“OFFICIAL RULES”
NECHES RIVER LIFE
5th Annual Neches River Life Big Catfish Tournament
Dates: Friday April 25th 10:00am – Saturday April 26th 10:00AM 2025
RAIN, SNOW, SHINE we are fishing! In case of inclement weather use
discretion.
No tournament is worth sacrificing your safety!
Weigh In Location : 58 Junction 13774 FM 58, Lufkin, TX 75901
***Weigh IN Time: Saturday April 26 @10:00 AM and closes at 12:00PM!***
Stop fishing 10:00am. The extra allotted time gives everyone a little more
time to pack up and still make it to weigh in safely. This will be a polygraph
question.
***We will poly graph 1st and draw for 2nd polygraph from 2-10th place and a
3rd if deemed necessary.***
I hate to put this out there but cheating in a tournament of this nature is a
felony. Do what’s right and there’s nothing to worry about : ). Any questions
get with me @ 936-366-0681.
***It is the responsibility of the TEAM CAPTAIN to convey all rules to each
team member. We will randomly draw for which team member that will be
polygraphed.***
We are asking for conservation purposes that if anyone wants us to return any
big fish to the river we will have a tank available and will release fish back into
the river.
Ladies team and kids must register, too. Text 936-366-0681 or call if you
need a form. Ladies team can participate in the “all” ladies team tournament
and the “big catfish” tournament, too.
***This year we will be issuing a boat number to each team. Each team will
be responsible for making sure your number is visible on your boat. Number
can be on the boat motor or front of boat. You can spray paint it, or by sticker
number whatever it takes.
***Optional- Side pot 2 fish stringer 50.00. 2 fish heaviest stringer DOES NOT
include big fish for “big cat”. So your registered team and side pot total will be
a 200.00 if you choose do to this option, if not then fee will be 150.00 for team
registration for “big fish” only***
***Pay scale may go up***
Payout: 1st-10th place TBD
1 st – 15 th
2 Fish Stringer – CAN NOT include big fish. Any questions call/message
David on this.
1 st - 10 th TBD
Closer to tournament date we will post all side payouts like biggest blue,
biggest gar, first to weigh in etc…….
We will have some giveaways like usual : ). If anyone wants to donate
something for the drawing message me.
Kids fishing pole tourney 1-10th One Fish Weigh In for kids. Kids 15yrs and
younger. Kids under 15 does not have to be one of the 3 team participants.
No fee for kids
Kids
1 st – 10 th TBD
Ladies Team
1 st – 10 th TBD
All State and Federal rules will be observed. Contestants must have a valid
fishing license on their persons. Fishing and boating licenses are the
responsibility of team members.
Fishing tournament boundaries are from Hwy 84 (area) and southern
boundary is the forks of the Angelina and Neches River. No fishing below the
forks and no fishing of the Angelina River. This will be a polygraph question. .
**NO fishing the week of the tournament April 21 st through 24 th ** except to
catch bait.
Registration fee is 150.00 per team or 200 for four person team. One, two,
three, or four teams with at least one person 18 of age. Four person teams
must use a boat rated for four people and pay an extra 50.00. . . One (1) boat
per team. Needs to be paid a week before tournament late fee pay applies
after that. If your camping on the river need a second boat to carry supplies
etc. that is fine, but you can only fish with one boat per team.
This is a “1” fish weigh in plus the “2” fish stringer so total fish will be 3 if you
do both, if not then just big fish.. We will have other weigh in for for “example”
only - biggest blue, trash fish, gar…. We will give details of these later as we
get closer to the tournament date.
Only Catfish will be allowed to be weighed in. Catfish species limited to Blue
Cat, Channel Cat, or Flathead Cat. No other species of fish are allowed to be
weighed in for the “Big Catfish” or the 2 Fish Stringer side pot.
Only one (1) fish of 12” inches or longer (18” for op) may be weighed in per
team for BIG fish. . Only bring 1 fish to be officially weighed in for the
tournament to the weigh in table, do not bring any more fish than allowed to
be weighed in.
Dead fish penalty will be determined later.
Fish can be caught by rod and reel, limb line, pole line, trot line more less any
legal means of catching fish according to state and federal laws. No nets,
telephoning, or dynamite and ***No Live Scope***
Fishing within 5yds (up or downstream) of a competitor’s boat or bank
fisherman, same side of the River, which was first anchored, is prohibited. We
had a few people that were putting their poles right next to someone else’s in
our last tournament let’s respect ea other and give at least 10ft.
If you have existing lines out you CAN NOT use them. Pull lines out of water
end of the day on 4/20 or before and put back out either day of the pre-stage
on 4/24 or day of tournament.
***Pre Staging of lines with no hook in water rules till 4/24 @ 7:00am. That
means you are not allowed to put lines out till 4/24 @ 7:00am and “ONLY”
then hooks “CAN NOT” be in the water till 4/25 @ 10:00am.*** this rule is in
place for the working man and allows pre staging of lines with no hooks on
them a day in advance till tournament morning. Any questions about this
message David Holland tournament director. This will be a polygraph
question!***
Any legal bait is allowed.
Legal hook limit
If your fishing with “bank poles” we are limiting each team to 70 bank poles.
Any questions about this call David.
No marking spots with tape, string, ribbon….. till day of prestage 4/24 @
7:00am and there must be a line, pole and not just tape or ribbon.
Good sportsmanship, courtesy, safety, and conservation are expected of all
individuals and disorderly conduct will be reason for disqualification if
circumstances require. Decision of Tournament Director will be final.
In case of a tie first one to weigh in takes place.
All decisions of the Tournament Director and Committee are final. All protests
must be brought to the attention of the Tournament Director prior to the
conclusion of the tournament weigh-in.
Tournament locations are subject to change due to other tournament
conflicts/river or ramp conditions/weather conditions/etc. Notifications will be
well in advance, and all updates can be found on the Neches River Life 4 th
Annual Big Catfish Tournament Facebook page.
If caught cheating, you will be terminated indefinitely from all NRBC
Tournaments! Any disqualification results in forfeiture of all winnings.
***Let’s make sure we get our fishing tackle taken up after each tournament.
We’ve had some complaints of lines being left out, let’s do our part cleaning
up and make sure we don’t leave lines etc. out.***
CONTACTS: Tournament Director: David Holland 936-366-0681
We are going to do a NECHES RIVER LIFE High School Scholarship also
with a portion of money raised through sponsors and entry fees. More info to
come!!!
Make checks payable to David Holland/Neches River Life and put “NRLBCT”
in memo.
Or send via PayPal (friends and family) @ hollanddavid04@yahoo.com or
Venmo @David-Holland-118 please do friends and family to keep from
charging us a fee.
We will have a link on the Neches River Life website register and pay via link.
There is a fee for using credit card.