CRANDIC WALLEYE CLUB TOURNAMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS 2022 CPR events

October 8-9, 2022 Pool 13 Mississippi River Event
Oct 8 - fishing from 7:30 am to 3 pm
Oct 9 - fishing from 7:30 am to 3 pm

in association with Anglers Atlas and the MyCatch App

Part A; 

1. Getting Started 

1. The CRANDIC Walleye Pool 13 Mississippi River Tournament is an online tournament run through Angler’s Atlas website and their mobile app MyCatch.

2. Anyone can participate in the CRANDIC Walleye Pool 13 Mississippi River Tournament and it is for all ages. Registration is currently only able to support individual registration. For those participants sharing a mobile device, participants must login to their own account to submit their catches through the manage accounts feature.

3. This event is free to enter via the MyCatch app but you must register as well with the CRANDIC club. 

4. Catches must be submitted through the MyCatch app for approval.

5. In order for catches to be sent properly, you must use the same login email and password for both the Angler’s Atlas website and the MyCatch app.

6. All contestants must register for the tournament via this URL: https://www.anglersatlas.com/tournament/610/crandic-walleye-tournament-pool-13-mississippi-river-oct-89-2022-2022

7. You will receive an automatic email confirming that you have entered the tournament and that your payment has gone through.

8. Once accepted into the tournament, download the free MyCatch mobile app which is available for both iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play Store) and login to activate the tournament on the app using the same login email and password that you used to register in the tournament.

9. By participating in this event your name may be publicly visible.

10. Protecting anglers’ privacy is a priority, and any location data collected during the tournament will not be released to the public. Our promise to anglers is “Secret Fishing Spots Stay Secret”. See below for further details.

11. A great resource to refer to is our How To Register For A Tournament video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o3PzcIoGo4&t=8s

2. Catch Reporting Rules

1. This event is catch and release only. Eligible species include Walleye, Sauger or Saugeye only.

2. In order for each catch to qualify, a photograph of the fish on a measuring device must be taken using the MyCatch app (ie. photos cannot be uploaded from a photo gallery or other source). NEW APP feature, all entry photos taken properly through the app will now also have an extra security feature with a unique QR scan code attached to each photo in the bottom left corner of each photo. This will help prove the entries are taken through the app.

3. All contestants must have GPS/location services enabled on your cell phone for their catches to qualify. Your location data will be protected. For more information, see details below.

4. This is a total length measurement tournament. NOT fork length. See pic for reference. The total length of a fish is measured from the tip of the nose or jaw to the tip of the tail with the tail pinched.

5. The nose of the fish must be at the start or zero mark on all measuring devices and the total length is taken where the longest length of the tail crosses the measurements on the measuring device. All catches will be approved to the last physical line on a measuring device. If it extends past a mark but there are no physical lines to confirm the true length, the last mark it crosses will be used.

6. The photo must be taken from a birds-eye view looking down on the fish. 

7. All fish must be measured with the right side down (the right side of the fish must be facing down or touching the board) and the left side of the fish facing upwards.   

8. For this event, you must use a commercially available ‘bump board’ that clearly shows the length of the fish. NO tape measures will be accepted. The nose of the fish must be aligned with the start of the measuring board and be clearly touching the ‘bump’, with both the nose and the tail clearly visible in the photograph.

9. Tournament organizers reserve the right to adjust entries.

10. A photo that does not clearly show the overall length of the fish, including head and tail, on the ruler WILL NOT BE SCORED. More than one attempt to get a valid scoring photo is allowed. The app will prompt you to either accept the photo or retake a photo.

11. The mouth must be closed in the pictures submitted

12. There are to be no fingers placed in the gills or mouth of the fish. Any fingers in the gills or mouth of the fish will disqualify that fish. This rule applies to the Measurement photo only (not the hero or release video)

13. A second photo, often called the Hero Shot, must be used and is mandatory for this event. 

14. A third option is a live video release of the fish and is optional for this event. 

15. The app works out of cell range, and catches will synchronize with the server once the user opens the app when back in cell range, or via a wifi signal. Photos are date, time, and location stamped to the moment that they are taken. If the catches are not synced by the prizing deadline, they will not qualify for prizes.

16. Catches that are submitted will be reviewed for approval by the Anglers Atlas Catch Approvals Team with final approval going to Tournament Director - Jim Clarke. The team can be reached via email at [email protected]. Once the submissions are reviewed and approved, they appear immediately on the appropriate leaderboard(s). DO NOT EXPECT to see entries show up immediately after you log them - they have to be approved first

17. IMPORTANT: Arguing against or trying to attribute reason as to why any of the above rules could not be followed will have ZERO bearing on the ruling of a rejected fish. “It was cold/windy” or “My buddy can verify...” will not be considered, and NO exceptions will be made. It is on the angler to review their photo thoroughly and submit an acceptable photo based on the above rules.

18. A great resource is the MyCatch video that shows how to complete an entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqwbAFFQE-w

3. Data Privacy and Fisheries Research

“Secret Fishing Spots Stay Secret” — This is our primary commitment to anglers who report their catches through MyCatch. So what does this mean in practice?

1. Angler’s Atlas does not release MyCatch GPS data to the public. It is treated as confidential and is provided to fisheries researchers under strict conditions.

2. Every research team we work with must sign a data sharing agreement that sets the terms of use for the data.

3. Data is anonymized before it is provided to the researcher.

4. Researchers agree not to share the data with anyone else.

5. Researchers cannot use the data for any purpose other than the research specified in the agreement. 

6. Exact location data cannot be published as part of the scientific research. Instead, it has to be generalized to a larger region so the location cannot be reverse engineered. 

7. Angler’s Atlas may release data to a law enforcement agency if compelled to do so under court order.

These data privacy rules are designed to protect our angler’s private data, to conserve the fisheries, and to make sure we maintain a trusting relationship with our anglers into the future. If anyone has any questions, please feel free to reach out to Angler’s Atlas President directly by email ([email protected]).

Part B;

1. The following rules will remain unchanged, except for special tournaments. Interpretation and enforcement of these rules shall be left exclusively to Tournament Officials. In the event of a rule violation, officials may impose such sanctions, as deemed appropriate including, without limitation, fines, forfeiture of prizes, disqualification and prohibition from participation in future events. Official's decisions shall be final in all matters and will not be subject to appeal.

2. All participants must be active members of the Cedar Rapids and Iowa City Walleye Club prior to entry into any event. Membership deadlines for each event will be announced by the Club and will be between 1 and 2 weeks prior to the event. Memberships expire on 12/31 each year. Memberships are non-transferable and non-refundable. Any person under the age of 18 must have the signature of a parent or legal guardian on the liability release. No persons under age 12 may participate without explicit CRANDIC approval. Participants must enter as two-person teams (no "Partner TBD" or unknown partner names on entry forms). A one-time eligible partner change may be allowed on a reasonable basis as determined by the Tournament Director. Each team must complete, sign and submit an official entry form with payment by the due dates. During any "official" tournament days no contestant or team may use a boat unless they have documented proof of boating liability coverage in reasonable amounts on that particular boat. Proof of insurance must be with the boat at all times. Random checks may be conducted at events. We reserve the right to refuse participation, (including championship/special events), to anyone for any reason including, but not limited to, suspension, disqualification or banning from this or other events, criminal behavior, violation of game laws, or any unsportsmanlike behavior that would reflect dishonorably on our sport.

3. Entries must be completed by the entry deadline for each event. No entries will be accepted or considered on the day of the event. There are no restrictions on how early a team can pre-fish, as long as state law is followed. There are no "official" practice days or off-limits days unless otherwise announced in advance for a specific\special event. A team must be off the water by 5:00 pm on the day prior to a tournament and may not be on the water for any reason after 5:00 pm on the day prior to the tournament.

4. All boats must undergo a pre-launch check-in with livewell and safety inspection and receive a certification of readiness/boat number card immediately prior to launching for the tournament. All boats must receive their boat number card as a certification of inspection and readiness. Each boat must check in with a tournament official and return their boat number card at the end of the event. Failure to return the boat card will result in disqualification for the subject event and the next event on the schedule. All competitors are subject to official inspection, or truth verification testing during and\or after the tournament and agree to facilitate, participate in those inspections at any time requested and abide by their outcome. During tournament hours a competitor may not transmit by any form of communication including but not limited to; cell phone, CB radio, VHF marine band radio, texting, any other type of communication device for the purpose of locating or catching fish or discussing your daily catch of fish, nor receive any form of communication to aid you in the locating or catching of fish. Contestants are permitted to transmit by radio or telephone, texting, Social Media, etc. to submit entries via the MyCatch app or in an emergency. During the competition day(s) competitors may not seek, nor accept the advice or assistance of anyone for the purposes of locating or catching fish or otherwise affecting the daily catch of fish for any reason from anyone except from another confirmed competitor in the same event. During the event officials may board your boat at any time for any reason. No competitor/team or teams may buy or barter a fish, fishing information or a fishing location.

5     Entrants will conduct themselves in a sportsman-like manner. There is a 50 ft. restricted area around other tournament boats. Crowding or contact with other boats, moving in on other contestants or anchoring where another boat is obviously fishing will be treated severely by the Tournament Director. This could cause a team to be disqualified for the day. Planer boards must be kept within 50 feet of the boat.

6. Boats must be 14 ft. minimum and 22 ft. maximum and each boat must have all required safety equipment including a kill switch lanyard for the operator of each boat. Each boat must have an operating freshwater recirculating livewell. All tournament boats must be cleaned of all harmful exotic aquatic species CLEAN, DRAINED and DRY prior to entering the water and upon departure from infected waters.

7. Safe boating conduct must be observed by tournament competitors. Participants must abide by all local navigation laws and avoid restricted areas at all times. All participants are required and agree to wear a Coast Guard-approved type I ll or greater CHEST TYPE personal floatation device anytime the boat is on plane. Officials may restrict tournament waters and reserve the right to delay or cancel the start of an official tournament day and/or reduce the fishing hours because of bad weather or other factors that would endanger the safety of the competitors. In the event of lightning, severe weather or any unsafe condition, participants should remove themselves from competition and seek the nearest safety or shelter until it is safe to continue. Participants may not leave their boats during tournament hours except in case of emergency. Each boat must have a U.S. Coast Guard rating plate attached to the boat by the manufacturer if required. The horsepower rating of the outboard engine must not exceed the rating specified on this plate. Changing or altering standard factory motor parts to increase horsepower over factory rated horsepower is forbidden.

8. No alcohol or illicit drugs may be consumed during the tournament hours. Alcoholic beverages and containers should not be visible prior to weigh-in of the fish or at any time during the tournament.

9. All state of Iowa fishing laws will be observed unless the Tournament Director imposes more stringent rules. Entrants must possess a valid Iowa Fishing License and have it available to show a Tournament Official and/or a DNR officer, if asked for. Boat registrations must be current and onboard at all times. Teams will only be allowed 2 poles per team member. Any violation will result in disqualification.

10. Minimum length's - Walleye, Sauger and Saugeye shall have no minimum length if the fish is released for this event.   

11. Competitors who are not at the official weigh in/check in point, as designated for each event, at the appointed return time shall be penalized at the rate of one pound per minute to be deducted from the total weight of their catch that day, including any "Big Fish Award". Any competitors more than fifteen (15) minutes late shall lose all credit for that day's catch. There shall be no excuse for tardiness and in no case will a competitor be allowed to make up "lost time." Return time shall be defined as off-plane and plainly visible by Tournament Officials. A contestant may not leave their boat during tournament hours except to use restrooms at the official weigh-in location or to weigh in large fish or stressed fish. This rule may be waived in the event of severe weather

12. Scoring shall be determined by the overall length of each team's catch during the tournament. Each team's total length will determine the final standings. Walleye, Sauger and Saugeye only will be measured where permissible by state law. Length and bag limits of eligible fish will be set for each tournament and will be announced at each event. Any fish altered in any manner: mauled, mashed, frozen, stringered, containing foreign or unnaturally placed matter to add weight or showing white gills, soft flesh or other signs of decomposition in tournament official's sole discretion will result in disqualification. 

13. PHOTOGRAPH AND PROCEDURES:  The official ruler will be "The Judge".  Other boards/rulers may be used if approved by the tournament director.  Fish will be measured with the fish's mouth closed and longest straight line-tail pinched according to Iowa law. Only fish which measure the official length(s) shall be weighed-in. Any fish presented for weigh-in which fails to measure the official length limits shall result in the teams disqualification from that event.  Catch-Photo-Release (CPR) events will be conducted using either contestant supplied cameras and club provided SD cards or by using a phone app (MyCatch) or other method announced in advance of the events launch.  For CPR events:

a.  The fish must be placed on The Judge with it’s head/mouth against the stop and to the photographers left; dorsal fin up and belly down; the tail may be pinched; 

b.  Fishes mouth must be closed and touching the stop on The Judge;

c.  Two photos of the fish will be taken.  The 1st photo is the “Ruler Photo” and the 2nd photo is the “Hero Shot”  The ruler photo must show the entire fish. This photo must be of sufficient resolution and zoom to enable the tournament director to read and determine the measured length of the fish on The Judge board and confirm that the fish’s mouth has been placed against/is touching the ruler’s stop.  The hero shot should show a clear picture of one team member holding the fish prior to release. 

d.  Teams may record their catch and its measurements on their tourney board for use in determining their best five fish and/or their entry for “big fish” awards.

e.  Scoring of photos by the tourney director will allow a fish to be “rounded up” to the next ¼ inch if scoring is done by camera/SD card.  If scoring is done by an app then the app's rules will control the measurement of the fish - for the MyCatch app, the rules is the fish will be marked by the last line on the board that the fish crosses.  These rules will be announced/presented to the competitors by the tournament director prior to the launch of the event.

f.  Any conflict of rules between the club’s rules or the rules of a tournament app will be resolved by the tournament director with the app's rules given precedent unless in violation of local/state laws.