Cold Lake Fishing Derby

June 17 – 18, 2023
CFE #615375

Cold Lake Fishing Derby Rules

1. Cold Lake Fishing Derby (CLFD) is a catch and release tournament. Please handle all fish caught with care. There will lbe a MAXIMUM of 300 participants in this event.

2. Check in and boat checks will be held at the Energy Centre on Thursday, June 15th from 4:00 pm  -6:00 pm and Friday, June 16th from 4:00 pm - 6:00 pm. You will receive your welcome packages and Tournament Rules will be discussed at this time.

3. Entrants must be 18 years of age or older. If less than 18 years of age, must be accompanied by an adult. 

4. All anglers must possess a valid fishing license and comply with all Alberta Fishing Regulations. First Nations persons are not required to obtain a sportfishing licence, however, they are required to follow the sportfishing regulations. 

5. Each boat is required to pass a boat inspection each day of the tournament prior to start time. 

6. Boat inspections will begin at 6:00am. It is your responsibility to be on time and allow for traffic lineups and waiting time. 

7. All participants are required to observe Canadian rules and regulations concerning boat safety.

8. All boats are required to meet Canadian Safety Regulations and Canada Coast Guard Requirements. 

9. This is an individual event, and every participating angler must enter individually. Anglers may only measure and record fish that they caught. Any angler who is caught recording another angler’s fish will be automatically disqualified. 

10. Cellular phones are required for the purpose of recording fish through the approved tournament app MyCatch. The MyCatch App is available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Cellular phones can also be used for business and/or emergency use. 

11. We will have Live Leaderboards (available both on the MyCatch app as well as the Tournament Page) that will showcase live results. One of the leaderboards will be your "Best 3 fish Combined" for an overall total length combined of your best 3 fish. Additionally, we will have the “Daily Longest Lake Trout” leaderboard that will showcase the largest lake trout recorded each day of the tournament. Each angler will only be able to occupy one spot on each Live Leaderboard. (Reminder: sharing fish, such as allowing another angler to record a fish that you caught [or vice versa] is strictly prohibited, and any angler caught cheating will be automatically disqualified from the event). 

12. All boats are required to display the CLFD decal for the purpose of identifying you/it as a tournament angler/boat. To be placed on the passenger (Port) side of boat for easy identification by tournament officials. 

13. FISHING TIMES: Participants will fish from 7:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday and 7:00am to 3:00pm on Sunday. 

14. On start, each boat will be required to check in at the Cold Lake Marina or Cold Lake Provincial Park boat launch. If completing your daily check in/inspection on land, you must launch your boat at the corresponding boat launch. Please ensure you go slowly through the launch area/no wake zone. Once clear of the area, teams may throttle up. Slower boats are asked to safely and immediately travel closer to the shore line to allow boat traffic to safely pass. On finish, each boat will be required to throttle down prior to entering the launch area/no wake zone. Any boat found not adhering to the foregoing rule may be disqualified from the tournament. Safety is paramount.

15. Boat Launch fees for the Cold Lake Marina are included for participants in the tournament fee for Saturday and Sunday. Boats are allowed to launch elsewhere on Cold Lake, but launch fees at other locations are not included in fee. All participants must come to the Cold Lake Marina or Cold Lake Provincial Park for their daily inspection. In-water boat checks will only be available at the marina.

16. All photos must be uploaded to the MyCatch app prior to the close of the fishing day. Any measurement added after the close of the fishing day will be rejected.  

17. Each participant will be allowed to have only one (1) line in the water at a time. Spare rods and equipment may be carried in the boat. Barbless hooks are mandatory for this event.

18. The use of bait (as defined in the Alberta sport fishing regulations) and the use of artificial lures is permissible.

19. MEASURING FISH: Only Lake Trout are eligible to be entered into the MyCatch app as part of the tournament.  Once the submissions are approved by the MyCatch Approval Team, the submitted fish will then appear on the Live Leaderboard, which can be viewed both on the MyCatch app, as well as the Cold Lake Fishing Derby tournament page: ( https://www.anglersatlas.com/event/697/2023-cold-lake-fishing-derby-2023 )

All measuring boards are to be provided by the participant.  Only commercially available bump boards may be used. Expandable (sliding) bump boards will not be permitted. Only commercially made folding boards or fixed boards will be allowed for use.  No guess-timate measurements will be made. If a fish exceeds the length of your board, only the largest number visible on the board will be scored.

PHOTO PICTURES: All fish are to be measured with the left side of the fish facing up (belly towards the angler). The full fish must be visible in the entire picture. The front end (mouth) of the fish must be touching the end of the bump board and tails fully pinched.  The mouth can be open, closed, or anywhere in between, so long as it is touching the end of the bump and meets all other measurement rules. In the event a photo designates a fish to be scored is judged by the tournament officials to be un-scorable, the next available fish will be used. Any fish that appears to have been mangled, mashed, mauled, or otherwise altered will be credited only at the discretion of the tournament officials and may result in disqualification for the day or the event. 

SCORING PHOTOS: While the fish is being held on the measuring board, a ‘scoring’ photo must be taken of the fish which clearly shows the overall length of the fish. The head and tail of the fish must be included and shown clearly. The photograph must be taken of the left side of the fish only. The front end (mouth) of the fish must be touching the end of the bump board and tails fully pinched.  The mouth can be open, closed, or anywhere in between, so long as it is touching the end of the bump and meets all other measurement rules. Hands should not be in the gills for measuring the fish. A photo that does not show the list of qualifications above will not be scored. More than one attempt to get a valid scoring photo is allowed. The fish must then be immediately released back into the water. 

CATCH-PICTURE-RELEASE: In the instance when two or more fish are caught at the same time, the Catch-Picture Release process requires that one fish be measured, photographed, and released as quickly as possible before the next fish can be processed.

SUBMITTING PHOTOS: Pictures of each Fish can be added to each participant’s profile on the tournament app. It is the responsibility of each person to carefully review all pictures and ensure no duplicates are submitted. Any duplication of fish will automatically receive a length of zero and the person may be disqualified at the discretion of the tournament officials. Absolutely no video editing devices are allowed on any boat at any time. A good reference is the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS65wMakQHA

MEASURING:  All fish pictures will be reviewed and adjusted throughout each day by the MyCatch Approvals Team. Any discrepancies or concerns will be judged by the executive board who will have final say. During this review, no objections will be heard. Once all fish have been measured and recorded, there will be a half hour grace period where anyone can bring up concerns, disagreements, or protests. All issues will be addressed and resolved by the tournament officials before the end of day and all measurements will be final. In order to speed up the process, while a fish is in the boat, anglers will not be allowed to place any fishing lines in the water. After all fish are processed and released, normal angling may resume.

20. No live wells are required to compete in the tournament. Any existing live wells on boats must not have water in them at any time during the tournament. No fish are to be placed in the live well, as it is not permissible to hold fish in water using nets, lines, stringers, etc. Delays in releasing fish may be grounds for disqualification. 

21. A boat must not come in contact with any other boat except the officials on the water. Please give other boats appropriate courtesy and consideration while fishing and/or while under throttle.

22. “Spirit of the Rule”/protest: All rules have ‘loopholes’. It is the intention of the City of Cold Lake to provide an honest sportsman like tournament. In the interest of good sportsmanship, contestants are reminded that ‘Spirit of the Rule’ will prevail and all judgements by officials are final. All questions or problems concerning the rules are to be referred to the tournament officials. Any contestant has a right to make a protest against another contestant(s). A protest form is available from the tournament director and must be filled out and submitted to the director within one (1) hour of the close of the fishing day. A one hundred dollar ($100) protest fee will be required to accompany any formal protest. The fee will be returned if the protest is found to be valid by the protest committee appointed by the director. If the protest is found to be invalid, the fee will not be returned. 

23. In the event of a tie with the winner on any competition, it will be decided by the following manner:

1. First Tiebreaker by the fourth longest fish 

2. Second Tiebreaker (if necessary) by the fifth longest fish 

3. Third Tiebreaker (if necessary) by the sixth longest fish 

4. Fourth Tiebreaker (if necessary) by the seventh longest fish 

24. All boats coming into Alberta require inspection to prevent the movement of aquatic invasive species. If you live outside of Alberta, and are planning to attend, you must provide proof of passing an inspection (proof of inspection sheet) at time of registration.

25. MISCELLANEOUS: If a participant drops out before the tournament, the tournament officials must be notified of the change before the tournament. The place will be filled by the tournament officials and not by the choice of the participant. The entry fee will only be returned if the place can be filled by another participant. Refunds may be provided at the discretion of the tournament organizer. No refunds will be permitted within the last two weeks leading up to the tournament for any reason.

26. PRIZES: Prizes will be awarded after 6:00pm on Sunday, June 18, 2023 at the Cold Lake Marina.

There will be prizes for the top 20 anglers in the "Best 3 fish Combined" category, and 1 (one) additional prize amount each day of the tournament for the “Daily Longest Lake Trout” category. Prize breakdown is as follows: 

The tournament administration/officials reserves the right to disqualify any participant for rule infractions if the situation warrants such action.

Promoters and organizations hosting/assisting in the tournament operations, their agencies, and agents are not responsible for the death, damage, injury, liability, theft, fire, flood, or any loss to any entrants or families and friends.  

MyCatch uses GPS data to verify the validity (time, date, location) of each catch.  The MyCatch team's promise to anglers is that "Secret Spots Stay Secret".  Only a very select group of MyCatch employees have access to the data, and no GPS data will ever be shared publicly





The following conditions apply to all Medium and Large Summer Competitive
Fishing Events and must be followed by event organizers and participants:
Organizer Conditions

1. The organizer must clearly post a copy of the event licence, conditions, participant list (see condition 5) with directions on how and where to contact the organizers.
2. All event advertisements or postings must include the Competitive Fishing Event licence number issued for the event.
3. A  copy of the event licence, a signed copy of Schedule ‘A” and the organizer’s Event Rules must be provided to all registered participants. (NEW) Organizers are responsible for enforcing all the event rules.
4. The organizer must complete and return a Competitive Fishing Event Reporting Form and associated worksheets within 14 days from the conclusion of the event. 
5. The organizer must maintain a list of all participants that are registered for the event noting which participants were issued a registration package.
6. The organizer shall ensure that all fish that are measured and handled in a manner that causes them least harm and that they are released back into the waters from which they were taken.
7. The organizer shall maintain a reporting form recording all dead fish and the number of stressed fish that may not survive. All dead fish must be packed on ice and stored in a clean insulated container.
8. All dead fish must be disposed of in the following manner: Dead Fish will be retain by CFE organizer and turned over to the Fish & Wildlife Office in Cold Lake (5013 51 Street, Cold Lake, Alberta) within 14 days after the event.
9. The boundary of the fishing area shall be the entirety of Cold Lake. Competitive Fishing Events must be planned and executed in a manner that complies with the current Alberta Fishery Regulations applicable to the water body.
10. Competitive fishing events must be planned and executed in a matter that complies with the current Alberta Fishery Regulations applicable to the water body.

Organizer and Participant Conditions
11. Organizers/Participants shall only measure the species identified on the Competitive Fishing Event licence.
12. Organizers/Participants shall not fizz* fish or attempt or practice fizzing fish (see the definition of “fizz” and “fizzing” fish at the end of this document).
13. All event organizers and participants must, during the hours that the competitive fishing event is operating, wear a visible form of identification that indicates they are involved in the event.
14. After a fish has been measured and photographed for the purposes of the competition, it must be released directly to the lake.

Participant conditions
15. All participants in a licensed competitive fishing event must have a valid Alberta Sportfishing Licence (except those legally exempted from the Alberta Sportfishing Licence requirement i.e. youths and Alberta seniors, or during a designated Free Fishing Weekend).
16. Before participating in a Competitive Fishing Event, all participants must ensure they have been registered by having their name included on a list of participants that is maintained for the event, and that they have received a copy of the event licence, a signed copy of Schedule "A" and the organizers event rules.
17. Participants fishing under the authority of a Competitive Fishing Event Licence must follow the Alberta Fishery Regulations for the water body unless otherwise specified in condition 21 and may only fish in areas open for fishing.
18. Participants shall not intentionally kill any fish taken during the Competitive Fishing Event during the period that the licence is valid to operate the Competitive Fishing Event.
19. Participants of Competitive Fishing Events who catch a fish, the possession of which is prohibited by the “Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations” or Event Rules, must immediately return the fish to the waters from which it was caught, and- release it in a manner that causes it the least harm.
20. Participants in this Competitive Fishing Event must practice immediate catch-and-release for all fish species caught during the event except for the species identified on the face of the Competitive Fishing Event licence.
21. A fish can be retained only briefly and for the purposes of measuring and photographing. All fish that were retained to be measured/photographed must be released in a manner that causes the least harm.
22. All participants fishing in this competitive fishing event must fish using barbless hooks only. For the purposes of interpreting this condition:
Hook means a single, double or triple pointed hook on a common shaft, and includes hooks attached to a line or lure, and
Barbless hooks includes hooks with barbs removed or hooks the barbs of which are pressed against the shaft of the hook so that the barbs are not functional.

*“To Fizz Fish” or “to practice Fizzing fish” refers to the practice of releasing, or attempting to release air from the air bladder of a fish caught from deep water.