Tournament Rules - revised 01/15/09

The Basics 

This tournament is intended to be a fun family oriented tournament based on integrity and honesty. Prizes and Trophies for each of the various categories. Please be honest on weights of fish and be respectful to other anglers' catches. Remember this tournament is to raise money for a very good cause.

Anglers must be registered and paid by March 7, 2009.

Entry fees must be made via Paypal or check mailed to:

Russ Ost
2403 Daniels Landing Dr.
Orange Park Florida 32003


Make check payable to: First Coast Offshore Rodeo

It is the responsibility of the angler to ensure that payment was received. You must check the angler list on the web site to see if your payment has been received and an email will be sent as a receipt showing payment.

The Awards Ceremony will take place at a local venue to be determined.

Fishing Boundaries

The fish must be caught on the "First Coast." This means the angler must leave and return from one of the following inlets:

• St. Mary's Inlet
• Mayport Inlet
• St. Augustine Inlet
• Matanzas Inlet

No fish can be registered that was caught and brought into any inlet not listed.

A (FCOR) official will be at the Vilano ramp and Mayport ramp with a tournament scale check the site under scale locations for date and time it will be posted prior to each weekend. We will also have many locations around Jacksonville with tournament scales available and Offshore Rodeo volunteers ready to verify weights. Click

There are two categories for registering fish the general tournament and the charter boat tournament (paid charters) which includes party boats, and private charter boats see charter boat rules below. The JR angler is same as the general tournament.

No commercially caught fish allowed in any of the three tournaments General, JR angler, or charter/party boat tournaments.

No mutilated fish. fish must be whole.

Rules- General Tournament

All fish must be caught on standard rod and reel. No commercial powered gear, no electric reels, no free gaffing.

All fish entered must be weighed on an official (FCOR) scale and a weigh ticket signed by a weigh master official. A picture of the fish is required when you register it on the Rodeo site. Our officials will keep a log of the anglers catch throughout the tournament. The website will automatically place the heaviest fish an angler registers in a species category. Only one fish per species in the top angler category. If an angler catches a larger fish in a species category during the tournament and registers it the website will automatically replace the existing fish in that species with the larger fish.

Weights of fish must be rounded up to the nearest pound increment.

Fish caught on a PAID CHARTER BOAT or COMMERCIAL BOAT are not allowed in the general tournament.

Every fish must be registered on the web site or sent as an email to info@OffshoreRodeo.com. Fish registration will be cut-off on midnight on the last day of the tournament. All fish must be registered within 7 days of catch date. No waiting until last day to register fish.

Once a catch is approved, absolutely no changes can be made by the angler.

Fish registered in other tournaments/clubs can be submitted to the Offshore Rodeo.

In case of a tie on fish weights, the earliest registered fish breaks the tie.

If a fish is caught on a boat by a non-registered angler or a Jr. Angler, and the captain is a registered angler, then that fish may be registered under the captain's name as a captains catch.

NOTE: Since the fish being registered was not actually reeled in by the actual registered angler (captain), the fish will not count for any of the top 10 places in the Species Categories. However, that fish WILL count for the Top Boat category. A captain is encouraged to register any fish that he/she was the angler or any fish that was reeled in by a non-Offshore Rodeo angler (as a captain catch) since all those catches will apply to Top Boat Category.

Rules for charter boat category 

Charter boat anglers may register and enter their fish any time trough out the tournament dates. Registration fees must be paid before catches are approved.

Charter boats are to be a designated local Licensed paid party/head boat or private party charter leaving the inlet of Mayport, St. Augustine, Matanzas, and St. Marys . Anglers are still required to weigh there fish on an (FCOR) official tournament scale. See scale locations link at top of page. A picture of the fish is required when you register it on the Rodeo site. Our officials will keep a log of the anglers catch throughout the tournament. The website will automatically place the heaviest fish an angler registers in a species category. Only one fish per species in the top angler catagory. If an angler catches a larger fish in a species catagory during the tournament and registers it the website will automatically replace the existing fish in that species with the larger fish.

Every fish must be registered on the web site or sent as an email to info@OffshoreRodeo.com. Fish registration will be cut-off on midnight on the last day of the tournament. All fish must be registered within 7 days of catch date. No waiting until last day to register fish.  Once a catch is approved, absolutely no changes can be made by the angler. In case of a tie on fish weights, the earliest registered fish breaks the tie.  All FCOR rules must be followed along with all fishing regulations.

Charter boat tournament awards

A trophy for the biggest fish in each of the 7 species grouper, snapper, king fish, cobia, dolphin, wahoo, tuna.

Boat Ownership Changes — If registered Angler sells and purchases a new boat during the course of the tournament, all previous approved catches for the original boat are transferred to the new boat. However, the boat category (i.e. Up to 25', Over 25') may only increase or remain the same  points will NOT transfer. Please notify by email if this change is necessary.

The LOA as listed by the manufacturer is what determines the length of the vessel. Boats up to 25 ft' and boats 25' and over.

All protests will be decided by the "First Coast Offshore Rodeo committee." In the event that the protest directly affects a member of the "First Coast Offshore Rodeo Committee", then other committee staff will decide what the appropriate measures are.

All protests must be submitted by email to committee members Bruce Hall or Earl Kerr no later than midnight June 4, 2009. All protests are kept confidential and should not be made on a public forum (i.e. Florida Sportsman Forum) or protest will be declined. Each protest must be accompanied by a fifty dollar ($50.00) deposit. In the event the protest is upheld, the $50.00 deposit will be refunded. If the protest is not upheld, the $50.00 deposit will be forfeited. The decision of the Rules Committee is final and binding regarding any protest. It is up to the angler protesting to provide proof of misconduct.

**Issues to be determined by a simple vote and majority rules.

Dishonesty will not be tolerated. This is a serious subject and anyone caught cheating or being dishonest will IMMEDIATELY be disqualified from the current tournament with NO REFUND. He/She will also be ineligible from entering any First Coast Offshore Rodeo tournaments. NO EXCEPTIONS.

Each participating boat must meet all Federal, State and Local safety regulations for its size. ALL BOATS MUST BE EQUIPPED WITH AN OPERATING MARINE VHF-FM RADIO OF AT LEAST 25 WATTS. Handheld VHF radios are not permitted as the primary radio. Any boat operating in an unsafe or irresponsible like manner in the sole opinion of the appropriate Tournament Committee can be disqualified and ineligible for any and all prizes offered by the Tournament. The boat Captain is responsible, at all times, for the actions of the boat, the boat's wake, all passengers and crew.

Fish Photos – VERY IMPORTANTONLY 1 FISH PER PHOTO.  The whole fish needs to be in photo as well as the angler.
 

Photo must be taken during daylight hours or in a well lighted environment. Dark or Blurry photos will NOT be accepted. The photo can be taken anywhere, preferably on the water during daylight hours, but the fish must be weighed on land on an FCOR official scale and a signed weigh slip.

The three (3) largest fish for each species category win trophies.
TOP Angler is determined by total number of points. TOP BOAT is determined the same way.
An angler can only have one 1 fish represented in the top 10 of any species category.
Ties in all points categories will be decided by earliest registered catches.
An angler may be represented across multiple species in the top 10 but only 1 representation per species.
Top Jr. Angler (16 and under) is determined by total number of points just like TOP ANGLER. Be sure to note catch as a Jr. ANGLER catch. A Jr. Anglers catch can count towards Top Boat.

Categories

Point Scoring for general tournament

In case of a tie on fish weights, the earliest registered fish breaks the tie. All tournament rules apply. Weights of fish must be rounded up to the nearest pound increment.

Once a catch is approved, absolutely no changes can be made by the angler.

• Top Angler
• Jr. Angler
• Top Boat Up To 25'
• Top Boat Over 25'
• Dolphin
• Grouper
• Kingfish
• Snapper
• Wahoo
• Tuna*
• Cobia

*No Bonito, or False Albacore

Boat categories are up to 25' and over 25' based on manufacturers LOA.
Each category will have 10 places. Each place is assigned a point value as follows: 

Points will be totaled for each angler and boat to determine winners. 
For Species categories, you can register as many fish as you want, but only the largest fish per angler per species will count towards a species award.
Keep in mind that with regards to species categories, an angler may only need to register their heaviest fish per species.

For Example:   The Top Boat category will include TOP 3 catches on the specific boat per species. To qualify for Top Boat, the captain must be a registered angler. The captain of the boat is considered to be the owner of the boat, not the person at the helm when the fish was caught.