Bass Rattlers Bylaws

Every BASS Club has a set of rules and these are ours

BASS RATTLERS TOURNAMENT TRAIL MARCH 2020 THRU FEBRUARY 2021 BYLAWS

1) Club Officers

President – Rick Wilhelm
Vice President / Tournament Director – Bobby Watson
Secretary – Dell Hatfield
Treasurer – Steve Duffie

2) All Office Terms are (1) Year

All office terms are (1) year
(1) Term consists from March to March
Election of officers held in February

3) Duties of Officers

President
- To preside over all club meetings
- Conducts all meetings according to by-laws
- Act as Safety Director
- Direct banquet and Awards Ceremonies

Vice President / Tournament Director
- Act as President in his absence
- Direct all tournaments according to by-laws’
- Assist President as Safety Director
- Assist President at Banquet & Awards Ceremonies
- Has final ruling on legal fish

Secretary
- Record accurate minutes of all club meetings
- Assist President in all club meetings
- Assist President as Safety Director
- Assist President at Banquet & Awards Ceremonies
Treasurer
- Collect and record & deposit all club dues
- Assist President in all club meetings
- Assist President as Safety Director
- Assist President at Banquet & Awards Ceremonies
- Collect, record and pay all Bass Nation Dues. Both State and National

4) Club Meetings

To be held 1st Tuesday of every month
To be held every month of the year
To begin at 7:00 p.m.
All rule and by-law changes will be changed/amended during February Meeting only.

5) Safety

All Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission laws must be followed.
All U.S. Coast Guard laws must be followed.
Maximum horse power for all boats in maximum rating.
Life vest must be worn when boat is on plane.
All boats with engine horse power of 75 must be equipped with an automatic kill switch.
Kill switch must be attached to operator when the combustion engine is on.
No blast-off start allowed.
No alcohol allowed during tournament hours.
Non boaters are to supply their own life vests.

6) Voting

All members present except President have voting rights.
The voting of majority of member’s present rules.
In the event of a tie vote, a recount will be taken.
In the event of a tie stalemate, only the President can vote to break the tie.

7) Federation Rules – Article II
The chapter shall begin with and maintain at least six (6) members.
Section 2: Requirement for regular membership to become a chapter member, a person shall;

Voluntarily express a genuine interest in membership,
Be a member of BASS (See Article VI for affiliation requirements),
Be recommended by two members at a regular monthly meeting,
Be voted on by membership. Vote shall be by secret ballot and affirmation shall be unanimous.
Be 16 years of age.

Section 3: Requirements for Junior Membership;

Voluntarily express a genuine interest in membership,
Be under 16 years of age.

Junior members are not required to pay national membership dues and are not entitled to the benefits of a regular member. The acceptance of junior members will not affect a club’s liability insurance policy. Junior members are not covered by the accidental death and dismemberment policy. Junior members may not hold office in an adult club nor may they be voting members. At age 16, junior members may continue membership by joining the club as a regular member. Junior membership ceases on a person’s 16th birthday.

Section 4: Membership dues
The membership dues shall be $105.00 annually, initially payable upon being voted into the chapter, $55.00 of which shall be for Federation dues and $50.00 of which shall be for Chapter dues. BASS membership dues are also required at the current rate. (See Article VI, Section 1 for state affiliation requirements).

Federation Rules -Article VI – Affiliation
Section 1: Requirements for Affiliation

Approval of Chapter Charter by BASS.
Update BASS with chapter membership roster once each year upon receipt of current BASS roster at year’s end.
Names and addresses of new members joining the chapter during the year must be submitted to BASS as they occur: (See Article II, Section 3 for dues requirements)
Maintain 100% BASS membership.
Must affiliate with State Federation and support its conservation and youth programs. Any additional requirements that the State Federation establishes for chapters, such as membership, dues, attendance at meetings, etc would be necessary for the chapter to participate in the State Federation qualifying tournaments, and any other Federation-sponsored tournaments or events.

8) Membership

Member must be in good standing of dues to participate in tournaments.
All nominees for membership must participate in at least (1) tournament as a guest (must be at least 16) at very next club meeting, a vote for membership will be taken.
Member must be present for voting rights.
A nominee for membership must be at least 16-years-old. Younger than 18must have written consent from parent/guardian.
Membership roster is unlimited.
Disciplinary actions against members will be brought to club membership for ratification and all actions must first be brought to a board member in writing.
Member shall get three points for each club meeting attended.
Board reserves the right to assess status of non-boaters.
After March meeting, members with unpaid dues will be considered as unpaid members (and all membership rights will be void until payment in full has been received).

9) Season

Tournament season consists of (12) tournaments.
Tournaments begin March and end in February.
Best 8 tournaments count for AOY standings.

10) Tournament Area

Club can have maximum of (1) away tournament quarterly.
Home area is Lake Okeechobee
- Lake Okeechobee tournament ramp locations: Clewiston, Okeechobee, Belle Glade
All away tournaments are two day events unless changed by vote at tournament meeting.

11) Draw Tournaments

All tournaments are draw type tournaments.
All tournaments will be in a Pro Am format
All draws will be held at club meeting for that month' tournaments.
Tournament Director to conduct and record all draws.
The same team members cannot be paired consecutively in two tournaments nor more than twice in (1) year.
Tournament Director in the event of an absence on Tournament Day will to the best of his ability, pair teams and members. His decision is final.
Members may have a Junior Angler fish as a guest 3 times per season if there are open boats. Active members take priority.

12) Tournament Take-Off

All tournaments will be stagger starts by draw.
Start positions will be drawn at club meeting for that month’s tournament.
Tournament Director to conduct and record start positions.
No blast offs allowed. See 5G.

13) Tournament Hours

All local tournaments are from safe daylight to 3 p.m.
Board has the option during summer months to fish Daylight to 2:00pm to enhance fish survival
All away tournaments are:
- Saturdays – Safe daylight to 3 p.m.
- Sundays – Safe daylight to 2 p.m.
All tournaments are governed by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permits/final decision of safe light conditions will be determined by Tournament Director.
Tournament director will check in all teams at tournament ending time.
Tournament participants that arrive at check-in late will be accessed with the following penalty 1 lb. per minute, after15 min. participant will be disqualified.

14) Tournament Rules

Largemouth bass and peacock bass only, may be weighed/a 4 ounce (.25)penalty will be accessed for each dead fish weighed in.
Total number of fish allowed to be weighed is five (5) or as dictated by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission permit/at no time may a participant possess more than 5 fish/upon catching 6th fish, angler must release one fish immediately/all fish must be at least 12”, and be measured on a Golden Ruler with mouth closed/penalty for violation will be as stated in Article 131. If angler brings 6 fish to scale the angler’s weight will be disqualified. Angler will receive last place points for participation.
All tournaments are based on total weight.
During tournament hours members are not allowed to leave their boat to fish.
During tournament hours members are not allowed to remove their boat from body of water described as tournament water.
During tournament all members must keep their catch separated from other members or guests.
Artificial baits only are allowed/live baits are prohibited.
Any protests waged must be done prior to tournament completion.
Failure to follow tournament rules and/or Bylaws will result in disqualification and could be grounds for being dropped from club.
All tournaments are catch and release.
Short fish penalty, big fish culled with short fish.
Points will be awarded to all participants, except for those anglers that do not attend weigh-in.
All boats shall have a golden rule on board to measure fish.
Point system is based on first place getting 100 points 2nd pace 98 points 3rdplace 96 and so on…
Angler with big fish in tournament is awarded (4) extra points. Angler with2nd big fish in tournament is awarded (2) extra points.
Anglers who cannot get back to weigh in due to boat problems can send their fish to weigh in with another boat so long as the fish are properly separated from the other anglers fish.

15) Tournament Fees

Entry fees shall be as follows:
- Member/boater $50.00
- Member/Non boater $50.00
- Guest $50.00
- Any Angler that commits to fishing Tournament and are in the draw are responsible for paying their entry even if they do not show up for Tournament.
- $10.00 Ramp fee will be assessed for all anglers who pay at ramp in lieu of paying at meeting.
- $1.00 of each member entry fee goes toward Lunker Fund, $15 of each entryfee goes to general fund. $24.00 to payout $5.00 goes to 1st big fish and $5.00goes to 2nd big fish. (Total $50.00)

Payoffs for tournament winners will be:
- 1st. place – 50% of total purse
- 2nd place – 30% of total purse
- 3rd place – 20% of total purse

Lunker Fund

An 8.5 lb. fish or larger wins. Biggest fish in same tournament wins. Fund will rollover every year. Cost per tournament is $1.00 per person. The Lunker Fund shall not be greater than $500.00. All contributions in excess of the cap amount will be funded into the next Lunker pot. Only paid members can win Lunker Fund. Championship tournament not included in Lunker Fund.

Non Boater to Boater Fee

It is recommended that the fee from non boater to boater to cover boat expenses for the day of fishing be a minimum of $30

16) Weather

No tournament will be held under unsafe conditions. President and or Tournament Director’s decision on this is final. If tournament is started and bad weather comes in, then participants must use good judgment.
If tournament is cancelled, it will be rescheduled.

17) Tournament Trail

Tournaments to be held the first Saturday after meeting. In some cases the Club Tournament will be moved in an effort to eliminate conflict with Roland Martins Team Tournament Trail. President and or Tournament Director has the right to cancel or change a tournament due to safety concerns.
“Angler of the Year” will be based on point system.
“Angler of the Year” to receive plaque and passed-on trophy.
“Angler of the Year” shall be awarded free membership to club for the following year.
Classic Champion will get an automatic entry into the next year’s classic. In order to qualify for automatic entry, the Classic Champion must fish at least six(6) tournaments.
Ten members will fish the classic. The first eight positions will be determined by the top eight point leaders after completing the season. If the Classic Champion is in the top eight, a one day tournament of all interested non-qualifiers will determine the ninth and tenth positions. If the Classic Champion is not in the top eight, he will occupy the 9th position, the shootout “last chance tournament” will determine the 10th position. Date and time will be determined by Tournament Director. Anglers to be eligible for the “last chance tournament” must have fished in 6 tournaments during the year. If a top 10Classic qualifier cannot fish the Classic his position will be filled by the next highest point position. If a Last Chance qualifier or qualifiers cannot attend the Classic, his spot will be filled by the next highest finisher out of the Last Chance.
Payout of the Classic will be determined at the pre-tournament meeting held by the Tournament Director with participating anglers attending. Any angler not attending the scheduled meeting will forfeit their right to vote. Payout amount shall be pre-determined by the Treasurer and ratified by the club members present at the last meeting for the trail year.
Classic payout will be determined at years end.

18) Club Fundraiser

If needed the Board of Directors will present a plan to membership.

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