Rules

Louisiana Redfish Series

Rules & Regulations

Decisions of the Tournament Director are final in all matters and are not subject to appeal. By participating in the Louisiana Redfish Series, each contestant agrees to be bound by the rules stated herein. The Louisiana Redfish Series reserves the right to dismiss and ban any contestant continued participation in the Louisiana Redfish Series for any reason. The Louisiana Redfish Series reserves the right to place an official in a participant's boat at any time during the Tournament.
Participation – A team may consist of up to four (4) anglers. Teams may have up to two (2) adults and up to two (2) children. Any angler rquired by the state to hold a Louisiana fishing license is considered an adult, and any angler not required to have a Louisiana fishing license is considered a child. All adult team members must have a valid Louisiana fishing license. All team members are required to follow all applicable federal, state, and local regulations and laws. Any violation of such regulations and laws will result in disqualification from the tournament with the possibility of being banned from continuation participation in the Louisiana Redfish Series at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director.

Entry Fees, Registration & Pre-Tournament Meeting – Entry fees will be $300 per team angler if pre-registering or $375 for late registration, and each team member can pay their half individually. All online processing fees are not included and must be paid by anglers. Registration may be completed online at www.LouisianaRedfishSeries.com or in person the morning of the tournament. Entry Fees may be electronically sent to the Tournament Director. Please see your Tournament Director for more details. Pre-registration will be closed 60 days prior to the tournament. Cash or check will be the only accepted methods of payment for late registration. The team captain or team member, for pre-registered teams as well as those registering late, must check-in with tournament staff to receive team numbers prior to blast off. There will be a MANDATORY pre-tournament meeting held the morning of the tournament prior to blast off and all teams must be present.
Fish, Fishing Methods - All redfish must be wild caught by rod and reel utilizing conventional methods and not foul hooked. Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited. Only artificial lures may be used during competition. Only commercially available scents may be used during competition. Anglers may not catch fish or weigh in fish that have been caged or confined in an area.
Boating - The vessel must remain in state waters during the tournament day, and the vessel must remain in the water at all times. Contestants may only fish in state waters accessible to the public by water outside of the tournament wake zones. Off limit areas are areas deemed "off limits" or "no fishing" by private ownership or local, state and federal officials. All angling must be conducted from the boat. At no time may a contestant leave the boat without the expressed permission of the Tournament Director. No tournament boat may be loaded on the trailer before the weigh-in without permission of the Tournament Director. In the event of equipment failure or emergency, there will be only two permitted methods of team members returning to the official check-in: by both partners remaining in their boat and being towed by water, or by one of the partners entering the boat of another tournament contestant. Under these two conditions, the team's catch may be counted without a penalty (except for dead-fish penalties or other penalties pertaining to other tournament rules). Teams that elect to return to the official check-in by any other means than cited above will forfeit their day's catch to that point in time of the tournament day. Any team returning to the check-in point will be eligible to restart and resume competition under the supervision of the Tournament Director. It is thesole responsibility of teams to locate the Tournament Director to request a restart. If a team must violate any part of this rule due to an emergency or for any other reason, their catch is forfeit.

Safety – Safe boating will be observed at all times. Each participant will be required to wear a fastened, U.S. Coast Guard approved, personal flotation device any time the combustion engine is in operation. Louisiana Redfish Series urgently requests life jackets be worn the entire day while on the water your safety. Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard and Louisiana safety equipment. For the safety of all contestants, all boats must be equipped with some type of operable ignition shut-off device. This ignition shut-off (Kill Switch) must be attached to the driver any time the combustion engine is operating and in gear. At the discretion of the Tournament Director, tournament days may be shortened or canceled due to unsafe conditions. All participants are responsible for the operation, maintenance, and safety of their vessels, themselves, and their fellow team members. No action by the Tournament, Tournament Director, Staff, Volunteers, or any other representative should be construed as an endorsement concerning whether it is safe to leave port or continue fishing at any given time. The Louisiana Redfish Series will not give advice or recommendations to teams concerning weather conditions.
Sportsmanship – All participants are required to follow the highest standards of sportsmanship by respecting everyone inside and out of the tournament, respect the environment, and respect the redfish. Every angler must be maintain courtesy, safety, conservation and conduct themselves in a manner that will be a credit to themselves, Louisiana Redfish Series personnel and staff, its sponsors and, the sport of fishing. If conduct does not comply with the standards set forth, then the Louisiana Redfish Series and its Tournament Director shall have the right to deny entry or disqualify a participant.
Communication – During tournament hours and up to 60 days prior to tournament date, contestants may not obtain or receive assistance from anyone outside of the tournament, follow a non-competitor's boat or participate in the practice of "hole-sitting" or the placing of markers by anyone.
Boat & Horsepower Regulation – The official Louisiana Redfish Series VHF Radio Channel will be assigned at the pre-tournament meeting. Boats must contain a properly aerated live-well space to adequately sustain the life of all redfish on board. At no point shall any redfish to be weighed be iced down. Each boat must have a clearly legible "Maximum Capacities" (or comparably titled) placard that includes a maximum horsepower rating affixed to the boat by the manufacturer. The horsepower of the outboard engine must not exceed the maximum horsepower capacity specified on this placard. By signing the entry form, each contestant agrees to submit their boat and/or motor to an inspection by Louisiana Redfish Series personnel. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the horsepower numbers on the motor or rating placard will be cause for disqualification from the tournament and may result in ineligibility to compete in future Louisiana Redfish Series events. Fuel may be carried only in factory-installed (built-in) fuel tanks. Any additional fuel used during the tournament day must be purchased from a retail facility open to the public.
Official Checkpoints & Late Penalty – There will be only one official checkpoint for boat check-in the morning of and one official checkpoint in the afternoon. Failure to go through boat check-in the morning and/or failure to report in at the checkpoint in the afternoon will result in disqualification. All fishing must cease upon check-in. Contestants who are not at the official check-in area at the appointed time will be disqualified 10 minuntes after check-in time, and there will be a ½ pound per minute late penalty.
Scoring & Measuring – Each team shall be scored for 2 live redfish within the Louisiana slot limit between 16" to 27" measured on a slanted, hands-free board. Redfish will be measured from the tip of closed mouth to the extreme tip of the handsfree, pinched tail fin in order to obtain the fish’s maximum overall length. Any redfish measured over the slot limit will be set aside for a free rest while the second fish is measured, and the measurer shall place a damp cloth over the fish's face during any rest periods. After second fish is measured and removed from the measuring system, the resting fish shall be placed on the measuring board after resting cloth is removed. Every attempt will be made to allow a fish to qualify, and any fish measured outside of the Louisiana slot limit shall have a max of 3 measured attempts to qualify. Each team is allowed to request one (1) sixty (60) second rest period. Any redfish deemd over shall be disqualified and released immediately .
Live Redfish – Any fish that appears to have been iced, penned, mangled, mashed, mauled or otherwise altered will not be weighed at the discretion of the Tournament Director. In the event that a tie should occur, the team with the largest individual fish will be the tie breaker for a one day event, total cumulative weight for the year will be the tie breaker for the Team of the Year. Every effort must be made to keep redfish alive. A 0.75 (3/4) pound penalty will be deducted from the total weight for each dead fish presented for weigh-in. Payout will be determined on the number of boats registered.
Liability – Participation of Contestants in the Louisiana Redfish Series is voluntary and at their own risk. By virtue of participating, Contestants agree to protect, defend, indemnify, save and hold harmless, the Louisiana Redfish Series, volunteers, staff, personnel, employees, and sponsors thereof, from and against any and all claims, damages, expenses, and liability arising out of injury or death to any person or the damage, loss or destruction of any property which may occur, or in any way grow out of, any act or omission of Contestant in connection with participation in the Tournament, or any and all costs, expenses and/or attorney fees incurred by Contestant as a result of any claims, demands, suits, or causes of action arising out of participation in the Tournament. Contestant agrees to investigate, handle, respond to, provide defense for and defend any such claims, demands, suits, or causes of action at its sole expense and agrees to bear all other costs and expenses related thereto, even if the claims, demands, suits, or causes of action are groundless, false or fraudulent.

Youth Division (<18) – Any youth may choose to compete in the adult division with parental consent and permission from the Tournament Director. Youths are beholden to all rules, regulations, and sportsmanship. Youths will be allowed to weigh in one (1) redfish each and must follow all previously stated rules. The fish allowed to weigh in for the youth cannot be weighed in for the team total. The highest finishing youth in each tournament will receive a prize.