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Offical Newsletter Pensacola Hawg Hunters |
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Offical Newsletter Pensacola Hawg Hunters |
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2007
Constitution, Tournament & Fish Off
Rule Changes
Listed below are the 2007 Constitution, Tournament & Fish Off rule changes
that passed at the October 18th club meeting.
Constitution & By-Laws
ARTICLE I
Section 1. Name:
This Chapter shall be called the Pensacola Hawg Hunters Bass Club.
Section 2. Purpose:
To stimulate public awareness of bass fishing as a major sport; to offer our state conservation department our organized and political support and encouragement, to promote full adherence to all conservation codes and to demand adequate water standards, to detect and report the polluter and to call attention to his crime; to improve our skills as bass anglers through fellowship of friendly exchange of bass catching techniques and ideas, and to promote and encourage youth fishing and a love for this great recreation.
ARTICLE II Membership:
Amended 10/06
Section 1. Membership Requirements.
Requirements for active membership, to become an active member, a person shall:
a. Be at least 21 years of age.
b. Express an interest in membership.
c. Fish one club tournament as a guest.
d. Be voted on by membership at the next meeting, with guest not present. Vote shall be secret ballot; affirmation by majority vote.
e. Full membership shall be awarded upon payment of all dues including hat and shirt.
f. The official shirt with club logo will be ordered through the club Secretary.
g. Potential members must be nominated by a member in good standing
and complete a member information sheet prior to fishing his guest tournament.
Section 2. Removal from Membership:
a. A member may be removed from membership for failure to meet membership requirements.
Section 3. Inactive Membership:
a. Inactive membership shall be awarded to any active member in good standing who expresses interest in becoming an inactive member. If the members dues are paid through October the inactive dues will be waived until that time. Otherwise inactive dues are payable in October.
Amended 10/06
Section 4. Dues:
a. Dues are due and payable at the October meeting for the following year.
Any member that hasn't paid his dues by the November meeting will be removed from membership
and must re-apply and fish a guest tournament.
b. Active Member Dues: $40.00 per year.
c. Inactive Membership: $20.00 per year.
d. Dues are prorated on a quarterly basis for joining members.
e. Dues for Angler of the Year will be paid by the club.
f. Secretary dues will be paid by the club.
Added 10/06
Section 5. Lifetime Membership
a. Lifetime membership shall be awarded to anyone who has been an active member of the Pensacola Hawg Hunters Bass Club and who has performed meritorious services above and beyond those normally expected. Once nominated, one must be elected to lifetime membership by unanimous secret ballot. If approved, he shall be awarded lifetime membership credentials in the Pensacola Hawg Hunters Bass Club and shall receive free annual dues for the remainder of his life.
ARTICLE III
Section 1. Officers and Elections:
Amended 10/06
a. President: Presides over all meetings and directs all official business; appoints and directs all committee functions, serves as the head of E-Board, supervise all club functions (including the Annual Awards Banquet), initiates any changes to the constitution and by-laws or new rules. Signs checks as an alternate with the Treasurer.
b. Vice President/Treasurer: Maintains accurate financial records and reports at each meeting, collects all dues and tournament fees, provides pay out for tournaments to the Tournament Director.
c. Tournament Director: Serves as chairman of the Tournament Committee, performs duties as Tournament Director in accordance with Tournament Rules.
d. Secretary: Maintains accurate minutes of all meetings and reads those minutes to the membership at the beginning of each meeting, publishes monthly newsletter, maintains record of point standings,
publishes a membership roster and maintains attendance records.
e. Assistant Tournament Director: Assists the Tournament Director in fulfilling the Tournament Directors duties in accordance with Tournament Rules. Acts as Tournament Director in his absence, and assists the Tournament Director and Secretary during tournament weigh-ins. Serves as a voting member of the E-Board.
f. Incoming officers will perform an audit of the previous years club treasury prior to taking office.
Section 2. E-Board:
a. The E-Board will consist of the President, Vice President/Treasurer, Tournament Director, Assistant Tournament Director, and Secretary.
Section 3. Negligence, Removal of office:
a. Any Officer or Board member found negligent in the performance of assigned duties, by the E-Board, shall be removed from office and suspended from club membership for a period of time agreed upon by the board.
Section 4. Elections:
a. A nominating committee chaired by the President and two active members, shall seek out members that would be willing to serve as an officer in the upcoming fishing year. The committee will provide the list of members willing to serve in each office to the membership at the September meeting. Nominations will also be accepted from the floor at the September and October meetings.
b. The election of officers shall be held annually at the regular monthly meeting in October.
Election shall be by a simple majority vote of members present.
Section 5. Term of Office:
a. The term of office is one year, beginning the first day of November and ending the last day of October.
Section 6. Vacancy of Office:
a. In the event of an office vacancy, nominations shall be asked for and election held at the next meeting
to fill the vacancy for the balance of the term.
Section 7. Eligibility for Office:
a. All active club members are eligible to hold office.
ARTICLE. IV
Amended 10/06
Section 1. Amending the Constitution and by-laws:
a. The Constitution and By-laws, Tournament Rules and Fish-off may be amended at the regular October meeting by a 2/3 vote of those members present, provided notice of the proposed amendments have been presented to the membership via the September newsletter prior to the October vote. Members that have participated in less than six tournaments will be barred from voting in said year and will not be counted as part of the 2/3 vote.
b. By special request of any active member in good standing, any proposed change which is reviewed by the
E-Board and receives a 100% affirmative vote can be presented at the next scheduled meeting to introduce as a change to our constitution and/or by-laws and tournament rules.
This would be a special circumstance or emergency measure which would be in the clubs best interest.
ARTICLE V.
Section 1. Meeting, Parliamentary Procedure:
a. Meetings will be held the third Wednesday of each month.
b. Meetings will be conducted according to parliamentary procedure.
ARTICLE VI.
Section 1. Tournaments:
a. Club tournaments will be conducted in accordance to Tournament Rules.
b. Tournaments will be held the weekend following the monthly meeting.
c. The competitive fishing year will run from November through October with the Fish-off
being the last tournament of the competitive year.
Added 10/06
ARTICLE VII. Treasury
Section 1. All dues will be designated to the general treasury.
Section 2. One fourth of a members monthly tournament fee will be designated to a funding line to be used exclusively for the annual fish-off pot.
Section 3. After the September tournament, the E-Board will meet to review the club treasury. They will set aside the special function funding line (not to exceed $400) and enough money from the general fund to pay all existing expenses, and anticipated expenses for the remainder of the year to include banquet and awards for the year end. To those anticipated expenses, they will add a $150.00 budget allowance to maintain in the club treasury. All remaining moneys will then be added to the "Fish-off pot".
Section 4. Unless otherwise specifically designated for the general treasury or annual fish-off pot, all profits generated through special fund raising efforts (e.g. 50/50 draws, raffle ticket sales and auctions) will be designated to a funding line to be used exclusively for club functions, bereavement and congratulatory gifts. If the funding line exceeds $400 at the end of the fishing year, the excess funds will be applied to the general fund; otherwise, the funding line balance will be carried to the next fishing year treasury and not included in the normal end of year purge.
Tournament Rules
Under the leadership of the Tournament Director, it is the responsibility of each participant
to police his own adherence to the Tournament Rules.
The Tournament Director, prior to the start of the tournament will ask all participants to synchronize their watches and announce the weigh-in time.
No boat will leave prior to the official start of the tournament.
The Tournament Director will use his own judgment to determine safe daylight. At that point, it becomes the responsibility of each boater to judge for himself whether or not safe conditions exist and to act accordingly.
1. In order to receive credit for fishing a club tournament, a member must be in good standing, tournament fees paid and actually fish the tournament, ( Defined as launching boat and having boat number called out).
Members who pay their fees and do not fish the tournament will receive their points but will not receive credit for the tournament as one of the previous 6 tournaments fished to qualify for the fish-off, however, the $5.00 contribution paid will count towards the fish-off.
2. There is a tournament entry fee. One Fourth of this fee will be placed in a "fish-off pot".
3. Normally there will be one monthly club tournament. The Tournament Director will have the authority to reschedule or delay the tournament due to emergencies, severe weather, etc. The future of the rescheduled tournament will be decided at a special club meeting or the next regularly scheduled meeting.
a. Summer season tournaments shall have a weigh in time of 2:00p.m. for the months of June, July and August. All two day tournaments will have a weigh in at 1:00p.m. on the second day.
4. Tournament sites will be selected by a committee chaired by the Tournament Director, and comprised of the newly elected E-Board. Tournaments will include 8 one day tournaments and 4 two day tournaments (one of which will be the "Fish Off"). These sites will be published in the November newsletter for the following year. All members are encouraged to submit their suggestions for tournament sites prior to the November meeting.
Amended 10/06
5. Partners will be chosen by random draw conducted by the Tournament Director.
a. Members not present at the meeting will be placed in the Non-Boater category.
b. It is each man's responsibility to notify both the Tournament Director and his partner if he is unable to participate, giving as much advance notice as possible.
c. Each boat will contain two contestants. However, a club member will be allowed to fish alone if pairing of two club members would not allow a potential member to fish his guest tournament, or an odd number of participants exists.
d. When there are more non-boaters than boaters, the Tournament Director can, at his discretion, place a member not attending the meeting in the boater category. This should only be used after polling the non-boaters present to see if any of those who own boats wish to change from a non-boater to a boater. If after polling members who have boats and still the number of non-boaters are more than the present boaters, the Tournament Director shall be permitted to allow a member (not in attendance at the meeting) to become a boater. If there are more than one boater not present at the meeting and it is known that they are willing to take their boat, that boater vacancy will be chosen by random draw.
6. In the event an open seat exists on a tournament boat and a member in good standing finds he can fish after the regular meeting, he can do so only as a nonboater and in the one seat available. Once this seat is filled by the Tournament Director the tournament will be closed to all.
7. A minimum of two boats and four members are required to start a tournament.
8. Prior to the start , partners should resolve a schedule that permits equal time at the Trolling motor.
The contestant who is operating the Trolling motor shall have the privilege of selecting the route to be fished. However, in the event that one contestant elects not to operate the Trolling motor, and such election is satisfactory with his partner, the contestant who waived his right to operate the Trolling motor will have the right to select areas to be fished.
9. All boats must be operated in a safe manner. Contestants must wear a coast guard approved life jacket while the combustion engine is being operated. All boats must have an operational "kill switch" .
All safety equipment required by the Coast Guard, State and local regulation will be adhered to.
Any infractions will result in disqualification of the offender.
10. No contestant will be allowed to fish within 50 yards of another club boat unless permission is obtained from the fisherman occupying the area in question. No fishing will be allowed in water prohibited by county, state, or federal regulations. All fishing must be conducted from the boat and contestants will not be allowed to portage boats.
11. A maximum of two rods may be used. Only casting, spinning or spincasting tackle may be used in conjunction with artificial lures or live bait. Other tackle such as flyrods or cane poles may be used during tournament hours for the purpose of catching live bait only. Any bass taken with this tackle must be released.
Amended 09/06
12. A five fish limit will be allowed each angler per day unless state or local laws restrict limits to less. Fish must be a minimum of 12 inches long, unless otherwise restricted by state or local laws. The Tournament Director will determine 12 inches with the mouth closed, and pinched tail.
Contestants weighing in undersized fish will lose that fish and their largest fish of the day.
The decision of the Tournament Director is final. Contestants weighing in dead fish will be penalized 0.2 lb. per dead fish. In the case of a breakdown, fish may be brought to the scales by the boaters partner, provided he can get another club boater to bring him in. If a boater is fishing by themselves and his boat breaks down , his fish may be weighed in by another club boat. Tournament winners and places will be determined by the total weight of the catch less any penalties.
13. There will be a convoy arranged, both to and from the tournament site. After pairing, partners are encouraged to agree on travel and lodging arrangements.
14. The four contestants recording the highest poundage at each tournament will be awarded cash prizes at the next meeting according to the following:
1st place 40% of Tournament Pot.
2nd place 30% of Tournament Pot
3rd place 20% of Tournament Pot
4th place 10% of Tournament Pot
*In the event a place is not filled, any moneys from that place will be carried forward to the next "fish-off pot".
Amended 10/06
15. Points for each tournament and monthly meeting will count toward the Angler of the Year Award in October. Points will be accrued as follows:
1. 2 points for attending the monthly meeting.
2. 3 points will be awarded to any contestant that showed up and fished the tournament regardless if he has to leave early or showed up late at the weigh in.
3. 6 points for both days of a two day tournament.
4. 1 point for wearing a Hawg Hunter shirt and hat in at least one day of a tournament.
5. 15 points for 1st place, 14 for 2nd, 13 for 3rd, 12 for 4th, 11 for 5th, 10 for 6th, 9 for 7th, 8 for 8th, 7 for 9th, 6 for 10th, 5 for 11th, 4 for 12th, 3 for 13th, 2 for 14th, 1 for 15th. Any member with a legal keeper fish will receive one point.
In the event of a tie for a tournament the tied fishermen will be awarded an equal number of points by combining the points for the tied places. In the event of a tie at the end of the year, the following tie breaker will be used in order:
1. The individual with the largest number of legal fish weighed in for the year.
2. The individual with the largest number of live fish weighed in during the year.
3. The individual with the heaviest tournament stringer of fish weighed in during the year.
16. Any protest must be filed within 15 minutes of the closing of the scales to the weigh master or any officer present. Protests will be arbitrated by the club officials present, provided none is involved in the protest. All decisions are final.
17. All tournaments shall be live release. Fish will be brought to the weigh master in a bag provided by the angler and given to the weigh master. Fish will be weighed and then returned to the water for release. Fish that show any sign of life will be considered live. Members may keep a lunker for mounting.
18. Nothing can be attached to a fish at the weigh in.
19. Only largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass will be allowed.
20. Partners are expected to share normal tournament expenses, i.e., boat and automobile gas and oil, lodging, and launch fees. The club will reimburse any member who is required to fish alone due to an odd number of fishermen upon presentation of expenses to the club treasurer.
21. A fishing partner will share expenses whether or not he rides to and from the tournament site with the boater.
22. Members in good standing shall be allowed to bring a guest to one tournament each year. A guest is defined as a non-potential member. The guest name will be included in the draw and will fish as a non-boater. The guest may only participate in the big fish pot. The guest will share the boaters expenses just as our non-boaters do
Fish Off Rules
Eligibility:
No member will be allowed to participate in the "Fish-Off" without having participated in at least (6) of the previous (12) tournaments (current fish-off does not count in the previous 12 tournaments).
All members eligible to participate and participating in the "Fish-Off" must make, or have made
"Fish-Off" contributions equivalent to a minimum of twelve (12) tournaments.
1. This annual tournament will be held in October in conjunction with the regular club tournament.
2. The normal tournament rules will apply.
3. This will be a two day tournament.
Amended 10/06
4. There will be two pay outs in the October tournament. The regular club tournament and a "Fishoff" pay out which will include all moneys earmarked from regular monthly tournaments and a draw down of the club treasury as directed in Constitution and By-Laws, Article VII, Section 3.
5. Pay out will pay 5 places if the "fishoff pot" is less than $500.00 as follows:
1st place 30%
2nd place 25%
3rd place 20%
4th place 15%
5th place 10%
Ten places will be paid if the "fishoff pot" is over $500.00 as follows:
1st place 20%
2nd place 15%
3rd place 12%
4th place 11%
5th place 10%
6th place 9%
7th place 8%
8th place 7%
9th place 5%
10th place 3%