2011 Los Suenos Signature Billfish Series
January 26-29, March 2-5
Unofficial Rules and Regulations

These rules and regulations are unofficial and may change from time to time. The final official rules and regulations will be published no later than thirty (30) days prior to the start of the January tournament.

Fishing Days: Each tournament consists of three consecutive fishing days with no lay days.

Tournament Hours: Participating boats may leave the marina starting at 6 am and make their way out of Herradura Bay. Fishing hours are from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm daily. Upon returning, boats must be past the demarcation line, which is from the tip of the Herradura Island to the red buoy in the middle of Herradura Bay, by 6:30 pm each day with the scorecards submitted to the tournament committee as soon thereafter and not later than 7:00 pm, including the last fishing day. Any boats failing to have their scorecards past the demarcation line by 6:30 pm will be disqualified for that day’s scoring.

Official Time: The official time is GPS time. The committee boat will call lines in and lines out; however it will be the observer’s responsibility to be the official time keeper and call lines out on the boat each day. The time of release is a required element on the scorecard and will be used to break any ties. The failure to include the time on the scorecard will automatically place that boat in the last position in the event of a tie.

Boundaries: Eligible fish must be hooked within a 50-mile radius. The center of the 50-mile radius is established from the red buoy in the middle of Herradura bay with GPS coordinates N 09 38’920 and W 084 40’008.  Fish can then be played outside the boundary until caught or released.

Anglers: A maximum of four anglers per boat are permitted. Each team may register a fifth angler; however only four anglers are permitted to fish on the boat each fishing day. The cost of registering a fifth angler is $500 per tournament. Upon registration, the names of all participating anglers and crew (captain and at least one mate) must be declared. During the tournament, the declared captain and crew members may not participate as anglers. There is no limit to the number of mates that can be declared.

Teams may substitute their team members from the first tournament for new team members during the second tournament; however at least two of the original team members (one angler and captain or two anglers) must also participate in the second tournament to be eligible to compete for the title of Series Champion.

All anglers and mates must be registered by the end of registration and check-in before the first fishing day.

Any emergencies dealing with angler substitution will be handled on a case by case basis at the discretion of the tournament rules committee. Once approved, the substitution must be registered with tournament director by 6:00 am each morning prior to that day of fishing.

NO PROFESSIONALS ARE PERMITTED TO PARTICIPATE AS ANGLERS. THE TERM PROFESSIONAL SHALL BE DEFINED AS ANY INDIVIDUAL WHO DERIVES THEIR PRINCIPAL INCOME FROM ACTIVELY ENGAGING IN THE ACT OF SPORTFISHING, SUCH AS A FULL OR PART TIME CAPTAIN, MATE, TELEVISION PERSONALITY WHOSE PROGRAM IS CENTERED ON THE ACT OF SPORTFISHING AND/OR TEACHING OTHERS HOW TO SPORTFISH. THE FOLLOWING INDIVIDUALS SHALL NOT BE DEEMED PROFESSIONAL UNDER THESE RULES AND REGULATIONS; YACHT BROKERS, LICENSED CAPTAINS WHO DO NOT DERIVE THEIR PRINCIPAL INCOME FROM SPORTFISHING AND WHO DO NOT ACTIVELY ENGAGE IN SPORTFISHING ON A REGULAR BASIS AS THEIR PRIMARY OCCUPATION, EVENT COORDINATORS AND/OR TOURNAMENT PROMOTERS, TELEVISION PERSONALITIES WHO PERIODICALLY ENGAGE IN SPORTFISHING BUT DO NOT CENTER THEIR IMAGE, REPUTATION, NAME OR TELEVISION PROGRAM ON SPORTFISHING, CHARTER OPERATORS AND OWNERS WHO PERIODICALLY ENGAGE IN SPORTFISHING BUT DO NOT ACTIVELY ENGAGE IN SPORTFISHING ON A REGULAR BASIS AS THEIR PRIMARY OCCUPATION. ALL PARTICIPANTS WILL BE REQUIRED TO SUBMIT ENTRY FORMS FOR EACH ANGLER IN WHICH THEY WILL DECLARE THEIR OCCUPATION. ANY QUESTIONS ARISING AS TO ANY APPLICANT ANGLER BEING A PROFESSIONAL ANGLER AS DEFINED UNDER THESE RULES AND REGULATIONS SHALL BE RESOLVED BY THE TOURNAMENT ORGANIZER. THE TOURNAMENT ORGANIZER RESERVES THE RIGHT TO DENY THE ENTRY OF ANY APPLICANT INTO THE TOURNAMENT. ALL DECISIONS BY THE TOURNAMENT ORGANIZER IN REGARD TO THE DETERMINATION OF WHETHER ANY PROPOSED ANGLER SHALL BE DECLARED A PROFESSIONAL AND THEREFORE INELIGIBLE TO FISH IN ANY TOURNAMENT SHALL BE FINAL, BINDING AND NON-APPEALABLE.

Registration of each boat and their observer application must be received by the tournament director at least one month prior to check-in and registration for each tournament. Angler applications must be received by the tournament director no less than one week prior to check-in and registration for each tournament.

Observers: Each team will be responsible for supplying a qualified Observer. A qualified Observer is deemed as any individual with sufficient fishing experience, knowledge of IGFA rules and who is able to clearly determine the difference between a marlin and a sailfish. To ensure that each Observer is properly qualified they will be required to either be IGFA certified or to attend one of the Los Sueños Observer Certification Program (LSOCP) courses. Course dates and times will be provided to all teams prior to the start of the tournament. In the event the observer is unavailable, has not been certified either by IGFA or the LSOCP, or fails to check in teams may register one of their team members as an alternate observer, so long as such team member has sufficient expertise or certification as per the requirements of this paragraph.

The tournament organizer will provide teams with a list of IGFA-certified observers who have previously participated in the tournament.

Boats: There are no restrictions on the size and type of boats that may enter the tournaments. In the event of mechanical failure, substitution of boats will be permitted. Substitutions must be submitted to the tournament director prior to each fishing day. All participating boats shall be equipped with a working toilet and provide for adequate shade for assigned Observer.

Tournament Control: The land-based tournament committee boat is located within Los Sue–os Marina.

Tackle: IGFA rules apply unless otherwise noted.

Bait: Dead bait and lures are acceptable for all tournaments. Live bait is prohibited.

Line Test: The stated line strength shall not exceed 50 lbs. (24 kg.) test. The Tournament Committee reserves the right to take line samples for over-testing purposes.

Leader: For all tournaments, the combined length of the double line and the leader shall not exceed 40 feet, including all knots and hooks, and the length of the leader itself shall not exceed 30 feet. The Tournament Committee reserves the right to take leader samples for testing.

Hooks: Anglers are required to use tournament-legal non-offset circle hooks. J-hooks may only be used for non-baited lures.

Rods: Up to six rods and four teasers in the water at any given time is permitted for all tournaments. Anglers can rotate rods at their own discretion.

Releases: A release is defined as a leader to rod tip or by the mate touching the leader with his/her hand. IGFA leader and double line requirements apply. At no time shall the Observer interfere with the release.

Protocol for Reporting a Catch: The official radio channel is 19A, unless otherwise noted. All marlin hook-ups and releases, and all sailfish releases must be reported to Tournament Control via radio. To avoid radio congestion, radio communications will be handled in the following manner.

Vessel—“Control, Control [Name of Vessel]” one release right now”

Committee Boat—“[Name of Vessel] Release number 255”

(Note: the vessel does not have to say “sailfish”)

For Marlin releases, the dialog should be communicated as follows:

Vessel—“Control, Control [Name of Vessel] hooked up to a marlin”

Once the Marlin has been released:

Vessel—“Control, Control [Name of Vessel] one marlin release right now”

Committee Boat—[Name of Vessel] marlin released 10:50 a.m.

Tournament Control will respond with a time of hook-up and then a time of release and release number for marlin. Tournament Control will respond with a number for sailfish releases.

Two minutes prior to calling lines out teams will report their hook ups to the committee boat. The committee boat will not respond until after lines out is called. The observer is the official onboard to observe and confirm last minute hook-ups.  

It is the Captain’s ultimate responsibility to make sure his boat logs every fish on the scorecard. It is also the Captain’s responsibility to ensure that the scorecard is timely delivered to the scoring committee.

Verification of Catch: All releases must be witnessed by the Observer. Teams may also obtain photo evidence, with date and time stamp, of their marlin releases. In the event of a dispute between the team and the observer with regard to the verification of the species of fish, the Rules Committee shall base its determination on the observer’s ruling, unless the team has sufficiently recognizable photo/video evidence or witness statements to the contrary.

Points System: All billfish must be released to obtain points. Sailfish releases are worth 100 points each and all species of marlin are worth 500 points each.

Scoring: Scorecards must be filled out and verified by each Captain and turned in to the designated area daily. Boats must be past the demarcation line by 6:00 pm each day with the scorecards submitted to the tournament committee as soon thereafter. Scorecards must be received no later than 6:30 pm each day, including the last fishing day. Scorecards will only be accepted after the deadline if the team has reported to Tournament Control that it is fighting a fish at lines out time. Only if a team has mechanical problems during the fishing day or while returning to Los Sue–os Marina, the team may pass the completed scorecard to another boat to be submitted. The scorecard must show the date, time of release, release number and signatures of Captain and Observer.

Tiebreakers: In the event of a tie, time of release will be used to determine the winner, with the prize going to the boat that obtains the given release first.

Protests: Protests must be submitted in writing to the Rules Committee by 6:00 pm on the same day as the catch or release of the disputed fish.

Any protest filed as to the legitimacy of any participant angler being considered a professional, in accordance with the definition of these rules and regulations, must be accompanied by sufficient evidence to support the protest. The Tournament Committee reserves the right to disqualify any boat from the tournament(s), should any of the information shown on the entry form be determined untrue.

All protests must be accompanied by a non-refundable $1000 filing fee (cash only).

 Prizes: For each tournament, trophies will be awarded to the top three boats based on overall billfish release points.

The total cash prize purse will vary depending upon the number of entries received in each tournament. Cash prizes will be distributed to the top three boats (based on overall billfish release points) as follows: 50% first place, 30% second place, 20% third place.

The title of Series Champion shall be given to the boat to obtain the highest combined score over the two tournament series first. The Series Champion will have their boat name added to the perpetual trophy, located by the Marina Office entrance in the Marina Entry Building in Los Sue–os Resort and Marina.

The total cash prize purse to be distributed to the Series Champion will vary and shall be based on the number of entries received and eligible to compete for such title under these rules and regulations (see paragraph 2 under Anglers).

IGFA rules apply to the entire event unless otherwise noted. The above rules and regulations are subject to change at the discretion of the Rules Committee. Any modifications will be announced at the Mandatory Captains’ and Observers’ Meeting. The interpretation, decisions and enforcement by the Rules Committee of these rules and regulations shall be final and binding on all anglers, boats, captains, crews and observers participating in the tournaments.