2023 Tidewater Father's Day Weekend Fishing Derby

June 16 - 18 2023

Official Rules

 

Getting Started

A. The 2023 Tidewater Father's Day Weekend Fishing Derby is an online tournament run through Angler’s Atlas website and their mobile app MyCatch.

B. Our Tidewater Father's Day Fishing is primarily exclusive to Tidewater employees, their household, and their parents.
C. There is no fee to enter this event if you are in the above mentioned.
D. For anyone not affiliated wtih Tidewater, there will be a $25.00 entry fee to enter. The entry fee for non-members is payable to: Tidewater Social Club.
E. This event will have adult and youth divisions. All youths must be with a parent or guardian at all times during the derby.
F. For Tidewater participants, even though there is no entry fee, participants must still be registered to qualify for prizes. Registration is currently only able to support individual registration. For those without a personal cell phone (such as children) the participant will need to submit through a parent’s account regardless of whether the parent is participating in the tournament or not.

G. Catches must be submitted through the MyCatch app for judging anytime during that period.

H. 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.

I. All contestants must register for the tournament via this URL: https://www.anglersatlas.com/event/703/2023-tidewater-father-day-weekend-derby-2023

J. You will receive an automatic email confirming that you have entered the tournament and that your payment (even if it's free) has gone through.

K. 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 again using the same login email and password that you used to register in the tournament. 

L. 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.

M. 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

Catch Reporting Rules

A. Eligible species primarily include Lake Trout, Rainbow Trout and Burbot as well as others for the Most Species (all fish entered in this must be considered Game Fish i.e. no minnows) entered category.

B. 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 any other source). 

C. 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.

D. 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.

E. 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.

F. 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.
G. The photo must be taken from a birds-eye view looking down on the fish.
H. The mouth is allowed to be open, closed, or anywhere in between, so long as the fish meets the other above requirements.
I. 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. Tournament officials reserve the right to adjsut entries.

J. Tidewater Bump boards will be provided to all entrants; tape measures will not be accepted for measuring fish in this derby. The nose of the fish must be visibly touching the bump end of the board, the fish must be placed on top of the board and the entire fish showing the head and tail and past the tail must be visible in the measurement photo.

K. A photo that does not clearly show the overall length of the fish, including the complete head and tail (and past both), 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.
L. During the entry process you will be prompted for a second photo often called the Hero Shot. This is optional for this event, but there may be prizes awarded for “best hero shot”. (Depending on sponsor donations)
M. A third option in the entry procedure is a live video which usually depicts the release of the fish. This is also optional for this event but there may be prizes awarded for “best release video”. (Depending on sponsor donations).

N. The app will work without WiFi or any strong cell service. If you submit a fish without any or strong enough service, the app will tell you that the fish has been recorded, and that it will sync up to the server once you return to service. Every fish you log (whether in good service or not) will appear in your app’s Log View (2nd icon from the left at the bottom). If you have fish “awaiting sync,” it will indicate this here. The submissions will eventually come through on their own once you return to service, but you can help speed up the process by “manually syncing” those pending logs (see how here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YU-AwLc8OLY) once you’re in service. The logs are time/date/location stamped to the moment that they were taken, so even if the submission is delayed, the time on that submission will still be accurate.

O. Catches that are submitted will be reviewed by the Organizer Committee. Do not expect to see your entry on a leaderboard right away. Once the submissions are reviewed and approved, they will be immediately visible on the appropriate Leaderboards.

P. A great resource is the MyCatch video that shows how to complete an entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS65wMakQHA

Q. We highly encourage you to practice using the app before the event starts! 

1. Watch all four videos available at this link to familiarize yourself with the app: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1Yp9OqZ6saBgaKklT5jh6DkuTbai3NeJ

2. Test the app before you go fishing (note: the app allows you to record fish for your own personal logbook while not in an active tournament. Some features will appear slightly different when you are not in an active event, so please make sure you watch the YouTube videos at the link above).

Tournament Location and Times

A. The tournament boundaries for this event are within the waterbody of Stuart Lake, British Columbia. Please refer to the map attached to this event.

B. Derby registrations will be accepted until 12:00 PST noon, Saturday June 17, 2023.

C. The tournament runs from: 

Friday, June 16, 2023 starting at 12:00 noon PST through to  

Sunday, June 18, 2023 at 10:00 PST am

D. All catches made within the start and end times must be synchronized with the Angler’s Atlas server within the event times to qualify.

E. At the discretion of the Derby Organizer Committee, tournament days may be shortened, postponed or canceled due to unsafe weather or water conditions.

Awards &  Prizes

A. The tournament prizing will be based on the prizing categories below:

1st Place Largest Overall Lake Trout - Adult Division 
2nd Place Largest Overall Lake Trout - Adult Division
1st Place Largest Overall Lake Trout - Youth Division
2nd Place Largest Overall Lake Trout - Youth Division

1st Place Largest Overall Rainbow Trout - Adult Division
2nd Place Largest Overall Rainbow Trout - Adult Division
1st Place Largest Overall Rainbow Trout - Youth Division
2nd Place Largest Overall Rainbow Trout - Youth Division

1st Place Largest Overall Burbot - Adult Division
2nd Place Largest Overall Burbot - Adult Division
1st Place Largest Overall Burbot - Youth Division
2nd Place Largest Overall Burbot - Youth Division

1st Place Most Species Entered - Adult Division
2nd Place Most Species Entered - Adult Division
1st Place Most Species Entered - Youth Division
2nd Place Most Species Entered - Youth Division

B. Prizes will be awarded upon availability.

C. Social Club draw prizes will be held Saturday June 17, 4pm at the grassy area by the horseshoe pits.  Derby prizes will be announced at 10:30 am Sunday June 18 at the grassy area by the horseshoe pits.

D. In the case of a tie, the tie break will go to the person who entered the tied fish first. If a tie still exists, the tie break will be whomever entered the highest number of fish. 

E. Only a persons largest fish for each category will be entered.

F. Tournament organizers reserve the right to adjust entries.

Other Rules

A. By registering and participating in the tournament, all participants agree to abide by the rules and regulations they have received as set out in the 2023 Tidewater Father's Day Weekend Fishiing Derby event rules.

B. Each contestant must have a valid British Columbia fishing license or otherwise be exempt from needing one. Each contestant must conform to the fishing rules and regulations that are in place for the jurisdiction in which they are fishing.

C. We strongly encourage catch and healthy release of all fish caught during this event. To ensure the best chances of survival for the fish, all participants are to handle fish safely. 
D. Anglers can only submit catches that they have caught themselves. This is an individual tournament, so you cannot enter as a partnership or team, and under no circumstances can you share fish with any other angler. Anglers are free to fish alone or with other tournament or non-tournament anglers, but each registered angler may only enter their own fish on their own app.

E. All fish entered for this event must be caught via angling i.e. using hook, line, rod and reel. At no time will fish caught by non angling (i.e. use of traps, trap nets or cages) be allowed to be entered. Usage of a landing net to land a hooked fish is allowed.

E. Eligible fish to enter into the Derby must be freshly caught.

F. You can fish from a boat or from shoreline.

G. Promoters and organizers assisting in the tournament operation are not responsible for death, injury, damage, liability, theft, fire or any loss to any contestants.
H. Any angler found to be cheating will be disqualified from the tournament. Angler’s Atlas also reserves the right to ban anglers from competing in future events.

I. In the event of disqualification, any paid entry fees (if applicable) will be forfeited and not refunded.

J. All rules have loopholes. It is our intention to provide an honest sportsmanlike tournament. In the interest of good sportsmanship, contestants are reminded the spirit of the rule will prevail in all judgments.

K. All questions or concerns relating to the rules of this tournament are to be referred to the Organizer for the event. Their decision will be final in all cases. No other person can be considered a spokesman for the rules during the tournament. The contact person for the event is: Dustin Pitcher and can be reached by email at: dpitcher@tidewatermidstream.com or by phone at: 250-661-6350

L. Any contestant has the right to make a protest against another contestant by contacting an Organizer or an Authorized Tournament Protest and Appeals Committee through email and must be completed and presented within 1 hour of the close of the tournament. Their decision will be final in all cases. A $50.00 dollar protest fee may need to accompany the form. The fee will be returned if the protest is found to be valid.

M. All participants must follow Provincial safety standards for PFD and boating safety.. 

N. All photo and video submissions may be used by MyCatch by Angler's Atlas for future use.

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?

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

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

C. Data is anonymized before it is provided to a researcher.

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

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

F. 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.
G. 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]).