Berkeley Rule Interpretation

It is a little vague. I would think as long at it is not in gear you are okay. They just do not want you moving with the big motor with no PFD on.

This is what I do. Keep your PFD in the driver's seat with the kill switch attached to it. As soon as you sit down in the driver's seat put on the jacket and zip it. Have your partner(s) do the same as soon as you do.

Remember if you win any hour of the event you will be given a polygraph. You just need to be able to say truthfully that you did not knowingly violate any rules of the event.

Why risk it, to me it's such a small difference, why would you need to have the jacket off to sit in neutral anyways? Just treat the rule the same for all tournaments, zip it up before cranking the motor.

Combustion engines do not operate when they're not started. Once started, they're operating whether in gear or not. Why take a chance? Just zip and buckle before you turn they key, then there will be NO room for interpretation and no question in your mind if you have to take a polygraph.

I've never had a self inflating PFD but they look to be very wearable. Just leave it on?

I've never had a self inflating PFD but they look to be very wearable. Just leave it on?

I do the zip and clip before start, tourney or not, by myself or with someone just so it is habit. It is like a seat belt, just a good habit to have in 99.99% of situations.

A polygraph is based on how you interpret the rules. You're only going to fail a polygraph if you think you broke a rule. I personally will put on my PFD and crank the motor. I let it warm up for 3-4 seconds while I'm zipping/clipping my PFD. There's no danger in anything happening while my engine is simply cranked. It is "operating" the minute I put it in gear.

So if I ever take a polygraph I will do fine because in my mind I am 100% legal. I will easily pass.

Here are the rules for B.A.S.S.
http://www.bassmaster.com/sites/default/...es_pro_am_1.pdf



Not saying Berkeley's rules are the same but, read what I highlighted in red. Notice that it states until the combustion engine is shut off. Not taken out of gear. Common sense would tell me if the jacket must remain secured until the engine is shut off it must be secure before the engine is started, too. Interpret however you choose.

Until now, it crosses your mind about this thread and you think about it for just a second and boom the needle bounces and you lost everything

A polygraph is based on how you interpret the rules. You're only going to fail a polygraph if you think you broke a rule. I personally will put on my PFD and crank the motor. I let it warm up for 3-4 seconds while I'm zipping/clipping my PFD. There's no danger in anything happening while my engine is simply cranked. It is "operating" the minute I put it in gear.

So if I ever take a polygraph I will do fine because in my mind I am 100% legal. I will easily pass.

Better safe than sorry, zip it then crank it.

It would take a true jacka$$ to protest a guy for cranking his engine 3-4 seconds before zipping up his PFD.

Before you take a polygraph at a BC sponsored event they will always ask you if there is anything you want to divulge before they start the test. If you did happen to start your motor before you put on your PFD just tell him then.

During the test, he will ask you if there is anything, other than what you have already mentioned prior to the test that you have been untruthful about.

For those that have never taken one, they get you hooked up to the machine then go through a list of questions that are all obviously true to calibrate their machine. Those questions include things like:

Is your name Jimmy Smith?
Do you live at 1224 Topwater Street in McAlester, OK?
Were you born in September?
Do you own a Skeeter boat?


Then they start into the questions on the exam and ask things like:

Did you use only Berkley baits to catch your fish today?
Did you catch all your fish from Lake Fork?
Did you alter the length or weight of the fish you caught today?
Did you use artificial lures today?
Did you accept any fish form any other person today that you did not catch?
Were you under the influence of any controlled substance during the tournament today?
"Other than the time you told me about not putting on your PFD before starting the outboard" did you knowingly violate any rules of the tournament today?

There are a couple more but that's all I can think of at the moment. They will ask you EVERY question before you are hooked up so you will know what is coming. They do not try to trick you or ask you any surprise questions while you are taking the exam.

I've taken quite a few of these for tournaments and employment purposes. Never failed once.

Few years ago I fished Poormans and there was one guy who always was going in and crying about something about me, Always one in a crowd even in a little club

I remember my wife having to take one to get a job quite a few years ago, she lied about her age. Never caught here, I have never believed in them after that.