These are the rules and regulation followed by the American Bass Anglers Tournament Trail and District #46.
RULE CHANGES These rules will remain unchanged throughout the 2004 season. Interpretation of these rules shall be left exclusively to the tournament director. Failure to comply with any rule may result in disqualification. The decision of the tournament director shall be final in all matters. Protests must be made in writing within 30 minutes of the official check-in time in each tournament.

PARTICIPANTS AND ELIGIBILITY Participation is open to members of American Bass Angler, Inc. who are 16 years of age or older. Proof of age to the satisfaction of tournament officials is the responsibility of the competitor. A properly completed and signed official entry form and the entry fee must be presented to the tournament director prior to the tournament. Tournament officials reserve the right to refund any membership and/or entry fee, if they shall choose for any reason not to accept the application for entrance. Any person entering a tournament that is under 18 years of age must have the signature of his/her parent or legal guardian on the entry form.

POLYGRAPH By signing the official entry form contestants agree to submit to a polygraph/voice test examination. Failure to take or pass the polygraph/voice test examination, if required, will result in immediate disqualification without recourse. Any contestant found cheating would be disqualified without recourse and banned from fishing any American Bass Angler event in the future.

PROFESSIONALS Individuals that have fished two or more tournaments requiring an individual entry fee of or more in the prior three months are not eligible to fish.

GUIDES Individuals who are serving as a licensed guide or have guided without a license for pay within 30 days of tournament are not eligible to compete on those lakes.

PRE-TOURNAMENT PRACTICE There will be no official practice period or off-limits period prior to the pre-tournament meeting. No contestant may enter the tournament water for the purpose of catching or locating possible fishing locations after weigh-in.

REGISTRATION It is recommended that contestants pre-register through National headquarters. Contestant desiring to register at the ramp must do so during the official registration period. Registration period is defined as 1 and ½ hours preceding 5am local time during daylight savings time and 6am local time during standard time or the time established by the local director. Failure to attend the pre-tournament meeting will result in forfeiture of entry fee and ineligibility to be entered in the tournament.

LATE FEE All entries must be postmarked or called in with a charge card 10 days prior to the scheduled tournament. Entries not meeting this deadline will be subject to a five dollar late fee. All pre-registrations must be sent to the Athens office only, except where noted on schedule. New or renewing members and life members signing up at the lake are not subject to the late fee for qualifying tournaments ONLY.

SAFETY Safe boating conduct will be observed at all times. Each competitor must wear a serviceable U.S. Coast Guard approved chest-type life preserver (PFD). This preserver must be worn, strapped, snapped or zipped any time the combustion engine is operating and until the combustion engine is shut off. The boat operator must have a safety-stop switch attached to his person when the combustion engine is running. Violation of either the PFD or safety-stop switch portion of this rule will result in disqualification.

SPORTSMANSHIP All contestants are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Violation of this rule shall be reason for disqualification. No alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs are allowed in the boat at any time. Drunkenness at any official activity will be grounds for immediate disqualification. No alcoholic beverages may be consumed until after your fish have been weighed and released. Each contestant must keep the waters clean and bring trash back to the dock for disposal. Any violation of state, local or federal laws may result in immediate disqualification.

TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT Only artificial lures with the exception of pork rind may be used. Only one rod and reel combination may be used at one time. No fly rods or rods over 8 ft. are allowed. Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited. All bass must be caught live and in a conventional sporting manner. All angling must be done from the boat. Anglers are not permitted to leave the boat to land a fish or leave the boat to gain access to secluded waters. Citizen band radios, marine radios and cellular phones are allowed in the boat for emergency use only. Any transmission of information via any communicative device concerning any aspect of fishing is prohibited during the tournament.

BOAT AND MOTOR All boats entered in the tournament must carry a 100,000 dollar liability insurance policy. Any boat considered inadequate to safely fish two contestants for an 8-hour day will not be allowed. Determination with cause is solely at the tournament director's discretion. All boats must be a minimum of 15ft in length, have an operational safety stop switch, and have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment. No barges, cumbersome craft or boats without steering wheel will be permitted. Each boat must also have a properly aerated or re-circulating Livewell to maintain a live limit catch of bass by both contestants. Maximum horsepower for all outboards used in tournament competition will be 250 HP, not to exceed the maximum horsepower limitations set by the U.S. Coast Guard. Each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard horsepower rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer. The horsepower of the outboard engine must not exceed the rating specified on this rating plate or the 250 horsepower maximum set by American Bass Anglers, Inc.

BOAT OPERATION Any competitor answering yes to the question: "Will you enter a boat?" will be expected to make that boat available for the tournament. Partners must discuss boat operation prior to ooze-off. Each partner is entitled to an equal time in the front of the boat and trolling motor operation. Each partner is entitled to an equal number of hours to fish his selected waters. Any contestant who, in the judgment of the tournament director, operates the boat in such a manner as to unfairly handicap his partner shall be disqualified. The responsibility for a mutual agreement as to shared expenses for the day will rest with the partners before morning ooze-off.

PERMITTED FISHING LOCATIONS Contestants may fish anywhere accessible by boat, except areas designated by federal, state or local officials or within 50 yards of another competitor's boat, anchored or not. Competitors invoking the 50-yard rule must hold their boats steady. Any competitor that allows any other competitor to fish within 50 yards of his boat has suspended the 50-yard rule and opened the water to all competitors.

OFFICIAL CHECKPOINT There will be only one official point for checkout and check in as designated by the tournament director. Competitors not at the checkpoint at the designated time will be penalized at the rate of 1 lb. per minute, deducted from his total weight for the day. Any competitor more than 15 minutes late for send-off or check-in will be disqualified for the day.

TOURNAMENT HOURS Official start and weigh-in times will be announced at the pre-tournament meeting. Our best effort will be given to allow at least 8 hours fishing time. In the case of adverse weather conditions, the tournament director will open weigh-in at 12 noon for safety.

SCORING Pounds and ounces of each competitors catch will determine tournament standings and placement. Only largemouth, spotted, red eye or smallmouth bass will be weighed. The creel limit shall be five (5) unless the prevailing state limit is less. At no time shall a competitor have in his/her possession more than the tournament limit. Culling must be done immediately. Minimum length will be 12 inches (measured on a flat board) unless the prevailing state rule is larger. A penalty of 1 lb. will be deducted from the total weight for each short fish and a penalty of 4 oz. will be deducted from the total weight for each dead fish. If big bass is weighed dead, a 4 oz. penalty is subtracted from the scale weight. A contestant that presents more fish than the tournament limit will be disqualified immediately. Mangled, mashed, mauled or otherwise altered fish will be grounds for immediate disqualification. No regurgitated baitfish will be weighed. Fish will not be put on a stringer at any time. All fish presented at the weigh-in become the property of American Bass Angler. All live fish will be returned to the lake and the tournament director will dispose of any dead fish.

PAIRING OF COMPETITORS All assignments of partners will be by open draw and all angling must be accomplished from the boat. Competitors must stay on tournament waters and in sight of each other throughout the tournament day from send-off until weigh-in (Exception: Nature call). Any contestant refusing to take or go with another contestant in his/her boat will be subject to immediate disqualification. Tournament directors have no responsibility for finding lost partners. Each contestant is to meet his/her partner at least 30 minutes prior to take-off. The tournament director may reassign pairings prior to morning ooze-off to accommodate problems or emergencies. With prior approval from AMERICAN BASS ANGLERS headquarters, the tournament director may allow paired boaters to fish alone.

TIE In case of a tie, combining awards and dividing them equally among the tied contestants shall resolve positions. A form of lottery shall determine trophy positions. The tournament director may decide to break first place ties with a fish-off. Duplicate points will be awarded to tied competitors.

TRANSFERS Entry fees will be transferred or refunded only if proper notification is made to American Bass Anglers headquarters or tournament director by 12 noon on the Friday preceding the tournament. Refunds will be assessed a 10% service charge. There is no fee for transfers.

POINT SYSTEM One-day district qualifying tournaments are worth 200 points. Maximum points are awarded for a minimum of 20 contestants. For tournaments with less than 20 contestants, 1 point per person short of the minimum will be deducted from the total points available. Points will be awarded in 1 point decreasing increments depending on place of finish. No contestant weighing a fish in the tournament will receive less than 75 points regardless of place of finish. All contestants not weighing fish will receive 50 show points. A contestant may fish multiple one-day tournaments for point accumulation, but only the best four places of finish will be counted.

2-day district tournaments are worth 400 points. Maximum points are awarded for a minimum of 20 contestants. Points will be awarded in 2 point decreasing increments depending on place of finish. For tournaments less than 20 contestants, 2 points per person short of minimum will be deducted from the total points available. No contestant weighing a fish in the tournament will receive less than 150 points, and 100 points will be awarded to those not weighing fish. A contestant may fish multiple 2-day district events, however only his best two-day finish will be counted. Contestants must have fished at least four (4) one day tournaments to be eligible to compete in any 2-day district tournament. A perfect score is 1200 points: 4 one-day tournaments at 200 points each = 800 plus and 1 two-day district tournament at 400 points.

NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP Contestants must have qualified through their local district to qualify for the National Championship. The top 500 national point holders will be invited to compete in the National Championship. If one or more of the top 500 do not accept the invitation, additional point holders will be accepted on a stand-by basis. The championship lake will be off limits 14 days prior to the first official practice day. Contestants must be paid in full prior to going on the water to practice. During official practice contestants may only pre-fish alone, with a member of his/her immediate family, another contestant of the tournament, a sponsor or a member of American Bass Angler staff. Contestants may not receive assistance from anyone other than another contestant for the purpose of locating or catching fish after pairings for the first tournament day has been made. The National Championship is worth 2000 points to the winner. Points will be awarded in 5 point decreasing increments depending on place of finish. Angler of the Year will be determined by the best four 1 day district finishes plus best 2 day finish plus points received at the Nationals. The same person cannot win both 1st place prize in the National Championship and Angler of the Year prize. The championship will be six days. Sun. thru Tues. official practice and Wed. thru Friday official tournament. National entries will be accepted without late fee until 10 days prior to the first official tournament day. After this date contestants must pay a 25.00 dollar late fee.