fsfa offshore tourney

Tournament Rules

IMPORTANT!
ALL TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR READING THE RULES OF THE TOURNAMENT!
  • General Rules and Regulations.

    Tournament will be held on Saturday, June 1, 2024. This is a one day tournament; in the event of unfishable weather, the tournament will be held on Sunday, June 2, 2024. The Captains’ meeting will be held at Grills Seafood Deck & Tiki Bar (500 Glen Cheek Dr, Cape Canaveral, FL 32920) Friday, May 31, 2024 event open at 5:30PM – 9:00PM

  • Eligibility.
    The tournament is open to ALL who enter. All Tournament Anglers that participate in the FSFA Slam tournament will be at their own risk. All anglers are responsible for meeting Federal & State regulations on size minimums & bag limits on all species. All boats should comply with all state & federal regulations, thus complying with all coast guard requirements, and must be equipped with a functional VHF radio. The weather call will be made at the Captains’ meeting based on the NOAA forecast of 6:00 PM (NO REFUNDS).

    If it is deemed unfishable, Saturday and or Sunday a Raffle of the General Entries & Bonus Fish payouts (Not SLAM or Largest Fish), will be held Saturday 6:00pm at Grills weigh-in stage. The Raffle will be open to all participants that paid a Captains Entry fee will be eligible and automatically entered in the raffle.
  • Safety.
    All boat captains & anglers are responsible for their own safety and it’s the responsibility of the boat captain & crew to ensure the boat is properly equipped. Also, operated within the limits of the boat and skill / seamanship of its captain & crew. Each captain is responsible for making the determination as to whether the boat and crew can safely operate on the day of the tournament. The owner, captain and/or crew of each boat understand and agrees that neither FSFA, its officers, directors and tournament staff may be held liable or responsible in any way for any injury, death or other damages to the crew or the boat that may occur as a result of participation in this tournament or as the result of the negligence of any party including FSFA, its officers, directors and tournament staff whether passive or active. The owner, captain and/or crew intend to exempt and release FSFA, its officers, directors and tournament staff from all liability or responsibility whatsoever however caused including but not limited to the negligence of FSFA, its officers, directors and tournament staff, whether passive or active.
  • Entry Fee.
    $175.00 (including tax) payable in cash, check or Visa, MC, Discover credit cards accepted. No Refunds.

  • Registration
    Captain registrations will receive a Captains bucket at the Captains meeting and must be present at the Captains meeting to receive.

    Early Registration Package: ‘Early’ Captain registrations will receive 2 Free $5 Raffle Tickets, 1 Tournament Dri-Fit Shirt and 1 Raffle Ticket for ‘early registration special raffle’ (PENN 30 Bent butt Rod). (Visit Website for details at www.offshoreslam.com).

    Early Captain Registration is defined as entry completed and paid on or before May 15, 2024.

  • Checkout
    There will be no checkout boat or process on tournament day. Boats may leave from Port Canaveral, Ponce Inlet, Sebastian Inlet and Fort Pierce any hour on tournament day. There is no boundary limit for this tournament. However, no fishing lines in the water prior to 6:00 AM. Cast netting of bait and sabiki is allowed. Nothing may be passed between boats after 6:00 AM. Boats doing so will be disqualified. Exceptions may be granted in assistance situations.
  • Check-in
    Boats must return to Port Canaveral by water to weigh-in their catch. There will be no cutoff time for fishing, but all boats MUST have cleared the check-in boat by 5:00 PM to be eligible. (All boats that are weighing Fish Must proceed directly to the weigh-in dock to weigh their catch. No outside contact is allowed and if so, all anglers will be disqualified). (All boats must come in on their own power). Check-in/weigh-in will begin at 2:00 PM. A tournament check-in boat will be positioned on the south side of Port Canaveral near the East end of the no-wake zone. ALL BOATS having fish to weigh-in MUST CHECK-IN with the Tournament Committee Boat, both visibly and audibly on tournament VHF Channel 72.

    VHF channel 72
    Note: In the event of a tie the winning fish will go to the first boat that checked in with the check-in Tournament Committee Boat.
    Note: In the event of weather not permitting Tournament check-in boat may not be able to be in position and thus the check-in will be at the dock.

    All fish to be entered must be brought by water to Sunrise Marina on the vessel they were caught. The fuel dock at Sunrise Marina is the designated drop-off point. No docking allowed. This will be the only point that fish will be accepted for weigh-in. Notification on VHF channel 72 will be given at 4:45 and again at 4:55 the nearing end of Tournament. An announcement will be made at 5:00 indicating the Tournament has ended. The check-in boat will follow the last legal entry to the weigh-in dock.

  • Weigh-in
    Vessels will be greeted by the Dock Master, who will:

    1. Verify all hooks and Lures have been removed from Fish
    2. Provide fish tags for Ladies and Junior fish
    3. Verify crewmember has his or her registration stub in hand and boat number to be brought to weigh-in with fish
    4. Provide bucket to transport fish to weigh-in
    5. Provide/hand-off to Fish Marshal for escort to weigh-in station

    Tournament registration stub and boat number must be brought to weigh-in together with the tagged fish.

    All fish are subject to a freshness test using visible indications and if required additional testing.

    Vessels will be directed by the Dock Master / Fish Marshal to a holding area until fish are weighed and anglers are able to return to their vessel. A designated crewmember(s) from the vessel must carry fish to the weigh-in scale after they are tagged at the dock and then the weigh-in anglers will return to the floating dock next to the sea wall for pick up by their vessel.

    Only one fish per species / per boat may be entered, with the exception of Women Anglers & Juniors Anglers may enter one extra/additional fish, if so, declared.

    Anglers are cautioned to make sure their catch is properly iced in order to pass the freshness test and all hooks are removed. Frozen or frozen-thawed/non-fresh fish will not be accepted for weigh-in.

  • Rules of Conduct
    All fish entered in the tournament must be caught on hook and line on the day of the tournament, after 6:00 AM. All tackle must conform to IGFA specifications except that treble hooks may be used (e.g., Kingfish Rigs). Wire line is not allowed. No winding of reels permitted by mate. Rods may not be passed on any fish. No hand lining of fish allowed. Fish ‘damaged’ (for example by prop, shark attack) that in the opinion of the Committee were unable to continue to fight, shall be disqualified. Winners may be subject to a Polygraph test and Weigh Master has the option to cut or inspect the belly of the fish. All monies will be withheld until polygraphs deemed necessary are given and results obtained. If you think you’re a contender for a major prize, it’s advisable to remain sober for the lie-detector test at weigh-in. Intoxicated anglers will not qualify for lie detector testing. Protests must be made, in writing, immediately after the last fish is weighed. Protest must be accompanied by a $150 CASH deposit, which will be refunded if protest is upheld. Otherwise, the deposit will be forfeited. All decisions will be made by the tournament committee and are final.
  • Rights of Tournament Committee
    Nothing in these tournament rules shall be construed to limit or restrict the authority of the tournament committee to modify, promulgate, add, delete or make other changes to these rules as deemed appropriate at their discretion, without prior notice. Mutilated or non-fresh fish will not be weighed. The decision of the Weigh master in these matters is final and cannot be challenged.
  • Payouts & Prizes
    An individual fish may be eligible to win both a cash prize and Recognition Award (Ladies & Junior).

    Big Fish Award: $5,000
    Eligible Species: Dolphin, Wahoo, Kingfish, Grouper (No Warsaw). This is a stand-alone category, payout for the LARGEST (by weight) Fish and that Fish is not eligible in any other categories. When ‘knocked out’ of this category the fish automatically eligible in the Trolling SLAM and or the General entries.

    FSFA Membership Big Fish Award: $1000
    Eligible species include Dolphin, Wahoo, Kingfish, Grouper (gray, red or black). This is a stand-alone category, payout for the heaviest fish. This fish is eligible in the Big Fish, Trolling Slam and or the General entries. Angler must be Active/PAID members before May 31,2024.

    Second Chance Member Award: $500 and $250 payout
    FSFA Membership Big Fish Award: Dolphin, Wahoo, Kingfish, Grouper (gray, red or black)
    This is a stand-alone category, payout for the heaviest fish. This FISH Entry will not be part of any other payout. Anglers must be Active/PAID members before May 31,2024.

    Grand Trolling SLAM: $5,000
    Eligible Species: Dolphin, Wahoo, Kingfish
    This is a stand-alone category, and the winning fish will not be eligible in any other categories. Weights will be combined weight of three heaviest combined weighed by each team. When ‘knocked out’ of this category the fish identified, automatically are eligible for General entries.

    (Must catch all 3 fish to be eligible for the SLAM payout).

    Greatest Combined Weight of 3 Fish of the 3 Different Species.

    General Entries: Eligible Species: Dolphin, Wahoo, Kingfish, Grouper (Gray, Red, Black).
    1st – $1,250
    2nd – $750
    3rd – $500
    4th – $300
    5th – $200

    Bonus Fish:
    $1000 for the heaviest Cobia
    $1000 for the heaviest Amberjack (AJ)
    Trigger Fish: 1st – $500 2nd – $300 3rd – $200

    LADIES: Recognition Awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place. A fish declared and tagged as a Ladies Fish may be entered in the General Division. The fish is thus eligible to win in both Boats Cash Prize and Ladies Recognition. Eligible Species: Dolphin, Wahoo, Kingfish, Grouper (Gray, Red and Black) and Trigger.
    Please note (Cobia and Amberjack) are not eligible. All Ladies are encouraged to weigh their catch!

    JUNIOR: Recognition Awards for 1st, 2nd and 3rd Place. A fish declared and tagged as a Junior Fish may be entered in the General Division. The Fish is thus eligible to win in both Boats Cash Prize and Junior Recognition. Eligible Species: Dolphin, Wahoo, Kingfish, Grouper (Gray, Red and Black), Trigger.
    Please note (Cobia and Amberjack) are not eligible. All Juniors are encouraged to weigh their catch!

    Junior category is open to children that has not reached his/her 16th birthday by the day of the tournament.

The public viewing ‘board’ is for information only and shall not be considered “OFFICIAL RESULTS” until declared so by the Weigh In Committee.