Texas Championship (TKC) 2021 Rules

Welcome to TKC, a higher entry, higher level kayak bass series based in Texas. We strive to provide the highest competition and highest payouts our state has to offer in the sport. With Kris Morales, Andrew Jacobson and Joseph Sanderson at the reigns, the trail is to run smoothly with both extensive fishing and tournament directing experience.

1) General Liability

TKC, nor the 3 administrators, assume any responsibility for the health and well being of the anglers who wish to participate. Participate at your own risk.

Anglers are responsible for equipping themselves and their kayak with the proper safety equipment as necessary per the U.S. Coast guard standards. Any angler not following these guidelines will be disqualified from the tournament immediately.

In case of hazardous weather, any of the administrators reserve the right to postpone, or cancel, the event as deemed necessary. If the event is canceled, competitors will be refunded their entry fee.

If an angler must cancel prior to the tournament, they must do so 48 hours before the event, before payouts are finalized. If an angler cancels within 48 hours of the tournament start time, they will not be refunded their entry. If deemed an emergency, this will be reviewed on a case by case basis with the administrators.

2) Participation and Eligibility

There will be a virtual captain’s meeting on the TKC Facebook page the night before the tournament at 7:00 p.m. You MUST watch the captain’s meeting. If it is found out that you do not watch the meeting, and you are in the money, you are SUBJECT TO DISQUALIFICATION. There will be a gathering/awards ceremony post-tournament that you are encouraged, but not required, to attend.

Fish will be submitted through the TourneyX app. All participants are required to have a TourneyX account. It is the angler’s responsibility to ensure they have service to submit their fish. If you have technical difficulties, this must be brought to one of the administrators attention before the photo submission cut off time.

Only species of the black bass family are eligible for submission. This includes , , Guadalupe Bass, Spotted Bass, and any hybrid species of the aforementioned species.

Pre-fishing will be allowed. You may pre-fish from ANY vessel up until 11:59 p.m. the Sunday before the tournament. Pre-fishing will also be open, from a kayak ONLY, Thursday at 12:00 a.m.-Friday at 8:00 p.m. the two days prior to the tournament. Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, the tournament waters are off limits. This includes being on the water without a .

3) Competition Area

All fish must be caught from the tournament waters.

All fish must be caught in areas where boats/ can access. If there is an area that is buoyed-off that states “no boats” or “keep out”, you can not cast into this area.

All fish must be caught from United States waters. You are not allowed to fish the Mexico side of Lake Amistad.

You may launch at any equal access ramp. If there is a private ramp but it PUBLIC knowledge (not Mr. John that anyone can pay to launch in his back yard that no one knows about), you may launch there.

You must be able to float to the waters you wish to fish. You may not exit the kayak and “” to a section of water.

You may change locations via vehicle during the middle of competition day.

All events will be road-runner style.

4) Eligible Vessels

Your vessel must be deemed a kayak, stand up board or by the manufacturer. No john boats, bass busters, float tubes, etc. are allowed. If you have a question if your watercraft is eligible or not, please contact one of the administrators.

ELECTRIC MOTORS ARE ALLOWED during practice and competition.

Paddle and pedal powered kayaks are permitted, of course.

No gas-powered engines will be permitted.

Mother-shipping is not permitted.

5) Fishing/Scoring Methods

Artificial lures only will be allowed. No live or dead bait.

Trolling will be permitted only if under human power. You may not troll with the use of an electric trolling motor.

Only 1 line is allowed to be in the water at a time, trolling or otherwise. You are not permitted to get a bait hung up and make a cast with another rod. You must break your line or retrieve your lure before making another cast.

Wade fishing is not permitted. All fish must be caught and landed while having at least 1 foot inside the kayak.

All fish must be caught alive, with a rod, reel, and lure. Snagging, dip netting, cast netting, electro shocking, etc. will not be permitted.

6) Scoring Criteria

The Hawg Trough and any version of the Ketch Board are the only two permitted measuring devices.

The full identifier must be in the photo of the fish.

The fish must be facing left against the bump board, with the tail to the right. The fish must be right side down.

The fish’s eye must not be covered. Your hand must not be under the fish’s gill plate. Violation of either of these rules results in immediate disqualification of that fish.

Hand placement by tail – angler’s hand must not be placed on the tail section of the fish, defined by touching the fish farther back than half-way between the rear-base of the soft dorsal fin (rear dorsal fin) and the beginning of the caudal (tail) fin. Such a violation will result in a 1” deduction. See examples (no hand placement, even a slight touch, behind black line).

The fish must have a closed mouth. If the mouth is slightly cracked, ½” will be deducted. If the fish’s mouth is wide open, 1” will be deducted. It is up to the tournament director to judge the fish consistently and fairly with the same criteria.

No fish-retaining device (fish grip, boga grip, donkey leash, etc.) is allowed in the photo. If a hook is left in the fish and the measurement is not obstructed, this will be acceptable. If you must protest a fish, this needs to be brought to one of the administrators attention prior to the photo submission deadline.

Biggest 5 fish limit. The championship will be a competitors biggest 10 fish, no more than 5 fish per day.

Minimum length - 14”

In the event of tie, the tie is broken by each competitor’s biggest bass. If the biggest bass is the same length, then it rolls down to the second biggest fish, and so on.

All fish submitted must be alive. It is up to the judge’s discretion if a fish is deemed alive or not.

All fish must be submitted within 1 hour of the end of fishing time.

7) Information Gathering

The cutoff for hiring guides is 1 month prior to the tournament date. This includes paying guides for information, waypoints, etc. about the tournament waters.

Electronic communication during the tournament about fishing is allowed between competitors ONLY. You may contact friends/family outside of the tournament, but it can’t be to obtain advice about the tournament.

8) Entry Fee and Payout Structure

$160 entry fee includes the following:

$10 - Big Bass Entry

$10 - Championship Pot

$7.50 - AOY Pot

$5 - TourneyX Fee

$2.50 - Admin Fees

$125 - Tournament Pot

The payout structure is as follows (going in descending order from 1st place down, each percentage corresponding to a place paid):

1-11 entries - 100% 12-22 entries - 70%/30% 23-33 entries - 50%/30%/20% 34-44 entries - 45%/27.5%/17.5%/10% 45-55 entries - 40%/25%/15%/12.5%/7.5% 56-66 entries - 35%/25%/15%/12.5%/7.5%/5% 67-77 entries - 35%/20%/15%/12.5%/10%/5%/2.5% 78-88 entries - 30%/20%/15%/12.5%/10%/6.5%/3.5%/2.5% 89-99 entries - 30%/20%/15%/11%/7.5%/6.5%/5%/3%/2% 100-110 entries - 30%/20%/12.5%/10%/7.5%/6%/5%/4%/3%/2%

Angler of the Year - will be based off of your best 3 out of 5 tournaments. AOY will be paid out 60%, 30%, 10% for the top 3. The top 40 in AOY points will qualify for the end of season championship.

AOY scoring will begin at 200 points for 1st place, and go down by 1 point per place. If you do not catch a fish during the tournament, you will not receive any points towards AOY for that event.

Championship entry fee: $350

Championship payout will vary based off of regular season entries.

IF WE AVERAGE 50 ENTRIES PER TOURNAMENT DURING THE REGULAR SEASON, WE ​ ​ WILL GUARANTEE $10,000 TO FIRST PLACE. IF WE AVERAGE 100 ENTRIES PER ​ ​ ​ ​ TOURNAMENT DURING THE REGULAR SEASON, WE WILL GUARANTEE $12,500 TO ​ ​ FIRST PLACE.

We will pay out 4 places at the championship. Between the above guaranteed payouts, payout will scale accordingly.

9) Protest/Payout Period

Protest period – If an angler desires to lodge a protest against another angler for an alleged rules violation, the protest must be submitted in writing (text, email) to the Tournament Director no later than Sunday before midnight immediately following the event. For Sunday events, the protest period is Monday before midnight. If an angler wishes to submit an Appeal of a Tournament Director’s ruling, the same procedure and timeframe must be followed.

Payouts – Payouts will be issued to winning anglers on Tuesday immediately following the event, allowing enough time for protests and appeals to be heard.

10) Waivers and Releases – As a condition of participation in a Competition, and by virtue of registering for the Competition, each Competitor agrees to accept the terms and condition of the Texas Kayak Championship Waiver and Release of Liability Agreement (below).

This Agreement absolves all parties from responsibility and threat of litigation in the case of injury, loss, or death sustained by a Competitor in the Event. Registrants under the age of 18 must have their waiver/release form signed by the parent or adult guardian who will accompany them throughout competition. Please notify Texas Kayak Championship if anyone under the age of 18 will be participating prior to registering for an event.

TEXAS KAYAK CHAMPIONSHIP - WAIVER AND RELEASE OF LIABILITY AGREEMENT In consideration of being allowed to participate in any way in the Event and it’s related competition and activities, I, the undersigned (or registrant), being at least 18 years of age, acknowledge, appreciate, and agree that: 1. I affirm that my participation in any Event is voluntary and declare that I am physically fit and capable to participate in such; and 2. I acknowledge that kayak fishing participation and competition involves certain inherent dangers, and hazards; that the risk of injury from the activities involved in this event is significant, including the potential for permanent paralysis and death, and while particular skills, physical fitness, equipment, and personal discipline may reduce this risk, the risk of serious injury does exist; and 3. I KNOWINGLY AND FREELY ASSUME ALL SUCH RISKS, both known and unknown, EVEN IF ARISING FROM THE NEGLIGENCE OF THE RELEASEES or others, and assume full responsibility for my participation; and 4. I willingly agree to comply with the stated and customary Terms and Conditions for Participation. If, however, I observe any unusual significant hazard during my presence or participation, I will remove myself from participation and immediately bring such to the attention of Event Staff or Tournament Directors; and 5. In full recognition and appreciation of the dangers and risks inherent in such activities, I, for myself and on behalf of my heirs, executors, administrators and assigns, personal representatives and next of kin, HEREBY RELEASE, INDEMNIFY, AND HOLD HARMLESS ALL TOURNAMENT STAFF AND ORGANIZERS and its owners, officers, managers, officials, volunteer event staff, agents and/or employees, other participants, sponsoring agencies, sponsors, advertisers, event service and technology providers (including but not limited to TourneyX), and, if applicable, owners and lessors of premises used for the activity (“Releasees”), with respect to any and all injury, disability, death, or loss or damage to person or property, whether arising from the negligence of the releasees or otherwise, to the fullest extent permitted by law, and I hereby waive, release, and forever discharge Releasees from and against any and all claims, demands, actions, or causes of action, for costs, loss, expenses, or damages to personal property, or personal injury, or death, which may result from my participation in the Event. I HAVE READ THIS RELEASE OF LIABILITY AND ASSUMPTION OF RISK AGREEMENT, FULLY UNDERSTAND ITS TERMS, UNDERSTAND THAT I HAVE GIVEN UP SUBSTANTIAL RIGHTS BY SIGNING IT, AND SIGN IT FREELY AND VOLUNTARILY WITHOUT ANY INDUCEMENT. By registering for this event via TourneyX you are acknowledging that you have read the Waiver And Release Of Liability Agreement and agree to its terms and conditions.