Events Showcase

Although the Captain’s Meeting is not Mandatory, it is the responsibility of the participant to be familiar with all rules and regulations including any new rules added since last tournament.  It is also the responsibility of the participant to pick up their Captain’s Bag and shirt if you registered as one of the first 50 adult participants.  Any bags not picked up at Captain’s meeting, will be available at weigh in. All bags not collected by end of weigh in will be available on a first come first served basis to those who were not guaranteed a bag and shirt.

Please Read all rules before you

Register here

Mobile Bay Kayak Fishing Association
13th Annual Bagwell Kayak Fishing Tournament Rules

1. Participation and Eligibility. Participation in the adult category is open to anyone 16 years of age or older. Participants in the youth category must be 15 or younger as of the day of the tournament. Youth participants must submit an entry form with a parent or legal guardian signature on the release form. A completed entry form, waiver, and entry fee must be received no later than the published entry date. All participants represent that they are physically and mentally competent and fit and able to participate. By entering, all participants agree to assume all risks of personal injury, death, and damage to or loss of property and further agree to indemnify and hold MBKFA, its officers, members, agents, and sponsors harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, and causes of action resulting directly or indirectly from participation. All youth participants must be supervised by a parent or legal guardian while participating in the tournament.

2. Pre-Registration And Captains Meeting. Registration will open Friday, September 27, 2019. The registration fee for this event is set at $50.00 for adult and $20.00 for youth anglers(under 16). The first 50 adult registrants will be guaranteed a captain’s bag and shirt. Beginning October 16, 2019 through the Captains Meeting on October 25, 2019 at 6:30pm, A $10 late fee will be added to the registration fee. Tournament fees will be accepted via PayPal through the online registration form or in person at the Captain’ Meeting via credit card/cash. Attendance to the Captains Meeting is NOT MANDATORY for participants. If a contestant is unable to attend the Captains Meeting, they must be pre-registered and complete a wavier prior to being allowed to participate in the tournament. The Captains Meeting will be held on October 25, 2019 at our title Sponsor Mediterranean Sandwich Company’s Airport Blvd. location in Mobile at 6:30pm.

3. Safety. Safe boating must be observed at all times. During competition each contestant is required to comply with US Coast Guard and Alabama State Regulations including the possession of a PFD and sounding device. If you find yourself in an emergency situation please call 911 or channel 16 on a VHF radio. If you plan to launch your vessel before sunrise or low visibility situations, you will be required to have a white light producing device capable of producing a 360 degree visual signal to avoid collision with other vessels as defined by USCG regulations, however no line shall be in the water until 5:00 am.

4. Lines in the water at 5:00AM. You are permitted to paddle/pedal to your destination prior to 5:00AM, but do so at your own risk. It is advised to use a light on your kayak and/or follow your local laws in regards of paddling/pedaling prior to sunrise.

5. Weigh In. The weigh in station will be operational between the hours of 4:00pm to 5:00pm on Saturday, October 26, 2019. Any anglers in line at the weigh-in station at The Bluegill in Spanish Fort, AL at the 5:00pm cutoff time will be allowed to weigh in their catch. If an angler arrives after the 5:00 pm deadline, the catch will not qualify. There will be no exceptions to the rule. Official time will be kept by the Tournament Director and/or Weigh master at the weigh-in station. Anglers are strongly urged not to wait until the last minute to submit their catch for weigh-in.

***ALL COMPETITORS MUST WEIGH IN THEIR OWN CATCH***
All competitors must check in with legal fish (Alabama Fish and Game Regulations) to be eligible for tournament prizes. All fish submitted for weigh-in must be fresh and caught the day of the tournament. The weigh master(s) will make decisions on accepting fish for weigh-in, their decision is final. Any attempt to enter fraudulent catch, tamper with catch, or to hamper or threaten any official of the tournament will result in immediate disqualification and shall receive a lifetime ban from all MBKFA tournaments/events. Only authorized persons will be allowed in the stations. Fish will be weighed in the order in which they are checked in. You may wish to use ice and a cooler to keep your catch fresh. All weighed fish will be notched to indicate the fish has been processed at the weigh in station. The largest fish will be determined by weight. In the event of a tie, the first fish entered will be considered the winner, and the other will be dropped to the next position.
NOTE: No one besides the Director and/or Weigh Master will be allowed behind the weigh-in table area. No sponsor or fishing participant shall touch fish once it is handed over to Weigh Master. Violation to this rule will disqualify the fish from entering in the contest.

6. Communications. The use of mobile communications (cell, FM, VHF) is allowed and encouraged. Due to the lack of radio devices, the primary mode of mobile communications will be cell phones. The command post will be located at BlueGill Restaurant 3775 Battleship PKWY, Spanish Fort, AL 36527. Command Post telephone numbers may be issued at the Captain's Meeting.

7. Sportsmanship. All contestants are required to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, and conservation. Any use of drugs, participation in criminal activities, or other conduct reflecting unfavorably upon our efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, fair competition, and/or compliance with tournament rules are grounds for immediate disqualification and return of any prizes awarded.

8. Permitted Fishing Methods. All fish must be caught via hook and line. The selection of baits is up to the discretion of the participant.
For adult division, all fish must be caught from the kayak, canoe or other paddle craft. No wade fishing or shore fishing is permitted unless the kayak is tethered to the angler.
For youth division, participants may fish from kayak, pier, or bank.For the purpose of eligibility of this tournament no angler is allowed to have lines in the water prior to 5:00am.

9. No Motors. The use of a boat or motorized water vehicle to transport your boat on the water (mothership) is prohibited. All craft must be powered by human effort-no motorization or engines are allowed. Canoes and paddle vessels other than kayaks are permitted. Consideration will be given to special needs, disabled, or handicap participants who apply for a waiver prior to the event.

10. Fishing/Launching Locations. Fishing boundaries are Alabama state lines. This includes all public waters between Mississippi and Florida state lines. Fishing in private waters, i.e. ponds, etc. will not be permitted. You must launch from a publicly accessible location. Launching from private property or outside the Alabama State lines is prohibited.

11. Other. During competition contestants may not obtain or receive assistance including but not limited to following a non-competitor's boat, the placing of markers by a non-competitor, being towed or riding motorized vessels, or receiving electronic, voice, or data communications from non-competitors. All USCG and Alabama Fish and Game regulations are in effect at all times.

12. Scoring. Fish must be compliant with the Alabama Fish and Game Commission regulations to count. In the event of a tie the entry checked in earliest will be declared the winner. The tournament director is responsible for the final call in all matters. All fish must be caught using hook and line method. In the event a Full Slam(1-redfish, 1-trout, 1-flounder) is not submitted or less than 3 Full Slams are submitted, the “2 Fish Slam Rule” will go into effect. Anglers submitting any two of the three “Slam” fish will be “bumped” up to the Slam category, in order of weight, until all places are filled. Subsequently, all anglers in the category the “bumped” angler was “bumped” from will advance one place in that category(i.e second place angler will become first place).

13. Tandems/Sharing. It is permissible for more than 1 entrant to share the same paddle vessel. However each paddler/angler must be a registered participant.

14. Protest. All protest must be made in writing and delivered to a tournament official within 30 minutes of the check-in time. The tournament director is the final authority in all considerations.

15. Release of Liability and Covenant Not to take legal action. A waiver, release of liability, and covenant not to sue are part of the entry form. It is required that all contestants take responsibility for themselves while participating in event activities.

16. Rule Changes. Rules interpretation is Exclusively left to the Tournament Director. The decisions of the Tournament Director are final in all matters and are not subject to appeal.

17. Weather Cancellation. In event the tournament director deems conditions unsafe for the tournament to proceed on October 26th, a tournament make-up date will be announced.

18. Captain’s Bags and Shirts. The first 50 adult registrants, will be guaranteed a Captain’s bag and Shirt. If a participant is guaranteed a captains bag and/or shirt; and is unable to attend either the Captain’s meeting or the Weigh-in; it is completely the responsibility of that registrant to pre-arrange or assign someone else to pickup his/her Captain’s Bag and/or shirt. If no effort is made to pickup your bag and/or shirt at either location, MBKFA reserves the right to offer any leftover bags and/or shirts to any tournament participant who did not receive these items, due to late registration, on a first come first served basis. MBKFA assumes no responsibility for any bags not picked up or claimed by the end of the weigh-in event.

Categories: (Please pay close attention to the Footnotes regarding Redfish and Trout)

Inshore Slam (Redfish*, Specked Trout**, and Flounder)
1st, 2nd and 3rd Places

Individual Categories for each inshore species.

Redfish*
1st, 2nd and 3rd Places

Speckled Trout**
1st, 2nd and 3rd Places

Flounder
1st, 2nd and 3rd Places

Leopard Redfish*(Most Individual Spots. All spots touching will be counted as 1 spot)
1st Place Only

Bass
1st, 2nd and 3rd Places

Flounder Jackpot ($10 Entry) Winner takes all

Youth (Must be 15 or under day of Tournament)
1st and 2nd Places
3 (or less) heaviest fish. Any combination of the following species: Speckled Trout**, Redfish*, Flounder, White Trout or Bass. ONLY ONE REDISH IS ALLOWED in aggregate.

*SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT REDFISH:
All Redfish submitted for entry into the tournament will be measured to ensure compliance with the Alabama Game and Fish Commission Rules and Regulations for “Slot” size. Alabama Slot is 16” to 26”.
All Redfish submitted will be measured by “Pinched Tail” method. Any Redfish which touches the 26” mark with pinched tail will be disqualified from the competition.

**SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT SPECKLED TROUT:
As of August 1, 2019 Spotted Sea Trout (aka Speckled Trout) has a slot of 15”-22” with one(1) allowed over slot. For the purposes of this tournament, participants are allowed to bring in one(1) trout over 22” in accordance with this new law. Trout will be measured “Pinched Tail”.  There will be no culling of over Slot Trout. Once you decide to keep an over-slot trout all other over-slot trout are to be released. Violation of this rule will result in disqualification of all fish.

 

Please Read all rules before you Register here.

Weigh-in Location: Riviere Du Chien

Format: Heaviest 4 Fish Stringer any combination of Flounder, Red, Trout.