2013 Fruit Jar Series Rules

2013 Fruit Jar Series Rules

Interpretation and enforcement of these rules shall be left exclusively to the Tournament Committee. It is the Tournament Committee’s discretion to make a change where safety of the contestants is a concern. In the event of a rule violation, they may impose such sanctions as they deem appropriate including, without limitation, disqualification, forfeiture of prizes, entry fee, and prohibition from participation in subsequent tournaments. All Federal, State and local laws must be obeyed and it is the contestant's responsibility to know these laws.

1) Eligible Participants. Participation in the Crappie.com, MS FJ Series is open to anyone. There is no qualification to be registered on Crappie.com. Children are encouraged to participate. New rule: Participants may not hire a guide to fish the tournament.

2) Alcohol and Safety Equipment. No Alcohol may be consumed during or preceding tournament hours. Life jackets must be worn at all times while under way with the main motor above idle speed. All safety equipment required by law enforcement must be in the boat as required.

3) Cancellation and Delay. In the case of extreme weather and/or water conditions, tournament officials reserve the right to postpone or cancel the event. In which case, all entry fees will be returned to the participants.

4) Tournament Hours and Ramps. Tournament fishing hours will be announced prior to each tournament. All participants will register at the designated ramp and are then free to proceed to their fishing locations and await the official "start fishing time". After registration and boat inspection, you may trailer your boat to any ramp at the tournament lake. Participants must stop fishing at the time designated and be in line at the weigh in table at or before the designated time. Anyone late to the weigh in will be disqualified.

5) Pre Tournament Inspection and Registration. Each team will register and pay the entry fee the morning of the tournament. Each team is responsible for having their coolers and livewells checked prior to launching or trailering to an alternate launch ramp by one of the tournament officials, Satdoc1, Yikess, BigBlue, Spiderwoman, Majflyboy or our designees.

6) Practice. Pre-fishing or practice is allowed the day before any tournament, but is off limits to fishing from midnight the night before until the official start fishing time the day of the tournament.

7) Partners. The only limit on the number of people allowed in each boat is that of the stated capacity of the boat. You may fish alone.

8) Fishing Methods. New rule: Maximum pole limit is eight (8) poles unless the lake limit is less, such as Grenada Lake where the maximum would be six (6), or for a single fisherman, three (3). This applies even if more than two (2) fishermen are in the boat. Live or artificial bait is allowed. In the case of a single man team, you are limited to the per person lake limit for that tournament but not to exceed eight (8) in the case of Lake Washington, which has no pole maximum. For a lake like Washington or Chotard with no pole limit, a person fishing by themselves could fish eight (8) poles. On a COE lake, he's limited to four (4) or on Grenada three (3). No more than two (2) hooks or lures allowed per pole. Absolutely NO wading or bank fishing allowed.

9) Winners and Ties. Winning weights will be determined by the heaviest seven (7) fish of legal size. Fish do not have to be alive to be weighed. In case of a tie, the two (2) positions in question will be added together and divided evenly.

10) Entry Fees. Entry fees will be $40.00 for each team plus $10.00 for big fish for each team. $5.00 of each team's entry fee will be withheld from the payout for that tournament and carried forward to the Championship pot. The remaining $35.00 will be paid out according to the payout schedule to the participants of that day’s tournament . Payouts for each FJ tournament will be one (1) place for every five (5) boats entered in each tournament. The Championship tournament will follow the same payout schedule as the regular Fruit jar tournaments but with the additional funds collected from the season plus the entire $40.00 entry fee.

11) Big Fish. A team may weigh up to two (2) fish in the Big Fish category. The big fish payout will be 100% to the single largest fish. In the case of a tie, the big fish payout will be divided evenly between the teams in the tie.

12) Pot Splitting. In the event of a team winning prize money or a big fish pot, any splitting of the prize money will be determined by that team at their discretion.

13) Tournament Series. The FJ series will consist of six (6) tournaments and one (1) championship. Dates and lakes were determined by the Lake Master (BigBlue) and are as follows: Washington, Grenada, Chotard, Arkabutla, Enid, and Sardis. The Championship lake will be chosen at a later date but is not limited to the lakes already scheduled.

14) Championship Qualification. New rule: To qualify to fish the championship, everyone must fish at least three (3) regular FJ tournaments. In the event that a person fishes with multiple partners and qualifies for the championship, that person can choose anyone that has fished at three regular FJ’s to fish with them in the championship. In the event that a co-angler (not boat operator) fishes three (3) regular season tournaments with another person, that co-angler also qualifies and can bring a boat and fish as an angler in the championship, however, that person's partner (if he chooses to have one) would also have to have fished three regular FJ’s. Regular entry fees of $40.00 per boat plus an optional big fish pot of $10.00 will apply to the championship.

15) Tournament Officials are as Follows:

Lake Master - BigBlue. He is responsible for picking the lakes and the dates for the tournaments. It is also his responsibility to call off or to delay a tournament due to inclement weather or other unsafe conditions.

Weighmaster - Satdoc1. He is responsible for certifying the weights at each tournament and setting the “start weigh in time”. He is allowed to designate anyone he sees fit to help with the weigh in or to designate a substitute prior to a tournament.

Tournament Director - Majflyboy. He will conduct the registration (or designate someone to), keep up with the official weights, and pay the winners.

Director General - Yikess. He will be responsible for keeping the official time, setting the time for start and stop fishing and weigh in and assessing any late penalties. In addition, should any dispute arise, his ruling will stand with no appeal. If he cannot be at an event, he will designate his replacement prior to the tournament.

Secretary/Treasurer - Spiderwoman - She will collect the entry fees and calculate the payout amounts.