Ilwaco Tuna Club Invitational August 24, 2024
*To sign up, please download PDF at the bottom of this page and return per instructions on sign up sheet*
Important Dates for Entry
June 15th - Initial Deposit of $1000 gets you in for Early Bird drawing for $500 off entry fee
July 31st - Full entry fee payment ($5000)
August 1st to August 10th - Full entry fee payment plus $500 late entry fee (Total entry becomes $5500)
August 11th and beyond - NO MORE ENTRIES
: **FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE FILL OUT THE SECTION ON THE "CONTACT US" TAB ON THE TOP MENU BAR!*
1. RULES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is the sole responsibility of the participating Captain, crew, and anglers to obtain a copy, read, know, understand, and abide by the tournament’s rules, including but not limited to, any final instructions that may be announced during the captain’s meetings. Rules are subject to change. By entering the events(s) all participants agree to accept the rules of the tournaments and accept all decisions made by the Executive Committee.
2. CAPTAINS MEETING(S)
Captain’s meeting will be held at the Tuna Club at 6pm Friday August 23rd. The Captain from each team must be present at the captains meeting. All anglers, including the captain, must sign and return a Liability Waiver prior to participating in any event.
All vessels participating in the tournament will be inspected following the captains meeting by tournament personnel. No fish can be stored in any holds prior to the tournament day events.
• If teams fished the day before the tournament, they would need to have plans to remove their catch from their vessel prior to tournament day. The Ilwaco Tuna Club will make available fish totes or storage so teams can store their previously caught fish.
Any vessel that is found to have fish in their holds during inspection will be immediately disqualified from the tournament and all entries will be forfeited
3. PERMITS AND LICENSES
All participating anglers must obtain and be in possession of a valid personal fishing license and comply with all Federal, State, and local laws as it pertains to size limits, bag limits and any other regulations that may apply.
4. TOURNAMENT START OFFICAL CLOCK
The main event on Saturday will have an official start time of 6:30 AM. Boats will stage for the sendoff South of the 2SJ Buoy no further west of the 124 04 line. Roll call will start on Channel 11 at 6 AM. There will be an over the radio countdown to the official sendoff on Channel 11. The location of the ending line (demarcation line) will be the Fort Canby Boat Launch. All boats must be present the morning of the event. Each team must be across the pre-determined finish line by 6 pm the day of the event. The Executive Committee reserves the right to change and or cancel a starting time and ending time the morning of the event if it is decided that there is a possible threat of safety due to weather, ocean conditions or anything they deem too dangerous.
5. TOURNAMENT COMMUNICATIONS
The official VHF frequency will be channel 11. It is recommended that all teams monitor the USCG frequency (CH. 16) as well as any specific frequency that will assure the best means of safety from other sport and commercial vessels.
6. WEATHER AND CANCELATION
The Ilwaco Tuna Club does not have a pre-event forecasted weather cancellation policy. A weather advisory will be sent via e-mail to the registered participants, 3:00pm on Thursday prior to the event weekend. The Executive Board of the ITC reserves the right to cancel, at their discretion. If a cancelation is required due to weather we will move the tournament to the following day, August 25th based on forecast conditions. If we are unable to conduct the tournament due to ocean conditions, all tournament entry fees EXCLUDING $1000 will be returned to the teams. (The $1000 will be kept covering the tournament venue, apparel, advertising, etc costs that were incurred) Funds can also be left in to cover $4000 of the following year's tournament.
7. EQUIPMENT AND ANGLING RULES
Only legal methods of sport fishing are permitted which may include rods and reels. No snag hooks, gaff hooks, herring rigs, bow & arrow, jack poles or spears will be allowed. The use of spotter planes is not permitted. No team, during the fishing hours, entered in any of the tournaments may be involved in the handing off or receiving of bait or any type of fish from another vessel whether that vessel is entered in the tournament or not. In the event of an emergency in which the personal safety of someone or property is at risk this rule does not apply and any action necessary can be taken to protect or preserve life or property.
8. FISH HANDLING
All tuna must be:
• Properly bled, slurried and iced per Ilwaco Tuna Club Standards. These standards are as follows.
• Neck cut, NOT GILL CUT (If you are not sure how to do this, please inquire and we will show you)
• Completely bled.
• Placed in a slurry.
• Iced down.
• Keep fish iced from your boat to the weigh in station to
insure adequate chilling.
• Any fish determined to not be bled or iced properly at the weigh in will be disqualified from official team weight (NO EXCEPTIONS).
• Any fish deemed to have anything foreign introduced will lead to disqualification of the team, lifetime ban on future ITC events and forfeiture of prizes. (NO EXCEPTIONS)
• All weighed fish from the top 6 teams along with big fish and pelagic will be gutted after weighing in to confirm no foreign items in the fish
• Only “natural” eaten bait can be in the fish, no stuffing of bait fish into the fish’s mouth or stomach of excess water in stomach
9. TEAM/CREW
A team consists of up to six (6) anglers on the boat fishing. Charters cannot have more than 6 event participants per each vessel.
• Charter boats are allowed to have a 6-person team on the vessel, but the captain and crew make up part of the team
10. CHECK IN
• All teams must be across the predetermined finish line and must check in via the pre-assigned VHF frequency at or before 6:00pm on the day of the event
• No Team may check in until they have crossed the designated finish line.
• Any team that either does not check in or does not cross the finish line before 6:00pm on tournament day will not be able to qualify for the purse.
• If you are crossing close to the cut off time, take a video of your location and the time on your chart plotter to prove that you crossed in time.
• Demarcation line is the Fort Canby Boat ramp NO WAKE zone. Do not speed through the Coast Guard station trying to get back in on time, or when leaving in the morning. NO WAKE means exactly what it says, it’s not a slowdown zone. Please be respectful of the coast guard station, The Fort Canby Boat ramp, and the port of Ilwaco
• There are no exceptions.
11. FISH CHECK IN
• The Official Check in Station will be held at the event weigh in station and will be open starting at 4:00pm. The location of the weigh in station will be communicated at the Captains meeting the night before the event
• Teams will line up in the order they checked in with tournament
control.
• Event day, a total of the five (5) heaviest albacore tuna will be accepted at the official check in station and must be accompanied by a team member to verify your fish are weighed.
• In the event another species of tuna is caught it will be weighed for the Pelagic side pot, but not for the Albacore portion of the tournament.
If no Pelagic fish are caught, the monies will be donated to the local community charities
• All fish should be properly bled after being caught, slurried, and should be packed in ice until they are received for weigh in.
12. OFFICIAL WEIGH IN
The weigh in will be done at the official weigh in location which will be communicated at the Captain’s meeting the night before the event. The weigh in will be complete as soon as all boats that crossed the demarcation line in time, have dropped off their catch
• Mutilated fish will not be accepted or weighed.
• Any participant requesting a fish to be reweighed must do so at the time the fish in question is being weighed.
• The final decision will be determined by the weigh master.
13. TOURNAMENT AWARDS
76% of fees will be paid out as outlined below. The percentages listed are based on 100% remaining pot= 76% of entry fee
Main event Saturday: Entry fee of $5000 with max of 6 anglers per boat. Payout is based on the following:
• This buy-in will enter you into all the side pots as well as the main event
• Side pot pay outs are 24% of REMAINING POT
• Big Albacore Fish – 12% of REMAINING POT
• Smallest Albacore Fish – 2.5% of REMAINING POT
• Pelagic – 9% of REMAINING POT
• Pay outs will be for 1st, 2nd, 3rd , 4th, and 5th place
• 1st – 30% of REMAINING POT
• 2nd – 20% of REMAINING POT
• 3rd – 13% of REMAINING POT
• 4th – 9% of REMAINING POT
• 5th – 4.5% of REMAINING POT
Pelagic is defined as Blue Fin Tuna, Big Eye Tuna, Yellow Fin Tuna, Yellowtail, Jack, Marlin, Opah, Dorado or Swordfish… NO SHARKS WILL BE ALLOWED.
• If no pelagic is caught during the tournament, the monies from the pot will go to the Ilwaco Tuna Club to be given out as a donation/support to local community programs.
Note: Club takes 24% of entry fees
• This covers event costs
• Donations to community
14. TIE BREAKER
If two or more teams’ aggregate weight are the same the winner will be determined by the heaviest single fish from each team. In the event there is still a tie the second heaviest fish will then be used, then the third and so on.
15. PROTESTS
Any protest must be submitted before 7:00pm on the day of the event. The Executive Committee will rule as soon as feasible and if needed will use a polygraph to reach a decision. By submitting a protest and being a registered participant, you agree to the final decision of the Executive Committee.
16. WAIVER
All participants, anglers, crews, and guests must sign a waiver before participating in any events.
17. DISPUTES
All disputes, protests, claims both in writing and verbal arising out of, or in relation to any events associated with the ITC shall be decided by the Executive Committee and shall be final and binding.
18. ETHICS and CONDUCT
Each participant agrees to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity during all facets of the tournament including events prior to, and after the fishing portion. Any unethical or illegal conduct will result in disqualification from the event, and possibility of elimination from future events.
19. PAYOUTS
Tournament payouts will be distributed 1 week after tournament day. This will allow for payout amount confirmation and proper IRS documentation.
**FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE FILL OUT THE SECTION ON THE "CONTACT US" TAB ON THE TOP MENU BAR!
TO SIGN UP, PLEASE DOWNLOAD SIGN UP SHEET BELOW**
1. RULES ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
It is the sole responsibility of the participating Captain, crew, and anglers to obtain a copy, read, know, understand, and abide by the tournament’s rules, including but not limited to, any final instructions that may be announced during the captain’s meetings. Rules are subject to change. By entering the events(s) all participants agree to accept the rules of the tournaments and accept all decisions made by the Executive Committee.
2. CAPTAINS MEETING(S)
Captain’s meeting will be held at the Tuna Club at 6pm Friday August 23rd. The Captain from each team must be present at the captains meeting. All anglers, including the captain, must sign and return a Liability Waiver prior to participating in any event.
All vessels participating in the tournament will be inspected following the captains meeting by tournament personnel. No fish can be stored in any holds prior to the tournament day events.
• If teams fished the day before the tournament, they would need to have plans to remove their catch from their vessel prior to tournament day. The Ilwaco Tuna Club will make available fish totes or storage so teams can store their previously caught fish.
Any vessel that is found to have fish in their holds during inspection will be immediately disqualified from the tournament and all entries will be forfeited
3. PERMITS AND LICENSES
All participating anglers must obtain and be in possession of a valid personal fishing license and comply with all Federal, State, and local laws as it pertains to size limits, bag limits and any other regulations that may apply.
4. TOURNAMENT START OFFICAL CLOCK
The main event on Saturday will have an official start time of 6:30 AM. Boats will stage for the sendoff South of the 2SJ Buoy no further west of the 124 04 line. Roll call will start on Channel 11 at 6 AM. There will be an over the radio countdown to the official sendoff on Channel 11. The location of the ending line (demarcation line) will be the Fort Canby Boat Launch. All boats must be present the morning of the event. Each team must be across the pre-determined finish line by 6 pm the day of the event. The Executive Committee reserves the right to change and or cancel a starting time and ending time the morning of the event if it is decided that there is a possible threat of safety due to weather, ocean conditions or anything they deem too dangerous.
5. TOURNAMENT COMMUNICATIONS
The official VHF frequency will be channel 11. It is recommended that all teams monitor the USCG frequency (CH. 16) as well as any specific frequency that will assure the best means of safety from other sport and commercial vessels.
6. WEATHER AND CANCELATION
The Ilwaco Tuna Club does not have a pre-event forecasted weather cancellation policy. A weather advisory will be sent via e-mail to the registered participants, 3:00pm on Thursday prior to the event weekend. The Executive Board of the ITC reserves the right to cancel, at their discretion. If a cancelation is required due to weather we will move the tournament to the following day, August 25th based on forecast conditions. If we are unable to conduct the tournament due to ocean conditions, all tournament entry fees EXCLUDING $1000 will be returned to the teams. (The $1000 will be kept covering the tournament venue, apparel, advertising, etc costs that were incurred) Funds can also be left in to cover $4000 of the following year's tournament.
7. EQUIPMENT AND ANGLING RULES
Only legal methods of sport fishing are permitted which may include rods and reels. No snag hooks, gaff hooks, herring rigs, bow & arrow, jack poles or spears will be allowed. The use of spotter planes is not permitted. No team, during the fishing hours, entered in any of the tournaments may be involved in the handing off or receiving of bait or any type of fish from another vessel whether that vessel is entered in the tournament or not. In the event of an emergency in which the personal safety of someone or property is at risk this rule does not apply and any action necessary can be taken to protect or preserve life or property.
8. FISH HANDLING
All tuna must be:
• Properly bled, slurried and iced per Ilwaco Tuna Club Standards. These standards are as follows.
• Neck cut, NOT GILL CUT (If you are not sure how to do this, please inquire and we will show you)
• Completely bled.
• Placed in a slurry.
• Iced down.
• Keep fish iced from your boat to the weigh in station to
insure adequate chilling.
• Any fish determined to not be bled or iced properly at the weigh in will be disqualified from official team weight (NO EXCEPTIONS).
• Any fish deemed to have anything foreign introduced will lead to disqualification of the team, lifetime ban on future ITC events and forfeiture of prizes. (NO EXCEPTIONS)
• All weighed fish from the top 6 teams along with big fish and pelagic will be gutted after weighing in to confirm no foreign items in the fish
• Only “natural” eaten bait can be in the fish, no stuffing of bait fish into the fish’s mouth or stomach of excess water in stomach
9. TEAM/CREW
A team consists of up to six (6) anglers on the boat fishing. Charters cannot have more than 6 event participants per each vessel.
• Charter boats are allowed to have a 6-person team on the vessel, but the captain and crew make up part of the team
10. CHECK IN
• All teams must be across the predetermined finish line and must check in via the pre-assigned VHF frequency at or before 6:00pm on the day of the event
• No Team may check in until they have crossed the designated finish line.
• Any team that either does not check in or does not cross the finish line before 6:00pm on tournament day will not be able to qualify for the purse.
• If you are crossing close to the cut off time, take a video of your location and the time on your chart plotter to prove that you crossed in time.
• Demarcation line is the Fort Canby Boat ramp NO WAKE zone. Do not speed through the Coast Guard station trying to get back in on time, or when leaving in the morning. NO WAKE means exactly what it says, it’s not a slowdown zone. Please be respectful of the coast guard station, The Fort Canby Boat ramp, and the port of Ilwaco
• There are no exceptions.
11. FISH CHECK IN
• The Official Check in Station will be held at the event weigh in station and will be open starting at 4:00pm. The location of the weigh in station will be communicated at the Captains meeting the night before the event
• Teams will line up in the order they checked in with tournament
control.
• Event day, a total of the five (5) heaviest albacore tuna will be accepted at the official check in station and must be accompanied by a team member to verify your fish are weighed.
• In the event another species of tuna is caught it will be weighed for the Pelagic side pot, but not for the Albacore portion of the tournament.
If no Pelagic fish are caught, the monies will be donated to the local community charities
• All fish should be properly bled after being caught, slurried, and should be packed in ice until they are received for weigh in.
12. OFFICIAL WEIGH IN
The weigh in will be done at the official weigh in location which will be communicated at the Captain’s meeting the night before the event. The weigh in will be complete as soon as all boats that crossed the demarcation line in time, have dropped off their catch
• Mutilated fish will not be accepted or weighed.
• Any participant requesting a fish to be reweighed must do so at the time the fish in question is being weighed.
• The final decision will be determined by the weigh master.
13. TOURNAMENT AWARDS
76% of fees will be paid out as outlined below. The percentages listed are based on 100% remaining pot= 76% of entry fee
Main event Saturday: Entry fee of $5000 with max of 6 anglers per boat. Payout is based on the following:
• This buy-in will enter you into all the side pots as well as the main event
• Side pot pay outs are 24% of REMAINING POT
• Big Albacore Fish – 12% of REMAINING POT
• Smallest Albacore Fish – 2.5% of REMAINING POT
• Pelagic – 9% of REMAINING POT
• Pay outs will be for 1st, 2nd, 3rd , 4th, and 5th place
• 1st – 30% of REMAINING POT
• 2nd – 20% of REMAINING POT
• 3rd – 13% of REMAINING POT
• 4th – 9% of REMAINING POT
• 5th – 4.5% of REMAINING POT
Pelagic is defined as Blue Fin Tuna, Big Eye Tuna, Yellow Fin Tuna, Yellowtail, Jack, Marlin, Opah, Dorado or Swordfish… NO SHARKS WILL BE ALLOWED.
• If no pelagic is caught during the tournament, the monies from the pot will go to the Ilwaco Tuna Club to be given out as a donation/support to local community programs.
Note: Club takes 24% of entry fees
• This covers event costs
• Donations to community
14. TIE BREAKER
If two or more teams’ aggregate weight are the same the winner will be determined by the heaviest single fish from each team. In the event there is still a tie the second heaviest fish will then be used, then the third and so on.
15. PROTESTS
Any protest must be submitted before 7:00pm on the day of the event. The Executive Committee will rule as soon as feasible and if needed will use a polygraph to reach a decision. By submitting a protest and being a registered participant, you agree to the final decision of the Executive Committee.
16. WAIVER
All participants, anglers, crews, and guests must sign a waiver before participating in any events.
17. DISPUTES
All disputes, protests, claims both in writing and verbal arising out of, or in relation to any events associated with the ITC shall be decided by the Executive Committee and shall be final and binding.
18. ETHICS and CONDUCT
Each participant agrees to conduct themselves with honesty and integrity during all facets of the tournament including events prior to, and after the fishing portion. Any unethical or illegal conduct will result in disqualification from the event, and possibility of elimination from future events.
19. PAYOUTS
Tournament payouts will be distributed 1 week after tournament day. This will allow for payout amount confirmation and proper IRS documentation.
**FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE FILL OUT THE SECTION ON THE "CONTACT US" TAB ON THE TOP MENU BAR!
TO SIGN UP, PLEASE DOWNLOAD SIGN UP SHEET BELOW**
| itc_tournament_sign_up_sheet.pdf |