GENERAL RULES FOR KEY WEST KINGFISH MAYHEM OPEN
1. Registration: Registration: $600 – Teams may pre-register for the tournament online, by phone, or by mail. Payment may be made by cash, check, or credit card (MasterCard, Visa & American Express). 4% service charge will be added to ALL credit card transactions. Please make check payable to MEAT Mayhem Inc. Payments by phone please call 954.605.8284.
REGISTRATION FEE IS REFUNDABLE IF WEATHER IS DEEMED TO BE UNSAFE BY THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR.
2. Entry Forms: All entry forms must be completely filled out by all participants in the Kingfish Mayhem. Tournament officials reserve the right to refuse application or entry into the tournament at their discretion with or without cause.
3. Anglers: Each boat may register as many anglers as they choose. All anglers should be listed on the form. Please notify the committee of any angler changes prior to the start of fishing. Each team will receive four (4) tournament t-shirts at the captain’s meeting. ALL ANGLERS MUST HAVE A VALID FLORIDA FISHING LICENSE!
4. Eligible Species: Kingfish. (Wahoo only counts towards largest wahoo Calcutta.)
5. Fish Limit: Each boat may weigh 1 Kingfish. Minimum weight 10 lbs. Additional species only count towards Calcuttas.
6. Tackle: All fish must be caught on rod and reel. Wire lines are permitted. No electric reels (except kite rods & downriggers.) Treble hooks are permitted.
7. Hook & Catch: Fishing with live bait is permitted in the tournament; however, live chumming is not permitted. Live bait teasers are not allowed. All teams in the tournament are prohibited from having any boats outside the tournament to live chum on their behalf. Frozen chum and cut bait are permitted.
8. Tournament Channel: The tournament committee will operate on Channel 80. Channel 72 will be used as an alternate. All discussions among competitors should be conducted on alternate channels.
9. There are no boundaries in this tournament.
10. Checkout: Teams can leave from any inlet. Gentlemen’s lines in at 7:30 AM
11. Landfall: Following check-out, or once fishing hours have begun, no boats will be permitted to touch land until reaching the dock for weigh-in. Special consideration will be given for medical conditions and special circumstances that may arise during the day of fishing. The committee must be notified in advance of any situation that may warrant an exception to this rule.
12. Boat Check: Tournament officials reserve the right to inspect any boat participating in the tournament prior to the start of fishing each morning. Any boat that refuses inspection will be automatically disqualified from the tournament. No fish are allowed to be on-board caught from previous days.
13. Weigh-In: All boats with fish to weigh-in must be visually checked in by displaying their boat # to the tournament committee. Boats that do not check-in by 5:00 p.m. will not be eligible to weigh their fish. If the weigh in line is backed up please stage in the channel until your boat number is called to the dock. Please be courteous of other teams and please keep music at a minimum so teams can hear the Vhf to be called in. Once your team has weighed in you must move your boat off the weigh in dock to open up the dock. No exceptions… You may weigh only 1 fish. *Check-in will open at 4:00 PM* Teams MUST check-in with tournament official (Channel 80) prior to coming into the weigh in the dock. Teams that decide not to participate in weigh-in must still check in with the tournament committee boat to announce they have made it back in safely. Fish may only be brought to the scales by boat. The boat must be the vessel listed on tournament documents for that specific tournament day. Tournament officials have the right to inspect any or all boats entered after check-in. Fish being weighed in the tournament will be inspected for all manners of cheating by a tournament official. Fish must be weighed in by a registered team member that fished on the team that day. No rotten or mutilated fish will be allowed to be weighed in.
**ALL FISH MUST BE BROUGHT TO SCALE INSIDE A ZIPPERED FISH BAG** In the event of a tie, the team that checked in on the dock first wins.
14. Weather: Weather cancellations are made by the tournament director. It is expressly understood that the permitting of fishing by tournament officials does not ensure the safety of registered anglers or any other occupants of their vessels. Captains, anglers, and all other members of registered boats must determine in their own judgment whether to fish under the given conditions based on factors including but not limited to the seaworthiness of their boat and their own seamanship.
15. Protests: All protests must be made within 1 hour of the conclusion of the weigh-in along with $1000 cash or check to the tournament officials. Protests should be made based on first-hand eyewitness information. All decisions of the tournament officials regarding protests are final.
16. Polygraph: By entering the tournament all captains, anglers, and occupants of their boats voluntarily consent to submit to a polygraph examination as deemed necessary by tournament officials. All decisions of the polygraph examiner will be final. Any captain, angler, or occupant of a registered boat who refuses to take a polygraph or provides untruthful answers as determined by the examiner will be disqualified from the tournament without further notice. Such a disqualification will eliminate payment or provision of any prize money, awards, and/or refund of entrance fees.
17. Release: By signing the entry form, all captains, anglers, and occupants of their boat hereby consent that tournament officials may use without payment or restriction, any photographs, video, or interviews in which he or she may appear for any purpose whatsoever, including but not limited to resale, advertising, and promotional material.
18. Tournament Discretion: The tournament director reserves the right to implement his discretion at any time during the tournament as it may apply to the rules or any other circumstance that should arise during the course of the event.
