Official Rules

THE GENE DOYLE
FISHING TOURNAMENT
OFFICIAL RULES 2011
Revised March 30, 2011

General Rules

Tournament fishing hours are 7:00 AM - 2:30 PM.
All anglers must depart from and return to an official tournament launch site each day.
All fishing will be from a boat.
All boats must have a minimum of two anglers registered for the tournament.
Anglers may not leave their designated launch site until 7:00 am and must return by 2:30 pm.
Trailering of boats from the launch site is permitted.
Cameras. Each boat must have at least one digital camera supplied by the anglers. Before fishing, anglers’ photos will be taken with the camera by the launch site volunteer. At the end of the fishing day, the launch site volunteer will download all photos from the camera memory card to a computer.
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 visible. Angler numbers, and measuring boards will be issued at official tournament launch sites daily before fishing hours. 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.
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.
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, it may be entered into the largest fish category, but will not count towards the Grand Champion point totals.
IGFA rules and regulations apply.
Valid fishing licenses or respective guide licenses are required for all participating anglers.
No heavier than 20 pound test line (Manufacturer Stated Test) may be used in all divisions.
Only one working rod per angler is allowed in the water at any time.
All anglers must do their own casting.
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.
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.
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.
The Tournament Rules Committee will make any weather decisions pursuant to the Gene Doyle Fishing Tournament Weather Contingency Plan.
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
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 each of four divisions. Trophies are also awarded for the Tournament’s Most Unusual Catch, Best Photograph, Top Female Angler and Trash Can Slam.
Points for all Individual Anglers, Youth and Adult 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).
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 24 d, e and f
         for Youth Anglers fishing with an adult.)
   b.   In the Adult Divisions the Champion is determined by team points.
In the Adult Team Divisions, Rule 22 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.
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.