New York
Surf Fishing Rules and Regulations
CONTEST RULES AND PROCEDURES:
The contest will begin April 1 and end November
30. Only bona-fide fishing clubs with an active interest in surf fishing and located in
areas adjacent to waters of the New York Marine District are eligible to compete. As of
January 2001, Bona-fide Fishing Club shall be classified as one that meets the following
criteria:
A. Submit a formal roster
B. Collect dues annually
C. Hold at least four meetings per year
D. Develop, print and use a constitution and by-laws that defines
the club in all facets of activities
E. The club shall be involved in a full and normal array of surf
fishing activities including protection and be involved with organizations like LIBBA,
CCA, RFA etc.
F. The club should have at least the following slate: Pres., V.P.,
Sec., Treas.
G. The club should also select a Board of Directors to oversee and
manage the club according to its by-laws and constitution.
1A. All clubs must submit to the Contest Chairmen
a list of all members who have had their scales certified by the club.
1B. All clubs shall certify their members scales once per year. Once before the contest
begins, and once in August. A copy of the re-certification shall be sent to Tom Melton at
48 Dongan Blvd. Manorville, NY 11949.
1C. One member must be in attendance at the annual meeting for a club to eligible to enter
the contest. The only exception would be if on the day before the contest meeting, or the
day of the contest meeting the contest chairman is called and informed of an illness or
other item preventing a member from attending. This rule would be instituted for the 2001
season. 2. Eligible Species
Minimum Qualifying Weights
Striped Bass 10 pounds
Bluefish 5
pounds
Weakfish
5 pounds
Each club may enter only the ten
(10) best fish caught in
each species category for each monthly period of the contest.
FISH THAT ARE SOLD OR BARTERED ARE NOT ELIGIBLE FOR ENTRY!
3. Only fish caught from the surf in the waters of the New York Marine District may be entered in the competition. The exception to this relates to entries under the separate category of Most Striped Bass Points Out-Of-State ... see item #7, Awards. *A surf caught fish is one that is taken from the beach, bank, pier, bridge or jetty. An angler may use a boat, ferry or swim to obtain access to a location, but all fish must be hooked, battled and landed by an angler standing on land or adjacent to the water, actually standing in the surf, or from a pier or jetty. All bridge caught fish must be noted on the weigh slip.
4. Allocation of points. One point per pound will be awarded for each fish caught and subsubmitted in accordance with the rules and regulations of this contest. Points will be awarded on the basis of the lower nearest pound.
*4A. All persons who have intentions of weighing fish, must own and carry a scale with them, that is certified by his club. This is to prevent anglers keeping fish out of the water waiting for someone else to weigh his fish. .
5. Weigh-In Procedures:
Fish eligible for competition may be weighed by one of the
following methods.
*a. Eligibility for Heaviest of Species Awards: To be eligible for
heaviest of species awards a fish can be weighed-in at an official tackle store. The
county must certify the scale for the year of the contest. Fish that are killed must be
weighed at an official tackle store to be eligible! OR, the
fish may be eligible via a beach weigh-in, if the following conditions are met:
*1. The fish must be released! Damaged fish that are not likely to survive must be weighed
at a tackle shop on a certified scale as per rules for heaviest of species.
*2. The entry blank that is submitted for the fish must bear the
name of a witness, the club the witness belongs to (witness must be a member in good
standing of a club participating in the New York Surf Fishing Contest), and the phone
number of said witness. A "witness"; is one who is present when the fish is
caught and weighed, to personally verify weight and catch.
*3. The only scales which can be used are as follows: Chatillon,
Manley or Boga-Grip hand scales or Normark or Berkley Digital hand scales.
*4. The weight of a fish cannot exceed the poundage of the scale
used, e.g., a 50-pound scale can weigh only up to 50 pounds. b.
Entries in other than heaviest of species: 1. May be weighed
by methods outlined under 5a.
2. Or on a bona fide club scale (a commercial scale) that has
been certified by the contest-reporting officer at the start of each season by the county.
The contest officer retains the right to recall any club scale for testing at any time.
3. On a hand scale as described in section 5a-3. The club officer retains the same right to recall any scale for testing at any time. ** Anglers are requested to have entry blanks witnessed whenever possible. It being noted that this is mandatory of heaviest of species awards! ** Entries are to be weighed once. 6. Reporting procedures: The club fish contest chairman or duly appointed contest reporting officer responsible for monthly data collection and tabulation will supply to the CONTEST OFFICER a monthly tally sheet (supplied at the start of each contest year), once each month.
The responsibilities of the club-reporting
officer are:
a. Sign all eligible blanks to be submitted with the reporting
tally sheet.
b. Sign the monthly reporting tally sheet.
c. Complete all items on reporting tally sheet.
d. Forward to the CONTEST OFFICER (report tally sheet and blanks) by
the 15th day of the month following the month in which the fish were caught (postmarked or
received on or before). If a delay is necessary, the club reporting officer must call the
CONTEST OFFICER prior to the deadline in order to maintain the possibility of eligibility
for that month. Failure to comply with the above requirements will nullify the
club&risqué;s entries for that month. ** It is noted
that clubs should take all possible action to avoid late reporting, and this option should
only be considered for use under emergency conditions. It will be each clubs
responsibility, through its duly appointed officers, to maintain the efficiency and
credibility of all tally sheets and entry blanks submitted. Irregularities of a fish entry
blank may be grounds for nullifying that entry. Irregularities in the tally sheet may be
grounds for nullifying a club entry for the monthly reporting period of the contest.
If the CONTEST OFFICER has a question regarding any entry blank,
tally sheet, or other fishing contest irregularity, he or she may convene a meeting. All
club-reporting officers will be notified of such a meeting in order that each
participating club can be appropriately represented. Each
club will get only one vote per item. This group will investigate the question, concern,
or irregularity and render a decision on the eligibility of the entry or entries in
question. Or, this group may deliberate any matter relevant to the contest and render a
decision should the Contest Officer convene this group. Any decision of this group is
final and irreversible. A majority vote of those present will decide the issues. Responsibility of the
CONTEST OFFICER:
1. Collect the monthly report tally sheets and entry blanks from
participating clubs each month. These reports to be received no later than the 15th day of
the month following the month in which the fish were caught.
2. Total all points for all categories for all clubs.
3. Prepare a summary report of club standings for all categories.
4. Forward a copy of the monthly summary report to each clubs
reporting officer on or before the 25th day of the month following the month in which the
fish were caught. It is imperative that all participating clubs receive the summary report
at the same time. Thus, the contents of the summary report will be kept private to the
CONTEST OFFICER and all summary reports will be mailed on the same day.
5. The CONTEST OFFICER files will be open for review by
participants.
AWARDS:
The following are the categories for which awards will be made
to active members in good standing of participating clubs and/or to those clubs. Only fish
caught by active members in good standing are eligible for competition. For heaviest of species and most points awards (trophies to individuals),
a given angler is eligible for only one award per species, per category. An eligible catch
may count for only one club! In case of ties, duplicate awards will be given. *Merit Award: Under this category, each club will be entitled to one
certificate, which will be awarded to a member of the respective clubs at each clubs
discretion. It being understood that this award was created to give recognition to anglers
who have not shared in other awards of the contest but who have contributed to the success
of the contest or his/her clubs participation in the contest in other ways. Value to the
NYSFC should be a prime criteria. Most Striped Bass - Out Of
State: This category is separate from all others. That is,
Out of State striped bass entries are not eligible for Heaviest of Species awards, and
points compiled under this category will not be credited to any other category. Released Fish Points:
An eligible catch may be released in good condition by a
participating member. Released fish will receive one point per pound as credit toward
winning the Most Released Points award for his club. The
points accumulated in this category will not be added to any other category but are for
use in this category only! There are no restrictions for the number of fish that may be
entered in this category (released fish) each month. Thus, if the members of a given club
catch more than ten (10) eligible fish per species for a given month, the excess may also
be submitted for release points although no points for other categories will be credited.
These fish must be weighed by either method 5B II or 5B III.While entry blanks
appropriately filled out, signed and indicating that the fish was released must be
submitted to the club reporting officer for other categories, those qualifying for
released points only need not be forwarded to the contest officer. The club reporting officer should total his clubs complete release points
for the month and enter this total in the release points space provided on the monthly
reporting tally sheet. Entry blanks for released points are
kept on file by the club reporting officer until December 31st of the contest year. To
clarify, only those entry blanks pertaining to a clubs top ten (10) per species monthly
entries, Out of State, and Women's and Children's Divisions must be forwarded to the
Contest Officer. Special Citations:
Women's Division:
An award will be given to the women catching the largest (heaviest) specimen of each
species for the year.
All woman over the age of 18, who are affiliated with the club by
marriage or a daughter of a paying member, who's club has a family membership, will be
eligible for the Woman's Division. Woman who are club dues paying members are also
eligible for this category. Dues paying woman can also enter their fish for points in the
overall standings to help their clubs total. Largest Bass,
Largest Bluefish, Largest Weakfish
Children's Division:
An award will be given to the son or daughter catching the largest (heaviest) specimen
of each species for the year. Only children, who are not active members of the
participating club, who are under 18 years of age, and are sons and daughters of active
club members in good standing are eligible for these awards. **In
order to be eligible, the individual wife or child must cast, hook, battle, and land their
catch without assistance. Another angler may help drag or gaff a fish for the wife or
child at the surf zone only! Prizes:
The Fisherman magazine will select
and award prizes as prescribed by the rules of this contest.
Thank you
The Fisherman
