Fishing Procedure
- Federal and State rules and regulations governing the waters to be fished will be strictly observed.
- No intentional fishing to spawning fish.
- All main River channels are fishable.
- Only trout species will be counted for scoring. Each sucker, carp or walleye caught will NOT be penalized other than the fishing time lost by the contestant fooling around with a non-scoring fish.
- Foul hooked fish of any species will NOT be penalized other than fishing time lost to releasing the fish. Foul hooked trout will not be scored and must be returned to the water immediately.
- In the interest of safety, any competitor hooking the guide or other competitor will be penalized in the form of a $50.00 donation to the designated charity (a one time penalty per guide).
- First Day and Second Day, fishing* hours are from 9:00am to noon and 1:00pm to 5:00pm. One hour is allotted for lunch and competitor exchange. Lunch and competitor exchange will be at the designated rendezvous location beginning at noon each day. Official scoring will cease between noon and 1:00pm each day and promptly at 5:00pm. (*Due to the logistics of launching a large number of boats at each starting location, the actual scoring of fish is delayed until 9:00am each day to provide equal time for all participants.
- Contestants MUST rotate from front seat to the rear seat position at the half-way time point of each fishing session. The morning rotation MUST occur at 10:30am while in the afternoon the rotation MUST occur at 3:00pm. Contestants will mutually agree on the initial boat position assignment. This rotation MUST occur even if an angler ceases to compete through completion of his daily score (see Scoring below). (This is a rule change since 2006.)
- The person in the front of the boat has, within reason, the choice of boat position such as right or left bank, casting distances etc. or stopping the boat at legally permissible locations. Each guide will be the sole judge regarding the safety, legality and advisability of any requested maneuver.
