RBM AOY POINTS
TOURNAMENT RULES 2025

Tournament Director: Tige Noni 585-410-8505
Tournament Committee: Dave Livingston, Jim Walters, Jon Skirment, Kevin Steinruck, Matt Ferrante, Wes Vyverberg, Alex Wallis, Dave Holtby

 

1 GENERAL:

• a) For simplification, all competitors will be referred to as “he” in these rules, but will apply to everyone.
• b) Interpretation and enforcement of these rules will be left to the Tournament Director. The decision of the Tournament Director will be final in all matters. If the Tournament Director is unable to execute his duties as outlined in these rules, he will designate an individual who will be authorized to execute the Tournament Directors duties. The club president, or the highest-ranking club officer available, will be informed of the identity of the acting Tournament Director.

2 PARTICIPATION AND ELIGIBILITY:

• a) Full participation in club tournaments shall be limited to members in good standing of the Rochester Bassmasters Inc. Participants must be at least 16 years old.
• b) Persons under 18 can fish as a non-boater only (See Section 6, SAFETY for additional information).
• c) All contestants entering as Boaters are required to show proof of liability insurance, with a certificate of insurance for $300,000 minimum.
• d) All contestants must have valid fishing licenses for the license year.
• e) New or re-joining members must participate in a boater orientation session and display an understanding of boater responsibilities and safe boat operation in order to use their boat.
• f) The Tournament Director reserves the right to decline any members’ participation in any Rochester Bassmaster tournament. Any disputes in this regard will be referred to the Executive Committee for vote.

 

3 REGISTRATION:

• a) Proper registration and fees must be received by the tournament registration team prior to the “partner draw” in order to register for a tournament (draw dates are listed on the Tournament Schedule).
• b) Each AOY point tournament fee are as follows:
• c) Tournament entry fees are $0.00 for amateurs.
• d) Tournament entry fees are $75.00 for boaters, with 2 dollars per entry going to the scholarship fund, 64 dollars per entry going towards the payout for that day’s event and 9 dollars per entry held separately to fund the Memorial Classic Tournament. Tournament entry fees will be $55.00 for non-boaters with $1 going to scholarship fund and $45.00 going towards payout with 9 dollars going towards the Memorial Classic Tournament.
• e) If a boater goes down, they can be paired with another boater and fish for the boater side of the field and have a 5 fish limit.
• f) Anglers can declare they are fishing the boater side of the field at any time provided they have paid the proper entry fee.
• g) Tournament entry fees are NON-REFUNDABLE after the “Partner Draw”
• h) All checks made out for tournament entries must be made out to “Rochester Bassmasters”
• i) Late entries will be imposed a $15 charge and progressively an additional $10 fee each time thereafter. And they automatically get the last drawn non-boater or a late non-boater sign up. Late entry fees will be added to the Classic Fund.
• j) Non-boaters registering late will be assigned at random to any boater who does not have a non-boater. It will be picked using a random online number generator. Except in the event there is a late registering boater. In that case, the late registering boater would receive the non-boater. If there is more than one late registering boater, those would then be chosen by a random online number generator.
• k) Linked Boater/Non-Boater pairings will be permitted on an exception basis, for health/safety reasons, at the discretion of the tournament director.

4 RE-REGISTRATION:

• a) Competitors will be required to re-register with the tournament director or his designee and reaffirm their kickoff number the morning of the event. The re-registration times will be announced at the tournament draw.
• b) Competitors arriving late to re-registration will be assessed a one-half pound per minute penalty.
• c) Competitors who are more than 15 minutes late will be disqualified for the day.
• d) Kickoff will not be delayed for late amateurs, and they will be disqualified for the day if late for re-registration.
• e) If all competitors have re-registered on time, kickoff may occur early (based on weather and safety considerations).
• f) In the event of multiple late boaters, they will leave in order of when they registered, the last late boater entry will become the Kick off and Check-in boat for the day.

5 AMATEUR STATUS:

• a) Amateur status is available for full time students only (high school or college).
• b) Amateurs will not be allowed to go as a Boater.
• c) Amateur entries are eligible for trophies only (see Section 21, Classic, for exception).
• d) Pro entries are eligible for cash, merchandise, lunker pool, and trophies.

6 SAFETY:

• a) A Coast Guard approved chest type preserver MUST BE WORN anytime the combustion engine is running and in gear. The preserver must be strapped, snapped or zippered securely, and maintained in that position until the competitors reach their fishing location and the combustion engine is put into neutral or shut off (this excludes loading and unloading of boats in the launch area). Members under the age of 18 must have a Coast Guard approved life jacket on at all times when on a boat. Violation of these rules is reason for automatic disqualification from the tournament. It is mandatory that partners discuss safe boat operation and conduct prior to the take off.
• b) The Tournament Director has the right to delay or cancel the start of the tournament day, or move the launch site, because of bad weather or other factors, which would endanger the safety of the competitors. Tournament waters may also be restricted at any time due to bad weather.
• c) No alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs may be consumed during the tournament hours. Drunkenness or substance abuse shall be cause for automatic disqualification and loss of boating or fishing privileges indefinitely.
• d) Competitors are allowed to leave the boat and seek safe shelter in bad weather where danger may be imminent.
• e) Anglers under the age of 18 must show proof of having taken and passed a Boater Safety Course.

7 SPORTSMANSHIP:

• a) Solicitation of fishing related information from a non-competitor, during tournament hours, via any means, including in person/text/voice/social media, is prohibited.
• b) Cell phone communication of fishing related information between competitors not on the same vessel, during tournament hours is prohibited.
• c) Non-boater use of mapping applications, such as Navionics, during tournament hours, without boater consent, is prohibited.
• d) Non-boater capture of GPS waypoint/trail information, at any time, via any means, without boater consent, is prohibited.
• e) A contestant must immediately release his fish if he decides to bow out of a tournament. If that person is a non-boater, the boater shall be permitted to continue full participation in the tournament. If that person is a boater, he is responsible for transferring the non-boater and his/her fish to a boat in which the boater has no partner; this new boater must accept this new partner.
• f) Competitors are expected to exhibit high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety and conservation. Maximum courtesy and ethics must be practiced at all times, especially with regards to boating and angling in the vicinity of non-competitors. For example, it is the opinion of many that the practice of cruising around the lake during tournament events you are not registered to fish with the sole purpose of observing/capturing waypoints of unsuspecting anglers, without their permission, could be viewed as unethical. What’s more, this may reflect poorly not only on the angler choosing to employ such tactics, but also on the club said angler represents, namely Rochester Bassmasters.
• g) Any violation of these sportsmanship rules may be grounds for disqualification from all future Rochester Bassmaster tournaments.

8 TOURNAMENT PRACTICE:

• a) Tournament waters will not be closed prior to tournament events, with the exception of back-to-back (e.g. Sat/Sun) points tournaments on the same body of water.
• b) In this case, once the first tournament has begun, all contestants are prohibited from fishing or further practice except during the designated tournament hours of each of the back-to-back tournaments.

9 TACKLE AND EQUIPMENT:

• a) Only artificial lures, including pork rinds, will be permitted for tournament use. No live or cut bait is permitted.
• b) Only one rod with a maximum of 8’ can be used at a time. No more than one line in the water at a time.
• c) All bass must be caught alive in a legal and sporting manner.
• d) Snagging, trolling (with the combustion motor and/or electronic motor) and fly-fishing are all prohibited.
• e) Landing nets are permitted but not required.
• f) The use of underwater viewing devices, such as a mask, flogger or underwater camera, during tournament hours is prohibited.

10 BOATS AND MOTORS:

• a) Only boats 16’ or longer with a minimum horsepower engine of 40 hp will be permitted for tournament use. Each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard/B.I.A horsepower-rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer. The horsepower of the outboard engine must NOT exceed the rating specified on this plate nor the horsepower maximum set by BASS (250 hp).
• b) Each competitor agrees to submit his boat and/or outboard motor to an inspection by factory-trained personnel, if there is any reason to suspect the horsepower is in excess of the rating. If an inspection is requested, the club will pay for testing if it is proven that the equipment tested meets the applicable standards, otherwise the competitor will assume full responsibility for testing costs.
• c) Failure to submit a boat and motor for testing, if requested, will result in disqualification from tournaments and possible removal from club membership.
• d) Normal maintenance of engines is allowed. Changing or altering standard factory parts of a competitor’s engine to increase the horsepower over the factory horsepower rating is forbidden and will result in disqualification.
• e) Falsifying information or altering the horsepower-rating numbers on the engine is also cause for immediate disqualification from tournaments, and possible removal from club membership.
• f) All boats must be equipped with an operational engine kill switch that is attached to the driver’s body anytime the combustion engine is operating.
• g) All boats should provide ease of fishing for both contestants with stable, elevated platforms for both contestants to safely fish from and no obstacles in the way to hinder one’s casting or safety.
• h) The boater must provide a pedestal seat for the non-boat partner, when requested.

11 BASIC BOAT EQUIPMENT:

• a) Every boat must have all the required Coast Guard safety equipment on board.
• b) It must also have a functional bilge pump and live well space, properly aerated to adequately maintain a limit catch of bass by both fishermen using the boat.
• c) The Tournament Director will have the sole responsibility for determining whether aeration and capacity is “proper and adequate”. The Tournament Director will disqualify a boat with an inadequate live well system from the tournament.
• d) In the event of a live well breakdown during a tournament, every effort will be made to keep the fish alive. The boat owner must notify the Tournament Director at the weigh-in site upon arrival so that the fish can be weighed as soon as possible.
• e) Boats deemed to be unsafe may be culled by the Tournament Director. If the Tournament Director determines that a boater has an unacceptable record of weighing in dead fish, the Tournament Director may forbid the boater from entering future tournaments as a boater.

12 BOAT OPERATION/KICK-OFF:

• a) A full discussion should be held between partners prior to the morning kickoff as to emergency boat operation and possible medical issues.
• b) Boats will line up by take-off number and pass by the kickoff boat (as determined by the tournament director, in most cases it’s the last boat drawn).
• c) The kick-off boat will check live-wells and kill switches at that time.
• d) If you do not line up in the correct order, you move to the end of the line.
• e) If the livewell and/or kill switch is inoperative, you must remove yourself from the line, fix the repair and report this to the Tournament Director (or acting tournament director) immediately via phone call or text message.
• f) Not following this procedure is grounds for disqualification.

13 FISHING LOCATIONS:

• a) The Tournament Director shall determine permitted fishing locations and boundaries.
• b) During a tournament day, a competitor must not have the assistance of another person for “Hole Setting” or placing of markers for them.
• c) All angling must be done from the boat, and contestants must not leave the boat to catch or land fish.
• d) No trailing of boats is allowed for the purpose of fishing or transporting of fish.
• e) A 40-yard radius from a competitor’s boat that was established prior (TM deployed) shall be maintained.
• f) Boaters with legitimate claims to fish a given area will share water in a respectful manner. If someone is established (TM down) in an area that you also found fish on during practice, before encroaching you must shut down your engine and have a discussion explaining your intentions. The encroaching angler may not come within 40 yards (roughly a full cast) from the established angler unless he gets waived in. The established angler may use his trolling motor to reasonably adjust his position in order to keep others off his established area.
• g) In summary, failure to develop your own spots and respect what others have found may put you at risk of protest and will be subject to disciplinary action, at the Tournament Director’s discretion.

14 OFFICIAL CHECKPOINT:

There shall be only one official checkpoint in the morning and one checkpoint in the afternoon; the Tournament Director shall designate this checkpoint. Weights will be recorded with no signing required and no weigh slips issued. Tournaments will be 8 hours, unless otherwise specified by the Tournament Director.

15 PAIRING:

• a) The partner draw will be made by random draw at a designated general meeting prior to the tournament. Non-boaters will be paired with boaters. Competitors will not fish with the same partner twice in the same season (when possible). If during the partner draw competitors are paired who have already fished together, a new partner will be drawn for both, the boater maintains his position while the non-boater is paired with the next boater drawn whom he has not fished with. In the event there are more boaters than non-boaters, the remaining boaters will be allowed to fish alone. Boaters who fished without a partner on the previous tournament day, or didn’t fish the previous day, will be the first to draw a partner.
• b) For two-day tournaments, a separate partner draw will take place for each day, following the above guidelines. The last boat drawn each day will be the kickoff boat. The first boat drawn each day will be the check-in boat. In the event of a “down boat”, all available boaters will be put in a hat for a random partner draw. Non-boaters will be drawn first, then boaters. If the down boat included a non-boater, the new partner pairing with that non-boater assumes the non-boaters original kickoff position and the former boater assumes his new partner’s original position. If there was not a non-boater originally, the lowest kickoff position will be assigned to the new pairing.
• c) If we have more Non-Boaters to Boaters, pairing will be drawn as follows:
• d) Any Boater whose boat is down will be drawn.
• e) Any Non-Boater who has verbally committed to fishing the entire season.
• f) All remaining non-boaters.
• g) Linked pair boats will blast off in random order along with random drawn pairs.

16 TOURNAMENT SCORING:

• a) Fish shall be transported to the weigh-in area. No mesh bags will be used. The lunker should be marked with a cull tag.
• b) Tournament standings, awards and final winners shall be determined by the weight of each competitor’s catch during the tournament.
• c) No regurgitated contents from a fish will be weighed. Only Largemouth and
• Smallmouth bass will be weighed.
• d) The daily tournament limit will be the prevailing New York State limit (5) for boaters and (3) for non-boaters. Any contestant who exceeds the tournament limit will be disqualified from the tournament.
• e) Any competitor during the duration of the tournament who has exceeded the legal limit in the livewell and continues to fish must report the infraction to the Tournament Director immediately or a member of the Tournament Committee. A 2lb penalty will be imposed at weigh in.
• f) Any competitor who has knowledge of such infraction and does not report the infraction will be disqualified.
• g) Only bass described above, which measure 12” or more in length with the mouth closed, shall be legal and weighed. Bass presented for the weigh-in which measure less than 12” will result in that fish being disqualified, plus the heaviest fish culled for each short fish presented. A 0.25- pound penalty will be assessed against each dead fish presented to weigh-in. The penalty will be assessed against the dead fish.
• h) No release of dead fish is allowed at any time.
• i) A courtesy board, which will match the tournament board, will be provided. The measure master determines whether a fish is legal length and if it is alive. If the competitor whose fish is/are in question disputes the measure master’s call, the fish will be checked by the weigh master. If the weigh master agrees with the measure master’s ruling, the call stands. If the weigh master and measure master disagree, the Tournament Director makes the final determination. At no time can another competitor question whether a fish is dead or alive, or of legal length.
• j) Competitors arriving late to the weigh-in will be assessed a one pound per minute penalty, starting with the angler’s heaviest legal fish. Competitors who are more than 15 minutes late will have their weight disqualified for the day. No excuses will be accepted. If a boat breaks down, fish can be transported by either a competitor’s boat or non-competitors’ boat for safety reasons, but must be accompanied by the competitor whose catch is to be weighed.
• k) There will be a “last call” announcement, giving a competitor 10 minutes to weigh in his fish. Failure to weigh fish in before the 10 minutes is over will automatically disqualify a competitor’s catch.

 17 PROTESTS:

• a) Protests must be made verbally to the Tournament Director within 10 minutes of the last weighed fish, followed up by a written (or texted) and signed protest delivered to the Tournament Director within the next 15 minutes.
• b) The Tournament Director will make all decisions and rulings in a reasonable amount of time.
• c) Written protests will be answered with a written decision submitted to all parties involved, as well as the executive committee.
• d) Protests involving the Tournament Director will be handled as above, except, the highest ranking available club officer will assume the role of Tournament Director.

18 TOURNAMENT PAYOUT/AWARDS:

• a) Payouts will be determined by the Tournament Committee and a schedule formalized prior to the start of the Points Tournament season. Paid anglers are encouraged to present their report at a club meeting.
• b) The tournament prize pool will consist of 100% of all entry fees collected for that day’s tournament (after a $2 per entry is set aside (for boaters) and $1 (for non-boaters) for scholarship fund and $9 per entry is set aside for the classic).
• c) There will be one lunker payout for the boater side and one lunker payout for the non-boater side.
• d) The payout schedule for both divisions (boater, non-boater) will be determined by the Tournament Committee.
• e) In case of a tie, the appropriate position money will be split. Example: two way tie for first; they split first and second prize money.
• f) In the event not enough fish are caught to pay the specified number of places, the Tournament Committee will establish the payout.
• g) If a merchandise prize is available, by order of finish the contestants shall have the option to receive the merchandise prize instead of the cash award.
• h) For points events, 1st, 2nd and 3rd place will each receive a trophy (if approved in the current year budget), lunker does not.
• i) Boaters and non-boaters will receive points based on finished places with 1st place receiving 100 points and 2nd place receiving 99 points etc. Anglers that pay and do not fish will receive a zero.
• j) Anglers who finish in a tie receive points based on a formula in which points of the affected positions are combined and divided by the total number of anglers tied for the position. The resulting number represents the number of points awarded to each angler in the tie.

19 AOY STANDINGS & SEASON AWARDS:

• a) Individual scores from only 6 of 7 points tournaments will count towards each angler’s AOY points tally, so for anglers who fish all 7 points events, their lowest score will be dropped.
• b) Tiebreaker for AOY standings will be total points, then total weight.
• c) The individual in first place in the AOY standings, using the current scoring method, will be declared RBM Angler of the Year.
• d) Second through 10th place in the AOY standings will receive trophies. (If approved in the current year budget).
• e) The heaviest (net weight) largemouth bass caught in any point tournament will receive the Largemouth Lunker of the Year award and the heaviest (net weight) smallmouth bass will receive the Smallmouth Lunker of the Year award. (If approved in in the current year budget)
• f) Boaters and non-boaters will compete in separate fields where boaters compete against boaters and non-boaters compete against non-boaters
• g) All member contestants receive Angler of the Year points. There will be a boater Angler of the Year and a non-boater Angler of the Year.

20 PRO-AM:

A Pro-Am status shall apply to all club tournaments. Non-members are eligible to participate under special circumstances at the approval of the tournament committee, but are not eligible for cash, merchandise, prizes or trophies.

21 6 Man Team:

• a) 5 top anglers from the boater side for AOY points.
• b) 6th angler is the top non-boater for AOY points.
• c) Must be a NYS Federation Member the year prior.
• d) If there is no qualifying non-boater for the 6th spot, it will be given to the next eligible boater. 

CLASSIC:

• a) All tournament rules apply, except where specific changes are written in this section.
• b) The Classic is entry fee free.
• c) Classic qualifiers are determined as follows:
• Top 20 boaters qualify for the Classic.
• Top 5 non-boaters qualify for the Classic.
• Non-boaters will fish with boaters that have qualified. Example: “Non-boater” # 1 with “boater” #16, 2 with 17, 3 with 18, 4 with 19 and 5 with 20. If a boater 16 – 20 bows out of the tournament, amateurs will be re-paired with boaters that are fishing the classic climbing from 16 up the AOY standings.
• d) A non-boater who has fished as an Amateur during the year is still eligible to fish the classic and is also eligible for any classic cash prizes and/or trophies (If approved in the current year budget).
• e) Amateurs who make and fish the Classic will be required to pay a $72 entry fee.
• f) If any qualifier decides not to compete in the classic, his name will be eliminated, and no replacement will be made.
• g) Format: A One-day tournament, with each contestant fishing from his own boat (or boat supplied for that person’s use). Non-boaters who qualify will be allowed to fish alone or be accompanied by another boat’s owner.
• h) Kickoff: The order of kickoff will be the top finishers followed by the top 2 non-boaters outside the top 20 as determined by the Angler of the Year standings.
• i) Scoring: Places will be determined by the best total weight minus penalties.
• j) Classic payouts, including lunker, will be funded entirely by the classic pool, with the payout amounts determined by the Tournament Committee.

23 CLASSIC LOCATION:

• a) Eligible lakes are determined by the Tournament Committee.
• b) The selection method will be determined by the Tournament Director.
• d) The selected classic lake will be announced at a Pre-Classic Dinner the Friday evening prior. The announcement will be sent out via text/email the night before for those who cannot make the pre-Classic dinner.

2025 Tournament Schedule

*All Team events will be 90% payout with 10% going to the General Fund

 

May 3, 2025

Team Event, Scale Tournament (Open, one person must be BASS member)

Cayuga Lake

 

June 8, 2025

Team Event, Scale Tournament (Open, one person must be BASS member)

Lake Erie

 

June 21, 2025

AOY #1

Seneca Lake

 

July 26, 2025

AOY #2

Cayuga Lake

 

August 16 and 17, 2025

AOY #3 and 4

Clayton, STL (French Creek)

 

September 6 and 7, 2025

AOY #5 and 6

Oneida Lake “Super” Tournament

Two-day combined weight for payout

Each day counts towards AOY points

Winner (individual day) on each day will receive a Cashion Rod

$100 paid each day for lunker

Payout will be paid on entry number totals for both days combined

 

September 28, 2025

Team Event (Open, one person must be BASS member)

Fairhaven

 

October 5, 2025

AOY #7

Conesus Lake

 

October 25, 2025

RBM Classic

Classic Lake Possibilities for 2025 include:

Sodus

Erie

Silver

Canandaigua

Honeoye

Fairhaven