2025 Fishing For Salvation Catfishing Tournament Rules
2025 Fishing For Salvation Catfishing Tournament Rules
• TACKLE & FISHING METHODS: You may not fish or have more than 30 noodles on your boat during the 2025 Fishing For Salvation Catfishing Tournament (hereinafter referred to as Tournament). You may fish no more than 6 rods at any time (unless you paid the extra $100 for additional rods. The extra $100 allows teams to use an additional 3 rods). All rods and noodles must be fished with a single hook only. No treble or multiple hooks.
• BLAST-OFF: A “blast-off” will begin around 7 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 9, 2025 and be conducted one boat at a time based in Tournament sign-up order. The Tournament Director (hereinafter referred to as TD) will call your boat number. At that point you may leave to go fishing.
• OFF LIMITS: You may only fish in Lake Sinclair and you may not fish under the buoy line below Wallace dam.
• BOAT CHECK-IN: There will be an official check-in process on Sunday, Aug. 10 in order to be qualified to weigh-in fish. All boaters who wish to participate in the weigh-in must turn in their registration card between 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10. The TD will announce the location of boat check-in during the safety meeting on Saturday, Aug. 9. If you wait until 9:01 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10 to turn in your registration number, you will be disqualified from weighing fish at the Tournament.
• BOATS ON THE WATER: Although anglers are allowed to leave their boats during the Tournament, they must leave their boats in the water during the entire Tournament. After checking in (between 8 a.m. – 9 a.m. on Sunday, Aug. 10), boaters are then allowed to take their boats out of the water. If boats are removed from the water prior to checking in, that team will be disqualified from the Tournament and not be eligible to participate in the weigh-in.
• CATFISH SCORING: Each team may weigh-in up to 5 catfish. There is no limit on the number of catfish that teams may have on their boats during the Tournament.
• LIVE OR DEAD FISH?: Catfish are not required to be kept alive in order to be weighed; however, there will be a live tank at the weigh-in site that we encourage all anglers to use during the Tournament if they catch a fish that could likely be a contender for big-fish. This is done in a conservation effort to release all of these bigger fish after the weigh-in.
• BIG FISH PRIZES: Awards will be given for the top Big Fish in the Tournament. All Big Fish will be weighed prior to the weighing of each team’s limit of 5 catfish. The TD will conduct the weighing of Big Fish beginning around 9 a.m. Please be prepared to bring your big fish to the scale around 9 a.m. if you have one for contention. Once the TD announces the scales are closed for Big Fish weighing, no more fish will be weighed For Big Fish prizes.
• GAR POT: There will be a 100% payback gar pot that will be awarded to the heaviest gar weighed in. The $20 buy-in can only be paid in cash at the tournament before blast-off on Saturday, Aug. 9.
IF YOU WIN THE BIG FISH PRIZE, YOU MAY NOT WEIGH THAT FISH IN YOUR LIMIT OF 5 CATFISH FOR PLACE MONEY PRIZES.
• WEIGH-IN: After big fish prizes are determined, teams will bring their limit of 5 catfish to the weigh-in station in boat number order. Please wait for your number to be called and then bring your fish.
Fish CANNOT be swapped between boats. You can only weigh fish that were caught from your boat .
• POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION: Polygraph examinations may be required for any contestant at the TD’s discretion. Cash prizes will not be presented until polygraphs are administered. Failure to pass a polygraph examination will result in disqualification from the current tournament and all future tournaments.
PROTESTS: Protests may be registered two times during a tournament.
1: After the safety meeting and before Blast-off.
2: After the weigh-in and before the check presentations.
After the check presentation, the results of the tournament will be final.
RULES INTERPRETATION: Interpretation of these rules shall be left solely to the Tournament Director. The decision of the Tournament Director shall be final in all matters.