Club Rules


There are two sets of rules that will be of interest to you if you fish with our club this season. Be sure to read and understand the rules before fishing your first event. If you have any questions, ask a club officer or check with one of our many long-term members.

Regular Season Rules - Print or View Pdf.

Sonoma County Belly Boat Bass Club Members Rules 1. All SCBBBC Tournament fishing must be conducted from an inflatable float tube or kick boat (“FLOAT TUBE”). Tournament Anglers may not fish outside of their FLOAT TUBE for any reason. Anglers must be floating in their FLOAT TUBE while fishing. Violation of this rule will result in disqualification from the Tournament. As of right now Kayaks are only allowed to be used in our State Classic Event. 2. If any one from the public or a club officer views another member exhibiting un-sportsman like conduct, or in any way conduct un-becoming to the club's values prior to, during or after a tournament may be disqualified from that Tournament. 3. Minimum size length for bass is thirteen (13) inches. Length must be verifiable with Will-E-Go Board/ Flat with mouth open. Attempting to weigh-in undersized fish will result in loss of individual fish and 0.5 lb penalty per undersized fish. Attempting to weigh-in fish less than the DFG legal size limit of 12" will result in disqualification from the Tournament. 4. Only members of the bass family (largemouth, spotted, smallmouth) may be weighed-in. 5. Creel limit for individual Tournaments is five (5) fish; creel limit for Team Tournaments is five (5) fish. No angler may have in his or her possession more than 5 fish at any one time unless in the process of actively culling a limit in either individual or Team Tournaments. Violation of this rule will result in disqualification from the Tournament of the individual and, in a Team Tournament, loss of all fish for that angler. All culling must be finalized prior to weigh-in time as declared at blast-off. Violation of this rule will result in Tournament disqualification. Anglers may exchange fish with their partners only during Team Tournaments. Anglers may not exchange fish during individual Tournaments. Violation of this rule will result in Tournament disqualification. During Team Tournaments, if more than five (5) fish are in possession of a team after weigh-in time, that team will lose its largest fish until the total number of fish in their possession is four (4). 6. All live bass must be released during Tournaments with the exception of trophy fish of five pounds or better kept for mounting purposes. A penalty of 0.5 lb per dead fish will be assessed regardless of the size of the fish. Trophy bass alive at weigh-in may be kept for mounting purposes without penalty. 7. All Tournament angling must be done using only artificial lures. The use of live, dead, or cut bait is prohibited during tournaments. Violation of this rule will result in Tournament disqualification. 8. All anglers must possess valid California fishing license and must have it displayed as required by law. Violation of this rule will result in Tournament disqualification. 9. All bass shall be kept in a follow-me bag or live well. Live wells must meet or exceed the following dimensions: 48 quart Ice Chest, no storage totes or plastic bins. The more bubble the better. It must also have a 500 GPH pump set up so it creates oxygen for the fish by spraying the surface of the water. Homemade live wells and\or follow-me bags must be pre-approved by the Tournament Director or Tournament Director Assistants. Bass kept for trophy purposes may be kept on a stringer. Violation of this rule will result in disqualification. 10. Only fins and\or oars may power float tubes. The use of motors, sails, etc. is prohibited. Violation of this rule will result in Tournament disqualification. 11. Meeting times for Tournaments will be announced prior to the tournament. Those late for the meeting time will be assessed a penalty of 0.2 lb and must announce their presence in the Tournament (“check-in”) to a Club Officer prior to commencement of fishing. These penalties will be assessed to the angler’s overall weight during the official weigh-in. Failure by latecomers to check-in will result in Tournament disqualification. In the event of a cancellation of a Tournament it will automatically be rescheduled for the following weekend unless that is a holiday where it will be the weekend after that. The original check in, blast off and weight in times would remain the same. 12. Anglers may portage their float tubes through the use of automobiles, trucks, etc. (only when a special permit is issued by DFG ) However, while on the water, they may travel only by the individual’s fin or oar power or by naturally occurring currents or wind. Anglers may not accept assistance from boats or other anglers to move about the body of water. Violation of this rule will result in Tournament disqualification. 13. The use of alcohol and/or non-medical drugs during Tournaments is prohibited. Violation of this rule will result in Tournament disqualification. 14. Anglers must be within one cast (approximately 30 feet) of the weigh-in site by the official weigh-in time. Lateness for weigh-in will be penalized at the rate of 0.2 lb per minute. Lateness of more than twenty minutes will result in Tournament disqualification. Penalty will be assessed first to the largest fish in the angler’s possession and will follow in sequence as necessary to the smallest fish until the entire penalty is assessed or the angler is penalized to an overall weight of 0 (zero) lbs. 15. Participants may not “Pre-Fish” a body of water scheduled for next Tournament after midnight of the Monday immediately preceding the Scheduled Tournament. This rule does not apply to the Clear Lake Invitational and regular SCBBBC Tournaments scheduled at Clear Lake, the Delta waters or Lake Berryessa where there is a Pre-Fishing cutoff of midnight of the day immediately preceding the day of the Tournament. Violation of this rule will result in Tournament disqualification. 16. The Tournament Director & Director Assistants are responsible for the fair and impartial application of the rules. The decisions of the Tournament Director and\or & Director Assistants are final. In the event that an interpretation of the rules is necessary, the Tournament Director and\or & Director Assistants may, at his or hers sole discretion, request the Club Officers and\or Club Members present at the Tournament to vote on the issue for a final resolution. 17. Partners for Team Tournaments shall be chosen only through a blind draw. 18. In order to participate in any SCBBBC Tournament and to be eligible for prizes and/or points, Anglers must pay their entry fees at the established meeting time, or after checking in with a club officer during the Tournament if a late arrival (but prior to weigh-in). Those who have not paid their entry fees are ineligible for either prizes or points, regardless of their weigh-in results. Non Active Members of the SCBBBC, who does not sign up as a SCBBBC member and pay the annual club dues by their second Tournament, will have to pay an additional $10.00 on top of the normal $30.00 basic Tournament entry fee each Tournament from that point on. That additional $10.00 goes towards the club operating funds. 19. The club will obtain any necessary permits from the California Department of Fish & Game, Federal, and County And\or City agencies for its Tournaments. 20. BASS Affiliation Requirements: a. Active Membership in BASS 21. Number of Members a. The chapter shall begin with and maintain at least six Active members 22. Requirement for Regular SCBBBC Membership – To become a SCBBBC Chapter Member, a person shall: a. Voluntarily express a genuine interest in membership b. Be an Active member of BASS c. Be recommended by one member at a regular monthly meeting d. Be voted on by membership. Vote shall be by members present at regular monthly meeting. e. Be 16 years of age 23. Requirements for Junior Membership* – To become a Junior Member of an adult chapter, a person shall: a. Voluntarily express a genuine interest in membership b. Be less than 16 years of age and supervised by a responsible adult. 24. The Membership Dues shall be $50 annually, initially payable upon being voted into the chapter, (due annually by 12/31) $15 of which shall be for the National BASS Federation dues, $5 for the State BASS Federation dues, and $30 for SCBBBC chapter dues ($20 for those younger than 16 for a total of $40). BASS membership dues are also required at the current rate. 25. The SCBBBC Membership will hold a monthly meeting on the first Wednesday of each month throughout the year starting at 7:00 PM and located at the Round Table Pizza, 1003 Guerneville Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95403. Anyone is invited to attend and there is no charge to do so. 26. BASS Affiliation 1. Requirements for BASS Affiliation a. Approval of Chapter Charter by BASS b. Update BASS with a chapter membership roster once each year upon receipt of current BASS roster at year’s end. c. Names & addresses of new members joining the chapter during the year must be submitted to BASS as they occur. d. Maintain 100% BASS membership e. Must affiliate with State Federation and support its conservation and youth programs. Any additional requirements that the State Federation establishes for chapters, such as membership, dues, attendance at meetings, etc., would be necessary for the chapter to participate in the State Federation qualifying tournament(s), and any other Federation-sponsored tournaments or events 27. All disqualifications from a Tournament will also be reviewed by the SCBBBC Board of Directors for further action if necessary and as applicable per the SCBBBC’s Bylaws. 28. Transporting of Live Fish - Requirements: No less then a 48 Quart Live well (Coleman, Igloo ice chest). Please us a no less then a 500 per hour marine aerator. Bass Meds, Rejuvenate must be added to live wells at all times. All travel and boat live wells must be approved and checked by a club official before any and all club tournaments. 29. The Angler of the Year & Rookie of the Year A. The Angler of the Year (AOY) will be the Active SCBBBC member with the highest total amount of earned points for all events combined from February to December each year. All points will be counted and there will be no throw out points used to figure totals. Angler of the Year will receive a special plaque and gift certificate. B. Rookie of the Year – Based on being a first year member and fishing no less then 8 tournaments. Angler will be the active SCBBBC member with the highest total amount of earned points for all events combined from February to December each year. Rookie of the Year will receive a special plaque and gift certificate. 30. Only one limit per each live-well 31. The pre-fishing cut-off times. There is a two week cut-off for all tournaments at the following lakes. Blue Lakes Spring Lake Highland Springs Lake Sonoma 32. 5 fish limit for team tournaments. 33. Live-wells. A. Follow-me bags are allowed B. Out of the water live-wells while fishing must have 500GPH pump and it must be creating bubbles while spraying into the surface of the water in the well. This is needed to add oxygen to the water. Live-well must be a cooler / Ice chest no smaller then 48 quarts. (NO PLASTIC STAGE BINS / TOOTS) 34. TOC qualifiers taken to the tournament: We take the top 1/3 points leaders after their 2 throw outs (we do not round up or down) and 1 second half point’s leader when our membership is 1-44 paid members. If we have 45 or more members in a given year we have a set number of spots available which is 14 Plus 1. 35. Anglers under 16 participants in Scbbbc events must use a approved life jacket while on the water at all times. 36. $10 Dollar Meeting Point, if you can’t make our meetings you can now buy your points. That’s for everyone no matter where you live. Now every paid member of the Scbbbc can now contended for the TOC and Angler of the Year. The club also benefits from this and when the club benefits you benefit! Payment must be paid before that given months tournament. Last updated December 20, 2009

Rules for Qualifying for the Tournament of Champions - Print or View Pdf.

Qualifying for the Tournament of Champions 1. To participate in the competition to qualify for the Tournament of Champions (TOC), you must be an Active paid member of the Sonoma County Belly Boat Bass Club (SCBBBC). Dues for the 2006 season are $50.00. Dues for anglers under the age of 16 for the 2006 season are $40.00. You must also be a paid Active member of the Bass Anglers Sportsmen Society (BASS) to qualify for membership in the SCBBBC. 2. Participants in tournaments will accumulate points as follows: A. The winner of each Tournament, as determined by the highest weight of bass brought to weigh-in, will be awarded 50 points. The second place finisher will earn 49 points, the third place finisher 48 points, and so on until all those weighing-in legal-sized bass have earned points. B. All those who participated in the Tournament and who have not weighed-in legal size bass will earn the same number of points earned by the participant weighing in the least amount of weight for the day, less 10 points. C. Point standings for a given Tournament will be determined irrespective of Active membership in the SCBBBC. D. Participants in Team tournaments will also earn points following the same pattern as outlined above for individual Tournaments. However, both members of the 1st place team will earn 50 points, both members of the 2nd place team will earn 48 points, both members of the 3rd place team will earn 46 points, and so on until all teams weighing-in legal-sized bass have earned points. Participating teams that do not weigh-in any legal-sized bass will earn the same points as the team weighing-in the least amount of weight in bass for the day, less 2 points. E. Those who have signed up for participation in Team Tournaments but who cancel within 48 hours of the event shall be subject to a 2-point penalty. 3. A participant may fish in one Tournament and accumulate points for TOC qualification without being a member of the SCBBBC. Non-members will lose these points as if they did not fish in any Tournament if they do not join the SCBBBC by the blast-off time of the next Tournament they fish. A. The second-half of the season is defined as all SCBBBC tournaments from July through November. B. Total points accumulated over the entire season less 2 throw-outs will determine the top qualifiers. TOC qualifiers taken to the tournament: We take the top 1/3 points leaders after their 2 throw outs (we do not round up or down) and 1 second half point’s leader when our membership is 1-44 paid members. If we have 45 or more members in a given year we have a set number of spots available which is 14 Plus 1. D. The second-half of the season is defined as all SCBBBC tournaments from July through November. E. There shall be ten regular season tournaments for the 2006 season. F. The BNT Club’s Clear Lake Open & SCBBBC State Classic shall both count for points for the 2006 season. G. If those qualifying for the TOC elect not to participate in the TOC, there will be substitute angler(s) qualified on the basis of total points earned over the entire season, until the total number of TOC participants reaches 1/3 of the Active Club Membership. 5. Participants who are disqualified from a Tournament due to violating any tournament rule\s will earn last-place points (i.e., 2 points less than that of the participant weighing-in the least amount of weight for the day). Depending on the nature of the rules violation, participants may be subject to other penalties as determined by the club officers and/or the club members, and as outlined in the SCBBBC Bylaws. *** Rules modified by and during club votes at the monthly December 7th 2005 meeting Last update December 20, 2009

Sonoma County Belly Boat Bass Club Bylaws
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