General Tournament Rules

1. Rules, including published rules in print or on the Bisbee's website (www.bisbees.com), are subject to change without notice. Additional instructions are given at the Captains'/Anglers' Meeting for each event, where attendance by at least one team member is mandatory. It is the sole responsibility of the participating anglers, captains, crews and guests ("Participants") to know and abide by the Tournament Rules. By entering one of the Bisbee's Tournaments and paying the entry fee, Participants agree to abide by the Tournament Rules and accept the decisions made by the Tournament Organizers as final.
2. Nature of Tournament: The Bisbee's Tournaments are fishing competitions. Participants enter at their own risk, and understand the possibility exists that there may be no winners if no qualifying fish are caught.
3. Tournament Start: The official start of each fishing day is a "Shotgun Start" where boats line up and wait for the firing of the start flare. Boats must be behind the start line 15 minutes prior to the Shotgun Start. Any boat not clearly behind the start line at this time is disqualified from the day's fishing. Boats disqualified for this violation a second time are disqualified from the entire event, and the team forfeits any and all entry money, prizes or prize money. The start line is defined at the Captains'/Anglers' Meeting and/or over the tournament's VHF radio channel on each fishing morning.
4. Bait Fishing Prior to Tournament Start: Teams may attempt to catch or purchase bait until 15 minutes prior to the official start time. At this time, all fishing lines and teasers must be removed from the water and nothing may be transferred between boats.
5. Hand-Offs Between Vessels: From 15 minutes prior to the start of fishing to the end of the tournament's fishing hours, no vessel entered in the tournament may be involved in the handing off or receiving of anything from another vessel whether that vessel is entered in the tournament or not, or any other entity of any sort including bait receivers. The Tournament Organizers may choose to grant special permission in advance to waive this rule if someone's personal safety or health is at risk.
6. Fishing Times: East Cape Offshore: 6:30am-4:00pm; Los Cabos Offshore and Black & Blue: 7:00am-5:00pm.
7. A fish hooked prior to end of fishing may be fought until boated, released or lost provided the team arrives at the weigh station prior to its closing for the day if they have a fish to weigh or release to report.
8. Weigh Station Hours: East Cape Offshore: 12:00pm-7:00pm; Los Cabos Offshore and Black & Blue: 2:00pm-9:00pm.
9. Extended or Shortened Fishing Hours: The Tournament Organizers reserve the privilege of changing the starting and ending of fishing times to coincide with weather, tides, and improved probability of better fishing conditions. Fishing hours will not be changed during the tournament unless all teams are included, and no qualifying fish have been caught and/or released.
10. Weather and "Complete Tournament": Should any government officials beyond the control of the Tournament Organizers cancel any scheduled tournament fishing day(s) because, in their judgment, unsafe conditions exist at sea, resumption of fishing will be announced by 6:00am the following morning on the tournament's VHF radio channel and be posted on the tournament's web-site. A resumption of fishing announcement by the Tournament Organizers does not ensure the safety of any participant. Whether or not to fish must be based solely on the team's own judgment taking into consideration the prevailing conditions, the seaworthiness of their vessel, and the crew's seamanship skills. All attempts will be made to fish as many days as possible, but as little as one day of fishing or any part thereof constitutes a complete tournament.
11. Cancelled Fishing Days: Should any fishing day(s) be cancelled, the other scheduled fishing days that are fished per the original schedule will constitute a tournament. No additional fishing days will be added to a tournament due to the cancellation of any fishing day(s).
12. Cancellation of Entire Tournament: If for reasons beyond the control of the Tournament Organizers, a tournament must be canceled prior to any portion of the scheduled fishing days, the portion of Entry Fees and Optional Jackpot monies that were allocated for cash awards will be refunded by check within four weeks to the Team Contact-one check per team. Teams may choose to roll their refund amount to any of the following year's events.
13. No Qualifying Fish Caught Refunds: In the event no qualifying fish are caught during the tournament 100% of the entry fees that were allocated for cash awards are refunded by check within four weeks to the Team Contact-one check per team. Teams may choose to roll their refund amount to any of the following year's events.
14. Boundaries and Grid Maps: Teams must fish within the boundaries laid out by the Tournament's Grid Charts. East Cape Offshore: 50 mile radius from host resort. Black & Blue and Los Cabos Offshore: 50 mile radius from Cabo San Lucas.
15. Communications and Tournament Standings: The VHF radio channels, backup channels and telephone numbers used to contact Radio Control and Tournament Officials are provided during the Captains'/Anglers' Meeting and on the tournament's VHF radio channel prior to the start of fishing. Tournament standings are broadcast every morning over the radio, and fish weights are announced as fish are weighed.
16. Reporting Catch to Radio Control and Official Time: When a fish is hooked, captains must report to Radio Control the Boat Name, Angler Name, Grid Area and Species. The boat captain must again report to Radio Control when the fish is lost, released or boated. In addition, fish still being fought at lines out must be reported to Radio Control as soon as possible. Times are recorded to the whole minute. The time recorded by Radio Control is the official time. Due to radio traffic congestion during the last minutes of a fishing day, in any instance where Radio Control did not have a hook up recorded prior to lines out, and the team is reporting a fish as being so, the Tournament Organizers will determine the fish's qualification on a per instance basis.
17. Any team intentionally reporting wrongful information to Radio Control for the purpose of altering tournament standings or results is disqualified from the event, and forfeits any and all entry money, prizes or prize money.

18. Species, Points, Penalty Points and Disqualification:

    BLACK & BLUE MARLIN TOURNAMENT

    SPECIES	PTS / POUND	PTS / RELEASE	MINIMUM	LIMIT TO WEIGH
    Blue Marlin	1 (one)	300	300 lbs	1 / angler / day and 2 / boat / day
    Black Marlin	1 (one)	300	300 lbs	1 / angler / day and 2 / boat / day
    Striped Marlin	n/a	0	release only	n/a
    Sailfish	n/a	0	release only	n/a
    Spearfish	n/a	0	release only	n/a

    EAST CAPE AND LOS CABOS OFFSHORE

    SPECIES	PTS / POUND	PTS / RELEASE	MINIMUM	LIMIT TO WEIGH
    Blue Marlin	1 (one)	300 pts	300 lbs	1 / angler / day and 2 / boat / day
    Black Marlin	1 (one)	300 pts	300 lbs	1 / angler / day and 2 / boat / day
    Striped Marlin	n/a	25 pts	release only	n/a
    Sailfish	n/a	25 pts	release only	n/a
    Spearfish	n/a	25 pts	release only	n/a
    Dorado	1 (one)	n/a	30 lbs	1 / team / day
    Tuna	1 (one)	n/a	40 lbs	1 / team / day

    
    Black or blue marlin weighing less than 300 lbs. are not eligible for cash awards. All weighed marlin weighing less than 300 lbs. are awarded zero points and also penalized 25 points plus two points for every pound under 300. 
    EXAMPLE: A 290 lb. blue marlin would be awarded 0 points and be penalized 25 points plus 20 points (2pts. x 10lbs.), making the total points for the fish negative forty-five (-45) points. 
    All of a team's negative points from all of their non-qualifying fish will be combined and deducted from the team’s largest qualifying black or blue marlin. 
    This pertains to the tournament overall prize categories only and not daily jackpots. East Cape and Los Cabos Offshore Tournaments: Tuna weighing less than 40 lbs. and Dorado weighing less than 30 lbs. are simply disqualified.

19. Official Billfish Release: A billfish is considered officially released when the leader connection is wound to the tip of the rod, or when a person touches the leader.
20. Billfish Scorecards: Scorecards for all fishing days will be given to teams entered in the Release Category at registration. Scorecards are compared to radio logs for verification. Scorecards must be signed by the Boat Captain indicating they agree to the information as recorded. All billfish released or boated must be recorded on the Billfish Scorecard (you do not need to record gamefish on the scorecard). Scorecards must be turned in at the Weigh Station or a photo of it emailed to Release@Bisbees.com or uploaded on the CatchStat mobile app on the same day the fish were caught prior to the day's Weigh Station Closing Time. If you did not catch a billfish you do not have to turn in a scorecard.
21. Any team intentionally recording wrongful information on the scorecards for the purpose of altering tournament standings or results is disqualified from the event, and forfeits any and all entry money, prizes or prize money.
22. Billfish Release Video/Photo Verification: Teams must verify their catch by taking digital video/photos of billfish as they are released. Collectively, the VIDEOS/PHOTOS MUST SHOW TWO THINGS, the mate's hand on the leader and/or the leader connection touching the rod's tip, AND identify the billfish species. If it can not be determined that it is a black or blue marlin. No points will be awarded. Teams must provide their own digital cameras and make sure the date and time on the camera is correct. Videos/Photos must be turned in at the Weigh Station or emailed to Release@Bisbees.com on the same day the fish were caught prior to the day's Weigh Station Closing Time. NEW: Electronic submission is available via the CatchStat mobile app (iOS/Android) or via the web at https://bisbees.catchstat.com. To use it, a team member's email must be on the team roster and correctly linked in CatchStat so that the "My Teams" page is visible after sign-in. If you cannot access My Teams, you can contact Tournament Control to have your email linked. No additional videos/photos will be accepted after the weigh station closes. For each fish caught, videos/photos must include the "daily release card". Any release photos posted on the website are for entertainment purposes only, and not all release photos are posted.
23. Weigh-In Procedures: Upon the weigh station opening each fishing day, fish will be weighed in the order of boat arrival to the weigh station unloading dock. Should more than one boat be at the weigh station prior to opening, the fish will be weighed in the order of arrival. All fish must be weighed at the tournament's official weigh station. Weigh station officials will continue to weigh fish for all boats that arrive prior to the following deadlines:
    • East Cape Offshore: Must be in front of the weigh station by 7:00pm on all days.
    • Los Cabos Offshore: Must be inside of the harbor jetties by 9:00pm on all days*.
    • Black & Blue: Must be inside of the harbor jetties by 9:00pm all three days*.
    • * As verified by a Tournament Observer at the jetties.
24. ANY marlin brought onboard a boat must be weighed. A fish is considered "onboard" when more than 50% of the fish is inside the boat.
25. Weighed fish become the property of the tournament.
26. Fish must be brought to the scales on the boat on which they were caught.
27. Fish to be weighed must be presented to the weigh station on the same day they are caught.
28. The angler must remain with the fish throughout the weigh-in.
29. Before leaving the scales, the angler must verify weight information, sign the Weigh-In Form and provide a telephone number where they can be reached.
30. The rod, reel, line, leader, lure and hook(s) must accompany each fish to be weighed and presented to the Weighmaster.
31. Any fish brought to the weigh station may have its mouth sealed closed. However, once the Weighmaster has raised the fish on the scale the angler will be asked to remove whatever is sealing the mouth closed and clip any external leader material to the outer edge of the fish's mouth. Except for artificial lures, nothing will be pulled from inside the fish. Whatever may fall from the fish due to gravity remains out when determining the fish's weight.
32. A team intentionally mutilating a fish for the purpose of altering tournament standings or results is disqualified from the event and forfeits any and all entry money, prizes or prize money.
33. Breaking Ties: Ties between two or more fish that weigh the same are broken by the time the fish were weighed. Point ties in the Release Categories are broken by the official time that the final releases were made to obtain the final amount of points. In other words, the first team to reach the amount of final points is the winner. Times are recorded to the whole minute.
34. Polygraph Examination: One person from each team that is receiving a cash award must complete a polygraph examination. This person must have been directly involved with either the release or the capture of the fish (angler, captain or wireman). The final selection of the person to receive the examination is made by Tournament Officials. Failure to comply, or failing the examination, results in a disqualification of the entire team and the team forfeits any and all entry money, prizes or prize money.
35. Release of All Claims: (This section should be carefully read by each Participant). In consideration for being accepted by the Tournament Organizers for participation in Bisbee's Black & Blue Marlin Tournament, Bisbee's East Cape Offshore Tournament or Bisbee's Los Cabos Offshore Tournament ("the Tournaments"), the Participants hereby release, forever discharge, and agree to hold harmless the Tournaments, Tournament Promotions, Inc., Torneos y Clinicas de Pesca Deportivas Offshore, S.A. de C.V and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, volunteers, partners, members, and/or attorneys (collectively the "Releasees") for any and all losses, claims, or demands of any kind whatsoever arising from the negligence of the Releasees or from any other cause connected with, or occurring during the Tournament. The Participants expressly acknowledge that he/she has received, reviewed, and agrees to abide by the Tournament Rules and this Release. Furthermore, the Participants expressly acknowledge that activities relating to deep sea fishing are extremely dangerous and involve the risk of serious injury or death. Having so acknowledged, the Participants hereby assume full responsibility for the risk of bodily injury or death due to the negligence or gross negligence of the Releasees or any other cause connected with or occurring during the Tournament.
36. Disputes/Protests: All disputes, protests, claims, differences or controversies relating to any aspect of the Tournament, including, without limitation, Tournament Rules, must be submitted in writing to the Tournament Organizers no later than twelve (12) hours following the official closing of the Tournament Weigh Station on the day the supposed infraction occurred. All such disputes shall be ruled on by the Tournament Organizers and shall be final and binding upon all parties.
37. Participation: The Participants specifically agree that any photograph, motion picture, or audio recording in which they appear or are heard in may be used by Tournament Promotions, Inc. for any purpose whatsoever including, but not limited to, resale, advertising, and promotional material without compensation or restriction of any kind.