Gene Doyle Fishing Tournament Official Rules

The 30 tournament rules can be found below

Official Rules

For more information, you can also call John Paulich at (239) 776-9400.

  1. Tournament fishing hours are 7:00 AM – 2:30 PM.
  2. All anglers must depart from and return to an official tournament launch site each day.
  3. All fishing will be from a boat.
  4. All boats must have a minimum of two anglers registered for the tournament.  If anglers are fishing from kayaks, there may be one angler per boat.
  5. There must be an adult (18 years or older) on every boat carrying youth anglers (under 16).  It is not necessary that the adult be a registered angler.  Angler teams fishing from kayaks must have one angler that is 18 years or older and the second angler must be at least 16 years old.
  6. Anglers may leave their designated launch site at first safe light IF they have picked up their angler numbers and measuring sticks at the Friday Captain’s Meeting for Saturday fishing and at the launch site at 2:30 p.m. Saturday for Sunday fishing.  No lines in the water until 7:00 am and anglers must return by 2:30 pm to turn in photos and fish logs.  No fishing is allowed within 100 yards of the marina launch site.
  7. Trailering of boats from the launch site is permitted.
  8. Cameras. Each boat must have at least one digital camera supplied by the anglers. Before fishing, anglers must take their photos showing their angler number with the camera. At the end of the fishing day, the launch site volunteer will download all photos from the camera memory card to a computer.  All photographs must be turned in even if there are no fish to record so that the tournament will have a photo of each angler.  All photographs entered in the Tournament become the property of the Gene Doyle Memorial Foundation and may be used in print publications, website and other social media.
  9. A photograph of the fish, with the tournament ruler and angler number, and subsequent release constitutes a catch. The fish must face left, stomach down, on the tournament ruler with the angler number clearly visibleAngler numbers and measuring boards for Saturday fishing will be made available on Friday night (at Captain’s Meeting) and at official tournament launch sites Saturday morning.  Angler numbers for Sunday fishing will be available at official tournament launch sites Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning. Measurements for Grand Champion totals will be rounded up to the next higher inch (a 25 1/4 inch fish would be scored 26 inches). Photos being considered for largest fish awards will be scored on actual length as determined by the judges. ANY PHOTO NOT TAKEN IN THE PROPER FORMAT OR FAILING TO CLEARLY SHOW THE LENGTH OF THE FISH WILL BE DISQUALIFIED.
  10. Once a fish is photographed, it is entered into the tournament. The first 3 fish (4 fish in the Adult Divisions) photographed in each species will be scored towards the Grand Champion total.
  11. NO CULLING. If an angler decides not to photograph a catch in hopes for a larger fish of that species, the fish must be released at that time. Bonus points were devised to reward anglers that close out each specific species first (i.e. 3 Snook, 3 Redfish, 3 Trout). If an angler closes out a species of fish (photographs of 3 fish of any of the three species) and catches (and photographs) a larger fish later that day, the larger fish may be entered into the largest fish category, but will not count towards the Grand Champion point totals.
  12. IGFA rules and regulations apply, unless otherwise provided in these Rules.
  13. Valid fishing licenses or respective guide licenses are required for all participating anglers.
  14. No heavier than 20 pound test line (Manufacturer Stated Test) may be used in all divisions.
  15. No chumming allowed, including live bait chumming.
  16. Only one working rod per angler is allowed in the water at any time.
  17. All anglers must do their own casting, including Youth and Small Fry anglers.
  18. In case of a tie, the trophy will be awarded to the angler who catches their last fish (for the Grand Champion) or largest fish (for the Largest Fish) first.
  19. Any protests must be in writing, signed, and submitted to the rules committee by 5:30 pm each day. The penalty for any rules violation ranges from no points for a fish to no points for that day’s catch. All decisions by the Tournament Rules Committee will be final.
  20. Anglers may change launch sites from Saturday to Sunday. The Tournament Rules Committee must be notified by 2:30 pm Saturday of any launch site changes.
  21. The Tournament Rules Committee will make any weather decisions pursuant to the Gene Doyle Fishing Tournament Weather Contingency Plan.
  22. Licensed captains may enter as anglers, but will not be eligible to win any awards. The definition for licensed captain is a person whom has a valid USCG and county occupational license to carry passengers for hire on a marine going vessel.

    Format and Scoring
     
  23.  The Gene Doyle Fishing Tournament is a backcountry catch and release tournament targeting Snook, Redfish (Red Drum) and Trout (Spotted Sea Trout). Trophies are awarded for Grand Champion (greatest number of points) Largest Snook, Largest Redfish and Largest Trout in the four Youth and Adult divisions. Trophies are also awarded for the Tournament’s Most Unusual Catch, Best Photograph, Top Female Angler, and Small Fry Champion in Guided and Open Divisions, and a single Trash Can Slam Champion.
  24. Points for Individual Anglers, Youth (ages 7-15) and Adult (age 16 and over) Divisions, will be awarded for a successful catch and release as outlined in the rules. Points can be attained as follows: 
       a.  10 points per inch on Day #1. 
       b.  15 points per inch on Day #2.
       c.  For entering three fish of the same species, 100 bonus points will be awarded on Day #1 and 150 points on Day #2. If an angler enters three fish in each of the three species (3 Snook, 3 Redfish and 3 Trout) 200 additional bonus points are awarded on Day #1 (for a total bonus of 500 points) and 300 points on Day #2 (for total bonus points of 750).
  25. The Grand Champion is determined by the largest number of points:
       a.   In the Youth Divisions, the Champion is determined by an individual angler’s points. (See Rule 26 d, e and f for Youth Anglers fishing with an adult.)
       b.   In the Adult Divisions the Champion is determined by team points.
  26. In the Adult Team Divisions, Rule 24 applies except as follows:
       a.   A team may enter four fish of each species.
       b.   The team must enter four fish of a species to receive bonus points for closing out a species.
       c.   Each team member must have caught one of the four fish entered in each species and the first 4 fish photographed are the ones scored. (No team member can enter more than three fish of a species.)
       d.   There is no limit on the number of anglers on a team, but each team must have at least two members. If there are only two anglers on the team and one angler is a youth angler, the youth will fish as a member of the team.
       e.    A youth angler fishing with two or more adults may, but is not required to be a member of an Adult Team.
       f.    A youth angler fishing as part of an Adult Team will be eligible for Youth Grand Champion only if the Adult Team does not win the Adult Grand Champion.
  27. The Largest Fish is an individual competition in both the adult and youth divisions.  A youth angler fishing as a member of an adult team competes for the youth division largest fish. No more than one largest fish trophy will be awarded to an angler in any division.  If one angler catches the largest fish of more than one species, he or she will be awarded the trophy for the largest snook, or redfish or trout (in that order) and the next largest fish will win the trophy for the other species.
  28. The Small Fry Divisions (ages 6 and under) champion is the angler with the highest total inches of fish caught.  (Snook, Redfish, Trout, Snapper, Ladyfish, Jack and Catfish).  Small Fry anglers measure all fish caught and the champion is determined by adding length of the largest fish of each species.  To prevent injuries, it will not be necessary to measure a Catfish for the Small Fry Award.  Any Catfish caught and photographed with the angler will automatically receive a score of 25 inches, regardless of the actual size of the fish.
  29. The Top Female Angler trophy is awarded to the female angler in each adult division with the greatest number of points.
  30. The Trash Can Slam Trophy will be awarded to the angler catching a Jack Crevalle, Ladyfish and Catfish all on the same day with the greatest total number of inches for the three fish.

Documents and Contact

Scholarship Application
Contact Us

Tournament Chair 
John Paulich

Tournament Headquarters
Phone: (239) 776-9400

Tournament

The 21st Annual Gene Doyle Backcountry Release Fishing Tournament will be held April 27, 28 & 29, 2018.

Friday, April 27, 2018
7 pm – Anglers’ and Captains’ Meetings and Kickoff Party @ Sunshine Ace Hardware – downtown Store

Saturday, April 28, 2018
7 am – 2:30 pm – Fishing Day 1 from respective launch sites
 2017 -There will be no Score Posting Party Saturday evening – scores will be updated online

Scholarship

Application Deadline:  Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Finalist Interviews: Thursday, March 22, 2018

Announcement of Winners: Friday, March 23, 2018

Tournament Chair 
John Paulich

Tournament Headquarters
Phone: (239) 776-9400

Tournament Info

Scholarship Info

The Foundation

Gene Doyle