This charitable event is open to Valero Memphis Refinery employees and its partners. It benefits United Way of the Mid-South.
These rules have been established to encourage fairness, safety, and conservation.
Entries made and paid for are prohibited from being sold, bartered, or given away without the expressed written consent of a tournament official. Entry fees are $200 per angler. All Entries are final. This event is capped at 400 anglers. All decisions of the Tournament Committee are final and are not subject to appeal. When in question interpretation of these rules will be left exclusively to the Tournament Committee and the appointed rules committee. Each competitor agrees to report any rule violation to the Tournament Committee immediately upon discovery of the violation. The violation of a tournament rule may result in being ineligible for hourly or total payouts, the ineligibility to participate in future events, or any other penalty deemed appropriate by the Tournament Committee in his/her sole discretion. Protests must be made in writing within 10 minutes of the official closing of the scales. Boats may be launched from any public ramp on Sardis Lake in Sardis, Mississippi after 5 am on September 20, 2024.
Participation and Eligibility:
1. The tournament is open to Valero Memphis Refinery employees and partners.
2. All State, Federal and Corps of Engineers rules must be observed. It is the angler
responsibility to understand lake rules and pay any required licenses, permits, launching fees, or otherwise.
3. Everyone will be required to fill out and sign the Liability Waiver to be eligible to fish this event.
4. Only registered Contestants may be in the boat during official tournament hours. Any exceptions must be made Pre-tournament and approval is required by the tournament Committee and rules committee.
5. All boats must meet and follow all United States Coast Guard, State and Corp of
Engineers boating regulations and laws.
6. There are no limits to the occupants of a boat (do not exceed boat capacity or safety).
7. Minors (under the age of 18) must be accompanied in the boat by a parent or guardian who will sign a waiver for their participation.
8. Boat checks may be performed at the discretion of the Tournament Committee.
9. All anglers who qualify for payouts are subject to polygraph exams and must pass to receive payouts. Any refusal of this request will result in disqualification.
Registration Times:
1. Teams can register online until Friday, September 6.
2. One person from each boat must be present for registration. Registration will take place at Sardis Lake Marina September 19, 2024, between 4 PM and 8 PM.
3. Anglers may launch at any ramp available to the public on Sardis Lake Reservoir and boat or trailer to Rafters on the Water Marina for hourly weigh ins.
4. Alternates to registered anglers may be accepted at the discretion of the Tournament Committee and must be made prior to the registration deadline.
5. Each paid participant will be given one tournament shirt.
Safety:
1. Due to possible inclement weather, the Tournament Committee has the authority to postpone, shorten the fishing time, cancel, or change the date of the event for the safety of the anglers, staff, and spectators. All anglers must decide for themselves if it is safe to launch and proceed.
2. Competitors are allowed to leave the boat and seek shelter in bad weather at which time no fishing may occur.
3. All Mississippi and Corps of Engineers boaters’ safety laws apply and must be followed.
4. Life vests shall be worn according to Corps of Engineers and state law.
5. Boats may be launched after 5:00 am the morning of the event. Anglers must use their best judgement to determine when there is sufficient safe light to Navigate to their desired fishing location. Valero or The United Way is in no way responsible or liable for injuries or loss of assets during this event.
6. No alcoholic beverages, marijuana, or illegal substances are allowed onboard or used during tournament hours.
Permitted Fishing Methods:
1. Only artificial lures may be used. Only one fishing rod per angler may be used at any one time. Additional rods may be in the boat and ready for use; however, each cast and retrieve must be completed before another cast is attempted or rod is used. Trolling with the combustion engine as a method of fishing is prohibited. Switching or sharing fish with others is a violation of these rules and will result in immediate disqualification. All Bass must be caught alive, in a conventional, sporting manner. When sight fishing for Bass, all fish must be hooked inside the mouth to be counted as a legal fish. Anglers can fish from any location within the navigable waters of Sardis Lake Reservoir lake.
2. Fish may be caught by Rod and Reel method only.
3. No fishing outside of the boat. All anglers may not exit the boat to gain access to other waters - if you can’t get there by staying in your boat, you should not be there. This includes throwing over levees and dragging fish back.
Sportsmanship and Conduct:
1. Good sportsmanship is expected of all individuals before, during and after the tournament event. This includes social media bashing of the event and/or event participants. Failure to follow good sportsmanship may result in disqualification and/or revocation from fishing this and/or any further Valero events.
2. Any disorderly conduct will be reason alone for disqualification.
3. At the Tournament Committee discretion, any violation may result in an automatic disqualification.
Permitted Fishing Locations:
1. Fishing is restricted to Sardis Lake Reservoir (Upper and Lower) lake only.
2. The Sardis Lake Marina cove (location of Rafters on the Water) is prohibited from fishing as tournament fish will be released at that location.
3. No fishing within 200 feet of any fuel dock.
4. No fishing within 100 feet of any boat ramp.
5. No fishing within 25 yards of another fishing boat that is anchored. Anchored means trolling motor in the up stowed position with anchor or Hydraulic Anchor deployed.
6. Any disregard to the above rules needs to be reported to the Tournament Committee immediately.
Tournament Hours and Payouts:
1. Pre-fishing is allowed until 3 PM on the day prior to the event. All fish must be released immediately during pre-fishing.
2. Tournament Hours: 6:30 am - 1:30 pm. Lines in the water prior to 6:30 am or after 1:30 pm will be cause for immediate disqualification.
3. Fish will only be weighed in from 7:00 to 2:00 pm. Any fish brought to the scales after 2:00 pm are not eligible for payouts.
4. Anglers decide what hour to weigh in fish but once brought to the scales, the fish will only be eligible for that hourly payout.
5. Payouts based on 200 anglers and based on weight of a single bass (Largemouth or Spot Bass species only).
a. Hourly Guaranteed Payouts (pre-paid credit card) and Awards:
i. 1 st Place $500
ii. 2 nd Place $300
iii. 3 rd Place $200
b. Biggest Bass Overall Bonus - $2,000
c. 1 st Place Overall (Most total weight from hourly places 1 st -3 rd ) - $1,000
6. All Weigh-ins will take place at Sardis Marina and will be as follows:
7:00-8:00 am
8:00-9:00 am
9:00-10:00 am
10:00-11:00 am
11:00 am-12:00 pm
12:00 -1:00 pm
1:00-2:00 pm
7. All payouts will be paid with pre-paid credit cards at the end of the tournament around 3:00 PM on September 20 th at Rafters on the Water. You must be present to accept payout.
Scoring and fish management:
1. Tournament is a Big Bass format with hourly payouts for the top 3 bass. Anglers may weigh 1 fish per hour. The bass will be weighed, and the 3 heaviest fish each hour will be paid out. Only Largemouth and Spotted Bass are accepted species and must meet minimum length requirements. Bass presented for weigh-in, which fail to measure the prescribed length limit of 14” for all species (spotted or Largemouth bass), will result in a disqualification of that angler for that hour.
2. No dead fish will be weighed. The weighmaster will have the final say on whether the fish is alive or not. Each angler is responsible for making sure your fish are properly handled.
3. Any artificially weighed, preserved or altered bass will be disqualified and that contestant will be subject to prosecution under federal and state laws. Each Contestant catch must be presented in a weigh-in bag with enough water in bag to totally submerse the Bass. No regurgitated forage or other foreign matter may be placed in the bass.
4. Hourly single bass weight will be measured with a scale and places will be determined in pounds and ounces. Ties will be decided by a coin toss conducted by member of Tournament Committee.
5. Metal detectors and other devices will be available and utilized on a case by case basis under the direction of the Tournament Committee.
6. Anglers are only allowed to have one bass in possession at any time and bass cannot be shared with other anglers. Anglers may weigh-in a single fish at any hourly weigh-ins but once the fish has been weighed it will be released and only counted for the hour it was weighed.
7. Combined weights are counted for the individual angler and not a boat total.
8. Each boat must have a least 2 registered anglers.
9. Anglers wishing to weigh fish will need to present proof of registration as provided at check in on Thursday, September 19. You must have this proof of registration to weigh your fish.
10. Check in is mandatory for at least one angler from each boat. All Anglers must appear at check in between 4pm-8pm to check in or register for the event or have a designee present to complete check in.
11. Each weigh-in hour will start and stop with the clock posted at the tournament weigh station.
12. Once the hour has ended the staff will take your information and you may return to fishing.
13. All hourly payouts will be paid out at the end of the tournament (2:00 PM September 20th at Rafters on the Water).
14. Live wells must have an electric freshwater circulating pump and includes proper aeration. OXYGEN USE IS ENCOURAGED.
15. This is a catch and release tournament. All fish must be alive and healthy at the time of weigh-in and will be released immediately after weighing.
16. Anglers that consider their catch to be a possible record will have the sole responsibility for caring for the fish until the proper authorities are notified and arrive for verification purposes. Once verified, the fish must be released alive and healthy.
17. Social media live feeds are allowed and encouraged. However, caution must be used not to reveal too much relevant information when going live during the tournament hours.
18. After the published cut-off date, any angler that experiences a mishap or mechanical issue before or during the tournament event will still be considered a valid tournament participant and will not be provided any relief or forgiveness of the rules as published.
The United Way of the Mid-South is solely a beneficiary of the tournament; is not a tournament Committee and has not been party to the determination of the rules and guidelines.
All fishermen are subject to a polygraph exam.