2007 Silverado Rules

1. Rule Changes

These rules will remain unchanged during the year 2007. Interpretation of the rules will be left exclusively to the Silverado. Decisions of the tournament director are final in all matters and are not subject to appeal. Protests must be made in writing within 30 minutes of the official check-in time of the final flight of each tournament.

2. Participation

Amateur participation is open only to tournament anglers who are 16 years of age or older. Any person entering a tournament under the age of 18 must have the signature of their parent or legal guardian in the provided space on entry form. Pro participation is open to anglers 21 years of age or older.
All contestants must have in their possession a valid state fishing license.
Point’s standings. 49 points will be awarded to the winner of each qualifying tournament, 47 for 3rd, etc. All anglers who receive weight credit will receive points. The top ten Pros and the top ten Ams from the point standings after the four qualifying tournaments (ties resolved by total weight) will be invited to the Shoot-Out Championship. If any Pro or Am is unable to attend the Shoot-Out Championship, the next person in the point standings may be invited.

3. Pre-tournament practice

There will be no lake off-limits period prior to each tournament. However no contestant may be on tournament waters for the purpose of locating Bass or potential fishing waters after 5 pm the day before the tournament except during tournament hours. The purchasing of information or the hiring of services will not be permitted for 5 days prior to the tournament and continuing through the tournament day.

4. Registration

Each contestant must register in person at the designated site during the official registration hours of 6-8 p.m. local time the day before the tournament. The site will be mailed to each angler and posted at least one week prior on the official Silverado web site.

5. Parings

Partners will be paired by a random drawing and will be mailed to each angler and posted on the official Silverado web site at least one week prior to the next tournament. All contestants must arrange to meet their partner prior to the tournament morning. It will be the responsibility of the Pro Angler to be sure this contact in made however Am partners are encouraged to make contact also. Partners should advise each other of their respective lodging and phone numbers, and establish a meeting time and place for the following morning’s takeoff. The tournament director, at his sole discretion, may reassign partners prior to takeoff.

6. Safety

Safe boating must be observed at all times. Each contestant is required to wear a fastened, U.S. Coast Guard approved, personal flotation device anytime the combustion engine is in operation from boat check until weigh-in. All boats must be equipped with an emergency ignition shut-off device that must be secured to the driver’s body whenever the combustion engine is in operation. At the discretion of the tournament director, tournament days may be shortened, postponed, or cancelled due to unsafe weather or water conditions.

7. Sportsmanship

All contestants are required to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy and conversation and to conduct themselves in a manner that will be a credit to themselves, the Silverado, Silverado sponsors, the sport of fishing, and the Silverado’s efforts to promote the sport. Examples of conduct not complying with these standards include, but are not limited to, the following:
Violation of, or failure to comply with, any of the official rules for the 2007 Silverado.
--Consumption and/or possession of alcoholic beverages or any kind of mood-altering substance during tournament hours extending through the weigh-in procedure. -- Abuse of, or addiction to, mind altering substances. --Conviction of a felony within the past 36 months. --Suspension/disqualification from any tournament or fishing organization. --Any other words, conduct or actions reflecting unfavorably upon efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, fair competition and compliance with tournament rules, or which fail to comply with the standards set forth in the first sentence of paragraph 7. In case of any conduct not complying with the standards, the Silverado shall have the right to refuse any application, or to deny a confirmed application, by returning the entry fee of a previously accepted application, or to disqualify a contestant.

8. Boat operation

Pros will have complete control of boat operation and waters to be fished. Any pro angler that, in the judgment of the tournament director, operates the boat in such a manner that handicaps or endangers their partner will be disqualified for that day. Amateurs who share their pro partner’s fishing locations with other competitors will be disqualified along with the person utilizing this information.
During tournament hours, contestants may not obtain or receive assistance from non-competitors, following a no-competitor’s boat or participate in the practice of “hole sitting” or the placing of a marker buoy by anyone.
The use of mobile communication devices, including, but not limited to, cellular telephones, marine radios, walkie-talkies, CBs, etc., during tournament hours are prohibited except in an emergency (severe weathers, etc.) or to communicate with lockmasters.

9. Boat and horsepower regulation

All boats must be a minimum of 17 feet in length.
No barges or similar cumbersome crafts will be permitted.
Each boat must have all required U.S. Coast Guard safety equipment.
Boats must contain a properly aerated live-well space to maintain alive a limit of bass by both contestants.
Maximum horsepower of all outboards used in tournament competition will be 300 horsepower, not to exceed the horsepower capacity set forth on the “Max Capacities” placard described below.
Each boat must have a clearly legible “Maximum Capacities” (or comparably titled) placard that includes a maximum horsepower rating affixed by the manufacturer.
The horsepower or the outboard engine must not exceed the maximum horsepower capacity specified on this placard or the 300 horsepower set by the Silverado
By signing the entry form, each contestant agrees to submit their boat and motor to an inspection by Silverado personnel. Falsifying information on entry forms or altering the horsepower numbers on the motor or rating will be cause for disqualification from the tournament and may result in ineligibility to compete in future Silverado events.
Fuel may be carried only in factory-installed (built-in) fuel tanks. Any additional fuel used during the tournament day must be purchased from a retail facility open to the public.

10. Permitted fishing methods

All bass must be caught alive in a conventional sporting manner
Only artificial lures may be used, with the exception of pork trailers.
Only one fishing rod may be used at a time.
Trolling as a method of fishing is prohibited.

11. Permitted fishing locations

Contestants may fish anywhere on tournament waters available to the public and accessible by boat, except areas designated as “off limits” or “no fishing” by local or federal officials or within 25 yards of a competitor’s boat that has trolling motor in the DOWN position {unless invited in}. Or within 50 yards of a competitors boat that is anchored (anchored boat is a boat held in a stable position by a line attached to a weight AND the trolling motor in the UP position)
All angling must be conducted from the boat. At no time may a contestant leave the boat to land a fish or to make the boat more accessible to fishing waters.
Contestants must leave and return to the official checkpoint by boat.
The boat must remain in the tournament waters during the tournament day.
No tournament boat may be loaded on the trailer before the weigh-in except with the permission of the tournament director.
In the event of equipment failure or emergency, there will be only two permitted methods of returning to the official check-in:
1. by both partners remaining in their boat and being towed by water, or
2. by both partners entering the boat of another tournament contestant. Under these two conditions the contestants’ catches may be counted without a penalty (except for late penalties, dead-fish penalties or other penalties pertaining to other tournament rules). Contestants who elect to return to the official check-in by any other means than cited above will forfeit their days catch to that point in time of the tournament day.
Any contestant returning to the check-in point will be eligible to restart and resume competition under the supervision or the tournament director or his designated tournament official. It is the sole responsibility of contestants to locate the tournament director to request a restart.

12. Official Checkpoints

There will be only one official checkpoint for boat check in the morning and one check-in point in the afternoon. Failure to go through boat check and check-out in the morning or failure to check-in at the check-in point will result in disqualification. Fishing must cease upon afternoon check-in.

13. Late penalty

Contestants who are not at the official check-in area at the appointed time will be penalized 1 pound per minute deducted from the total weight including any weight to be counted toward a big bass wards. Any contestant more that 15 minutes late will loose credit for that day’s weight.

14. Live fish

Every effort must be made to keep bass alive through the use of a properly aerated live-well. Silverado recommends the use of livewell additives that promote the healthy return of bass to their natural habitat. Four ounces will be deducted from total weight for every dead bass presented for weigh-in.

15. Scoring

Scoring will be determined by the pounds and ounces of each contestants combined catch of eight bass for that day.
Only largemouth and smallmouth bass are accepted species. Contestants possessing more than ten bass will have their catch for that day disqualified.
The official minimum length limit for bass will be 12 inches unless the local limit is more than 12 inches; in which case, the lake limit will prevail. Bass presented for weigh-in which fail to measure the prescribed length limit will be penalized at the rate of 1 pound for each non-legal bass presented.
Each contestant’s catch must be presented in an official weigh-in container and verification by the signature of the pro angler.

16. Ties

The BIG FISH will break all ties; if a tie still remains it will be broken by a one-hour fish-off between the 1st places tied Pro Anglers, under the direction and special rules established by the tournament director.

17. Polygraph

Each contestant agrees to submit, by their signature on the official tournament entry form, to a polygraph examination and abide by its conclusion. Failure to pass the examination will result in disqualification. Polygraphs will be used at Silverado’s sole discretion and the determination of the meaning of the results will be made solely by Silverado.

18. Insurance

Liability insurance, with coverage in Minnesota, with minimum amounts of $300,000 is required, for all boats used in tournaments.

19. Captions

The captions at the beginning of each paragraph are intended to facilitate convenience in referring to various rules. The captions are not part of the substance of the paragraph and should not be used in the construction of any paragraph or of the set of rules.

For entry information and all other questions, please contact Billy Hildebrand at 612-747-4337 or  hildefish@aol.com