I'm going to organize some bank fishing tournaments in the DFW area in the coming months. I'd like there to be entry fees and money / prizes given out to the winners to help generate interest. I'd like some feedback / ideas on rules, regulations, etc.

To make it fun, we could target different species at each tournament and also once in a while have a anything goes tournament. I'm a fan of k.i.s.s. (keep it simple stupid) so I would just like to have prizes for the total weight of fish caught (1st - 3rd places) and a seperate prize for the heaviest fish of the day. ?

We could have different tournaments for:
Panfish - (Bluegill, Sunfish, Crappie, etc.)
Largemouth Bass - Would be tough, but fun!
Carp & Buffalo
Gar - (Longnose, Spotted, Alligator)
Catfish - (Channel, Blue, Flathead)
Anything Goes! - (Over a pre-determined length, weight)

Since we don't want stringers of fish or holding nets, we would need a couple of judges at each event to verify the catch, weight and release of each fish and to also record the data of the catch.

I'm doing external research on the legal aspects of money being involved, but if anyone else has any experience with this, please chime in with your thoughts. I want to advertise the tournaments so being legal is 100% a requirement.

Speaking of money, I'd like the entry fees to be as low as possible while still providing enough prize money to interest anglers. (100% Pay back for prizes from entry fees.) So what do you think would be a fair price for entry fees? I'm already contacting sponsors for prizes, etc.

As far as rules go, so far off the top of my head:

Rods: 1 per angler.
Hooks: Any size, single hooks only.
Lines: Any weight, 1 hook (or lure) per line.

Thanks for any feedback you can offer.

what about a tornument on the bank till about 12:00 because every one has a chance of catching some thing then till 3:00 any where on the lake

Id like to hear more about this, Theyre are so many good anglers that understand principle but do not have the opt to have a boat they simply just dont get reconized for theyre fishing, i think its a swell idea!Theyre are probably a num of reasons why, but this way we can bring the community of fisherman together both novice and Pro

Let me know, this is a good idea

"CrappieDale"

Thanks for the comments, keep em coming. I think it would be great to schedule 6 tournaments a year, one every 2 months.

(In no particular order:)

1) Panfish
2) Carp, Buffalo
3) Bass
4) Catfish
5) Gar
6) Multi Species

I'd be in as long as there were local. I think it would be fun.
I'm not sure how you would keep people from catching fish and putting them on a stringer the night before.

Sounds fun though!

I'm gonna own the carp/buff tournament with my float rod

Good idea man

I have an IGFA cert. scale yall can use.

As things progress there will be an official call for help. Keep the thoughts, ideas coming. This IS going to happen and should be a blast for everyone involved.

"I'm not sure how you would keep people from catching fish and putting them on a stringer the night before."

Each tourney will have a pre-selected stretch of bank where the tournament will be held. We'll also randomly determine where each angler will fish the morning of the tournament.

What I'd like immediate feedback on is how much each person would be willing to pay in entry fees? This also determines prize potential to attract other anglers so this is fairly important. Hopefully though even if the money isn't that great, prizes and "a good time for all" will make up for it.

Excellent! We'll also have printed out forms to fill out incase a record fish is caught during the tourney.

One last bump to hopefully get feedback on what a fair entry fee price would be.

Depending on what kind of fish it is for, I would pay up to $15-$20

We've had several carp tournaments in the area over the past couple years, and the entry fee was about $20. That seemed to be a fair price to most people--not too expensive, but enough to provide a nice pot for the winner(s).

$20 is good.

$20.00 sounds like a good starting point, thanks for the feedback.

you might waht to have a "zone" system. a predertermined bank area with diffrerent zones . that way every anglers has a chance to fish all the areas on the bank. This wa nobody can hold on the best spot all day long. You could do a random drawing of who starts where and the rotate every 30 min to and hour. Just an idea for you. Sounds like it could be a fun event , as long as you keep is fun and not about the money, more about the fellowship and braggin rights!!

Try to use the K.I.S.S. method here. Starting to get too complicated.

I think this to be a great idea. I would like to ask about a junior tourny, or if juniors would be allowed to participate. I am 16 and I have no boat, so a bank tourny would be awesome. i would pay anything below $25.00 entry fee. I would like to see one of these tournament at Ray Hubbard. It is the only lake i can get to and is relatively good on fish size and variety. This would be a great break from fishing the small, weed infested pond by my house. Great idea.

There could also be a limit to the number of fish you can enter for the total weight. I mean that you could still catch as many fish as time allows you to catch, but the total weight should only use a certain number of fish as some anglers will have caught more fish than others.

I would be interested in the panfish one, 20 $ sounds good also.

All ages will be welcome. Lots of good feedback here, thank you so much.

I love the "zone rotation" idea.

This 100% is going to happen. Stay tuned....

When you figure it out, I will donate some tff stuff, and lure packs for you guys. I wouldnt mind coming out and checking it out and meeting some guys. Sounds like a really fun idea, I would even consider bringing my son . I could also bring a igloo full of kool aid or ice water. Lemme know if you need anything via PM.

I'm down.
What about wading?
One rod only? Two would be very reasonable, I'd think at least. Single hooks only? No crankbaits?

I'll come take your money whenever you want.

As far as rules go, so far off the top of my head:

Rods: 1 per angler at a time (more rod can be usedjust 1 at a time).
Hooks: Any size, single hooks only.
Lines: Any weight, 1 hook (or lure) per line.
live bait,artifical, and cut bait allowed
all legal size limits/minimums must be enforced


maybe a fun thing to do (only a suggestion) is to have a $5 fee kids div. (under 12)


good stuff guys!

Great feedback guys, very much appreciated. As far as the rules go, I still like the idea of one rod, but you can have as many in your arsenal as needed. Probably only treble hooks allowed on bass tournaments when most will be using lures. (crank baits, etc)

I will be making an official page soon and will post when it's done. Keep the ideas coming. This is going to be a blast!

Gar and catfish people usually use trebles... would be kinda unfair (esp for gar) to exclude those.

Some people use spinnerbaits for bass.

Where would these tourneys be?