Ill be fishing the tournament for the first time and had a couple of questions about weigh in. Does the line at the scales get long? If so, what would be a good amount of time to plan for? Also, how crazy is it to trailer from the weigh in? Is the traffic too much to mess with? Thanks for any help you veterans can offer.

Anyone know where I can find the rules?

this is my first time doing it and i talked to a guy that has fished it a few year and he told me this "if you have a fish you want to weigh then weigh it dont wait around" its kinda hard to plan when you want to weigh in if there is 1000 anglers my game plan is if i dont catch a big one early ill start listening to the broad cast on the radio and try and see what the weights look like then if i seem confident i got one that can compete ill run in with about 30 min left in the hour thats just my opinion

Will be very difficult to trailer. Because you may be walking from the hiway. Best to go by boat in my experience.

Crazy thought here. If I was to trailer and leave my partner to keep fishing, Could I drive the truck without a boat on the trailer and fish in a aerated type of holder and bring the fish to the weigh in? Then park on the highway jump on a 4 wheeler and go to weigh in. Is there anything in this system that would be against the rules?

Ive never fished fork big bass splash tournament but I have fished the sam rayburn and toledo ones. From my experience there was never a long line to weigh in, the weigh in is every hour. The only thing that is crazy is the end of the tournament when you go to pick up your check. Im thinking about fishing the fork one this year too.

As long as you are in line before the end of the hour you can weigh it for that hour ( I think ). When you weigh a fish you can not leave the weigh in site untill you are no longer in the running for a check. If you catch a fish in the first five minutes of the tournament don't go weigh it then or you will be setting at the weigh in site for the next hour until you are allowed to leave and return to fishing. You will want to weigh your fish at the end of each hour or check and see what has been weighed in already.

the angler has to be there with the boat they fished in.. this is in case they do a boat check which could happen if you get a check... At least thats how I remember it..

The partner also has to be there, i think.

I've fished McD's a few times and the Skeeter Owners tourney 10+. I'll give you a couple of tips.

1. Make sure the fish you take to the weigh in is < 16" or >24". when measuring - Flip the fish and measure it on both sides. I've seen several guys try to weigh in a slot fish and get a ticket and DQ'd.

2. 5 Mins before the hour, the line will get long - especially the last hour. Time spent running to the Weigh in is valuable, so unless you really think you're 2.2lb'er is going to cash a check you might want to hold off. Take a radio and listen to what is winning each hour and make your decision.

3. No matter how "secret" you think your spot is... there will 25 boats within a T shot of you anywhere on the lake, especially Caney & Mustang. Be prepared and be careful early as there a bunch of idots hauling Ace with little regard to what they are doing and who it affects. If you decide to fish in the boat lane = BAD Idea! not worth the danger you put yourself in.

I'm sure there's more..

JD

+1....

Also don't forget if you do get a check you will have to take a polygraph. That takes at least an hour. It can take more depending on how the guys in front of you do.

i got 2 checks at mcdonalds at fork last yr. i never had to take a polygraph....they are done at random and im sure all major prize winners do have to take them..

I won an hourly last year, I didn't get a polygraph. They did check to make sure my partner was also entered and legal and did a boat check for kill switch, horn and life vests. The line wasn't very long when I weighed any of my fish. I would think trailering would be a huge pain if it's within the rules. The lines last year where horrible at the ramps. Hopefully there will be a few more Ramps open this year.

Hmmmm....

Then they have relaxed that rule since the last time I fished one probably 3 years ago. They polygraphed everyone that won an hour.