LOTSA 323 Tournament Rules
Friday July 22 & Saturday July 23

This is meant to be a fun Tournament. We want to keep the rules as simple as possible and encourage family participation, promotion of the fishery, ongoing education for all participants and conserve the resource. The 323 is a 3 fish tournament planned to take place over both Friday and Saturday – you do not have to fish both days to enter. As such, the rules are as follows:

DISCLAIMER:
ALL TOURNAMENT PARTICIPANTS AGREE TO HOLD LOTSA, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS AND TOURNAMENT VOLUNTEERS HARMLESS FROM ANY LIABILITY OF ANY NATURE AND KIND FOR INJURIES AND/OR DAMAGES SUFFERED WHILE PARITICPATING IN THE TOURNAMENT. ALL TOURMANENT PARTICIPANTS AGREE TO USE GOOD JUDGEMENT IN REGARD TO EXSITING AND PROJECTED WEATHER CONDITIONS. LISTEN TO THE WARNINGS OF THE US COAST GUARD AND LOCAL WEATHER REPORTS BEFORE THE DAYS FISHING, AND TO NOT PLACE THEMSELVES OR OTHERS IN JEOPARDY DURING THE COURSE OF THE TOURNAMENT, TO HAVE PERSONAL FLOATATION DEVICES ABOARD AND TO OPERATE UNDER COAST GUARD REGULATIONS.

ELIGIBILITY:
Every Person on Board MUST be a VALID 2017 LOTSA member by the day prior to the event in order to fish this Tournament.

The Team Captain is responsible for ensuring everyone in the boat is a LOTSA member and eligible to compete in the Tournament.

There can be as few as 1 individual on a Team. There is no maximum number of team members so long as all individuals on board are LOTSA Members.

ENTRY FEE:
The Tournament Entry Fee is $50.00 per Boat.

BOUNDARIES:
Lake Ontario. All government (US and CAN) regulations for boating & fishing apply.

TOURNAMENT DATE:
Friday and Saturday, with Sunday reserved in case of inclement weather both days.

If the 323 is canceled on Friday, the 323 will be a 1-day tournament held Saturday.

If the 323 is canceled on Saturday, the results of Friday will determine the winners.

If the 323 is canceled both days, it will be a Sunday 1 day Tournament.

FISHING HOURS

Each fishing day – shotgun start time from each port by a LOTSA Harbor contact boat. The planned start time is 6am unless it is delayed by weather

Fishing Hours SATURDAY: Start fishing at 6:00 am with weigh in at Krull Park at the Lions Pavilion at 3pm sharp!!

Niagara River, Wilson, Olcott and Oak Orchard – please gather outside piers heads….for the river please setup in front of Coast Guard Station

Each team must register with their respective LOTSA Harbor contact boat prior to the shotgun start. Any Team that leaves prior to shotgun start or does not register with their LOTSA Harbor contact boat will be disqualified.

The contact info for each LOTSA Harbor contact boat will be available on the home page of the web site.

WEIGH IN LOCATIONS:

Friday - the pavilion in the Newfane Marina at 3pm sharp!!

Saturday - at Krull Park at the Lions Pavilion at 3pm sharp!!

Sunday (if necessary) - the pavilion in the Newfane Marina at 3pm sharp!!

Any Boat not in line at 3pm will not be allowed to weigh any fish for that day. If the tournament is shortened because of weather, the 3pm time may be moved up.

ENTRY DEADLINE:
A fully completed registration form along with payment is required for the Entry to be logged. Teams must register online and make their entry fee payments using our secure PayPal payment service. The deadline for online entries is the end of the day on Wednesday before the tournament.

FISHING RULES:
Everyone in the boat must be a valid LOTSA Member in order to submit a contending fish. Any boat with a non-member aboard will be immediately disqualified.

Anyone who is a charter captain can fish the tournament as long as they are not running a charter during the tournament.

You must be entered in LOTSA King Salmon Tournament to enter 323

Minimum length for King Salmon is 30 inches

One (1) of the fish weighed can be a trout of any species (brown, steelhead, laker...etc) and be a minimum of 25 inches

Once a fish is weighed in for the 323 it cannot be replaced by a larger fish on day 2

Fish must be weighed in on the day they are caught – not legal to hold a fish from Friday and weigh Saturday.

A contending fish must be caught by hook and line, retrieved by rod and reel, on angling tackle. Any fish having cuts, gaff marks, gill net or puncture marks anywhere on the body will be questioned and may be disqualified.

In the event of a tie with weight prizes will be split evenly between teams. For example – first place tie….payouts for 1st and 2nd will be added and split evenly .

IT IS NOT THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE WEIGHMASTER TO DETERMINE WHICH FISH IN YOUR BOX IS THE LARGEST, PLEASE HAVE THE FISH YOU WISH TO ENTER IDENTIFED PRIOR TO THE WEIGH IN!!!

It is totally at the discretion of the LOTSA Tournament Committee to disqualify any fish for any illegal activity including altering the weight of the fish, etc.

If for whatever reason no winner is determined, 100% of the tournament fees will be refunded.

WEATHER:
In the interest of safety, and in consideration of the smaller boats utilized by many members of the club, the LOTSA Tournament Committee may cancel the days fishing if they determine that the lake is unsafe to fish. The LOTSA Tournament Committee may also make the decision to delay/shorten/change the fishing hours in the interest of safety. In the event the entire tournament is canceled, the tournament fee will be refunded.

COMMUNICATION:
Any changes to these rules or weather related changes will be posted on both the LOTSA Website's Main Home Page and a group text sent out to each captain at the number they provided in their tournament signup. If during the tournament, a decision is made to shorten the tournament, a group text will be sent and an announcement will be put out on Channel 10 by the LOTSA Harbor contact boat.

PRIZE STRUCTURE
The Tournament will pay out 100% of the total Entry Fees collected to the top 3 teams follows:

Place % of Prize Money Awarded
1st Place: 50%
2nd Place: 30%
3rd Place: 20%