass are permitted in livewells while under power of the main engine. Once a 6th fish is caught, culling must take place immediately. Culling of dead fish is strictly prohibited. Any competitor caught culling a dead fish back into the water or on land will be immediately disqualified from the event. All dead fish will be collected by tournament staff and turned over to the DNRE. No dead fish shall be disposed of at any event location either in the water or on land.
  16. NON-PUNCTURING CULL TAGS
    Only non-puncturing cull tags may be used. The use of puncturing culling tags, balance beams or scales are strictly prohibited.
  17. RE-WEIGH
    Each team is allowed one (1) re-weigh and the final call is made by the weigh master. The team must keep the second weight regardless of the result.
  18. BIG BASS/LUNKER
    Teams are only allowed to weigh-in one (1) big bass per day. Lunkers must be clearly marked/tagged with a non-puncturing cull tag before handing off fish to tournament staff. Once the fish are handed to the tournament staff, the tagged lunker is your official lunker, no exceptions. No re-weighs allowed for lunkers.
  19. DEAD FISH
    A maximum of 1 dead fish can be used toward a teams’ 5 fish limit. Dead fish penalties still apply. All dead fish will be subject to a ½ pound (.50lb) penalty. Dead fish are not eligible for lunker awards or tie breakers. Teams must keep ALL dead fish in their boat. No dumping/throwing back dead fish into the water. Dead fish must be handed over to tournament staff at the end of each event as per DNR/DFO.
  20. LATE PENALTIES
    The late penalty is 1 pound (16oz) per minute, starting with the biggest fish, up to a ten minute maximum, at which point the team will record zero weight for the day from that event. In the event of a breakdown, the broken down team may transfer their fish to another competitor’s boat into a seperate livewell only AFTER communicating with the tournament director. The rescuing boat must return to the check-in point immediately (no fishing allowed once you have accepted transferred fish).
  21. SCORING
    Team of the year and rookie of the year will be determined by highest accumulated points scored at the end of the season from your best 4 events (TOTY) or 3 events (RTOTY). Points will be calculated as follows: 1st place=100pts 2nd place = 99pts, 3rd place = 98pts etc. For 2 day events, teams can use either their day 1, day 2 or overall finish for points purposes toward the TOTY race. Lunker winners for both day 1 and day 2 will receive 3 bonus points.
  22. TIES
    Tie breakers will be decided by the biggest fish. If still tied then any monies will be added and divided (example, tie for 3rd, 3rd and 4th monies will be added and divided, both teams would receive points for a 3rd place finish). Tie breaker for TOTY or ROTY standings will be decided by whoever has the highest accumulated weight for their best 4 events (TOTY) or 3 events (RTOTY).
  23. SHORE LEAVE
    All competitors must remain in their boats at all times during tournament hours except for emergencies, nature calls or inclement weather
  24. SAFETY
    All teams must check in with the Tournament Director or designated staff member at the end of each tournament. In the event that a team must leave early, the team must notify tournament staff that they are off the water before leaving the event. All competitors must abide by provincial safe boating laws which includes having the proper safety equipment for your vessel.
  25. LIFEJACKETS
    All anglers must wear a personal floatation device (PFD) or lifejacket at all times while under power of the internal combustion engine during tournament hours. Participants may elect to wear a self inflating PFD while under power of the combustion engine. A self-inflating PFD does not qualify as an approved floatation device unless it is worn and therefore anglers must also have at least a conventional PFD or lifejacket on board if they wish to remove their inflatable PDF.
  26. SPORTSMANSHIP
    All competitors must follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy and conservation. Anglers must conduct themselves in a manner that will be a credit to themselves, the NB Bass Tour organization and their sponsors, the sport of fishing and NB Bass Tour’s efforts to promote the sport. All competitors must adhere to the tournament rules and procedures as well as any additional instructions communicated by the Tournament Director. Interpreting and manipulating a rule or the spirit of a rule in the interests of advantage will be deemed a violation of the sportsmanship code and will result in disqualification or expulsion. An example of conduct not complying with those standards include, but not limited to, the following:
    *Any act or inflammatory statement by any competitor that, in the opinion of the tournament director, is detrimental to the operation of the tournament, damaging to organized bass fishing, to the NB Bass Tour or any of its sponsors, or to regulatory agencies or their officers (such as rangers, wardens, fishery biologists, etc.) during the practice round or tournament, may result in disqualification or expulsion from all future NB Bass Tour events.
  27. PROTEST PROCEDURE
    “On the water” rule violation protests must be reported to the tournament director before the weigh-in is completed. The official protest must be substantiated by at least one other team or clear video/photo evidence. The protest will be communicated to and only to the tournament director. At such a time and in such a manner, the tournament director shall make his/her decision and report it to the NB Bass Tour staff . All other protests must be submitted/reported in writing via email or handwritten letter to the NB Bass Tour no later than 24 hours after the end of “official tournament hours”. THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR’S DECISION IS FINAL.
  28. REFUNDS
    Refunds can be requested up until 11:59pm on the Sunday prior to the event. If you are unable to attend, entry fees can also be used toward future events.
  29. RULES AND REGULATIONS
    The NB Bass Tour reserves the right to amend the rules and regulations as it sees fit.