The 2024 Cochrane Polar Bear Fish Off Ice Fishing Event
Cochrane Ontario & Area - see map for boundaries
February 16 - March 17, 2024
Official Rules
1. General Information
This is a Catch, Photo, Record tournament to be held near Cochrane Ontario. The 2024 Cochrane Polar Bear Fish Off - where it is legal to fish. Refer to the map attached to this event for the official boundaries.
The tournament will be run using the MyCatch mobile app, which is a property of Angler’s Atlas.
Anyone can participate in the The 2024 Cochrane Polar Bear Fish Off and it is for all ages. Registration is 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.
The entry fee is $25.00 for this event.
Each contestant must have a valid Ontario fishing license or otherwise be exempt from needing one.
Anglers may record fish between 6:00:00 am Friday February 16, 2024, to 5:00:00 pm Sunday March 17, 2024.
Keep mobile phones on throughout the tournament in order to receive communication from the Organizer in the event of postponement or cancellation. Due to the nature of tournament fishing, no refunds will be issued. This is at the discretion of your tournament Organizer.
2.Getting Started
Anyone can participate in the The 2024 Cochrane Polar Bear Fish Off! and it is for all ages. Registration is 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.
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.
Anglers will need to download and use the free MyCatch app (available on both the Apple App Store and Google Play Store) to submit their fish entries for the tournament. For first time users, you must set up your account first. To do this, please complete the following: https://www.anglersatlas.com/sign-up If you previously have had the app, we suggest doing a check to see if there are updates or simply reload the app. 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.
Anglers must then also register and pay the entry fee for the tournament online at https://www.anglersatlas.com/event/766/the-2024-cochrane-polar-bear-fish-off-2024 using a credit card or PayPal. You cannot pay via cash or eTransfer, and your spot is not reserved until payment has been received. If you need help with the registration process, please watch this short video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o3PzcIoGo4
You will receive an automatic email confirming that you have entered the event and that your payment has gone through.
If you enter after the tournament starts, you must wait 2 hours before you can submit a fish for entry.
Due to the nature of tournament fishing, no refunds will be issued, no exceptions
Practice using the MyCatch app ahead of time
Watch all four videos available at this link to familiarize yourself with the app: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1Yp9OqZ6saBgaKklT5jh6DkuTbai3NeJ
Test the app before you go out fishing (note: the app allows you to record fish for your own personal logbook while not in an active event. 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).
By participating in this event your name may be publicly visible.
Protecting anglers’ privacy is a priority, and any location data collected during the event will not be released to the public. Our promise to anglers is “Secret Fishing Spots Stay Secret”. See below for further details.
A great resource to refer to is our How To Register For A Event video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7o3PzcIoGo4&t=8s
3. Catch Reporting Rules
This event is for Walleye, Northern Pike, Trout Category (consisting of combined Rainbow, Brook, Splake, Brown), Lake Trout and a Total Species Category ice fishing tournament. For this event, we encourage catch and release but it is not mandatory
Recognize fish species using the information below: https://files.ontario.ca/environment-and-energy/fishing/198234.pdf
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). Our app now tags each entry with a unique, identifiable QR code.
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 section 8 below for details.
Each fish must be entered only once.
Fish must be recorded immediately after they’ve been caught. All fish entries must be freshly caught. Frozen fish will be rejected.
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.
This is a total length measurement tournament. NOT fork length. See pic below 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 naturally pinched. The tail may be pinched to the width of the board or left unpinched.
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. If a fish is longer than the angler's bump board, the longest measurement on the board will be counted.
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..
The mouth of the fish is allowed to be closed, open, or anywhere in between, so long as the upper and/or lower jaw of the head of the fish is clearly touching the bump of the board or at 0 cm and the fish submission meets all of the requirements outlined in this section.
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)
The photo entry must be taken from a birds-eye view looking down on the fish.
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.
If you measure your fish entry on a commercially produced bumpboard, the measurement rules are as follows. 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 must be visible in the measurement photo. We must also see past the head and tail in the photo - do not cut off the head in the photo. Expandable (sliding) bump boards will not be permitted.
If you measure your fish entry on a homemade bumpboard, the measurement rules are the same as above BUT you must provide a photo to the organizer of the empty board to verify proof of measurement accuracy. Homemade bumpboards must have a solid edge or "bump" for the fish to be set against and it must line up with the 0 mark on the tape. Unverified boards will NOT be accepted.
If you measure your fish using a tape measure, the measurement rules are as follows. The fish nose and the start of the tape must be aligned by placing both against a solid edge. The fish's nose must be aligned with the zero mark on the tape, the fish cannot be on top of the tape measure or cover it in any way, and the entire fish showing the head and tail and past the tail must be visible in the measurement photo. Do not use fabric or flexible measuring tapes. *Rapala roll out tapes will be treated as a tape measure*
Soft/Flexible measuring tapes and Sliding-Expandable Bump boards are not allowed for this event.
Tournament organizers reserve the right to adjust entries. They also have the right to ask for a picture sent to them of your measuring device.
A photo that does not clearly show the overall length of the fish, including head and tail, on the measuring device 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.
During the entry process, a second photo; often called the Hero Shot consisting of the angler holding the fish, will be prompted in the entry procedure and is optional but encouraged for this event.
You will also be prompted with a third option which is a video of the release of your fish and this is also optional for this event
During the event, the app will work without WiFi or any or 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.
Fish DO NOT show up on any of the leaderboards until they have been approved by the Organizer’s Team, so don’t expect to see them reflected on the leaderboard immediately. If you want to ensure that your fish was recorded successfully, check the Log View of your app (2nd icon from the left at the bottom). If your fish is there, it logged successfully.
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. 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.
A great resource is the MyCatch video that shows how to complete an entry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS65wMakQHA
4. Tournament Location and Times
Tournament boundaries are all legal for fishing water bodies within the boundaries set out in the attached map for the event. You must be within the confines of the map boundaries for an entry to be valid.
The tournament runs from:
Friday February 16, 2024 starting at 6:00 am through to
Sunday, March 17, 2024 at 5:00 pm
All catches made within the start and end times must be synchronized with the Angler’s Atlas server by March 17, 2024 at 9:00 pm. Any fish synced to the app after 9:00 pm will not be judged. It is the applicant’s duty to ensure they have full cell service and all fish are synced before the deadline.
Once the tournament concludes, a full review process will begin between the Organizer and their team. Results will not be confirmed, announced, or made public until the day of Tuesday March 19th, 2024 and no prizes will be awarded or sent until after the winner’s announcement has been made. Following this review process, the results will be final.
At the discretion of the tournament director, tournament days may be shortened, postponed or canceled due to unsafe weather or water/ice conditions.
5. Awards & Prizes
Prizes - Proceeds from the tournament will be distributed as prizes in accordance with the prizing categories below. This event will be a 100% payout of entry fees!
1st Place Longest Walleye - wins 12.5% of prize funds
2nd Place Longest Walleye - wins 5% of prize funds
3rd Place Longest Walleye - wins 2.5% of prize funds
1st place Longest Northern Pike - wins 12.5% of prize funds
2nd place Longest Northern Pike - wins 5% of prize funds
3rd place Longest Northern Pike - wins 2.5% of prize funds
1st place Longest Trout (No Lake Trout) - wins 12.5% of prize funds
2nd place Longest Trout (No Lake Trout) - wins 5% of prize funds
3rd place Longest Trout (No Lake Trout) - wins 2.5% of prize funds
1st place Longest Lake Trout - wins 12.5% of prize funds
2nd place Longest Lake Trout - wins 5% of prize funds
3rd place Longest Lake Trout - wins 2.5% of prize funds
1st place Most Number of Species Caught - wins 12.5% of prize funds
2nd place Most Number of Species Caught - wins 5% of prize funds
3rd place Most Number of Species Caught - wins 2.5% of prize funds
Cash prize amounts are based on the entry fees. Payout will be 100% of entry fees received!
Cash prizes may be awarded through either E-transfer or cheque.
Other merchandise prizes will be added as they become available and will be listed on the main event site.
A participant can only win one prize placing per species.
Once the tournament concludes, a full review process will begin between the Organizer and their team. Results will not be confirmed, announced, or made public until the morning of Tuesday March 19th, 2024 and no prizes will be awarded or sent until after the winner’s announcement has been made. Following this review process, the results will be final. Winning anglers will be contacted directly using the contact information provided in the tournament registration process
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 go to the person with the highest number of fish reported.
6. General Rules
By registering and participating in the The 2024 Cochrane Polar Bear Fish Off tournament, all participants agree to abide by the rules and regulations they have received as set out in these tournament event rules.
For this event, we encourage Catch and Release fishing but it is not mandatory. You must follow all Provincial limits pertaining to possession and bag limits at all times.
All fish entered for this event must be caught via angling i.e. using hook, line, rod and reel including tip ups. At no time will fish caught by non angling (i.e. use of traps, trap nets or cages) be allowed to be entered. Fish cannot be snagged, netted, speared etc. Usage of a landing net to land a hooked fish is allowed. All participants must only use up to a maximum of 2 rods while ice fishing.(need to know local rules on more than one rod usage)
Each contestant must have in their possession a valid Ontario fishing license for their respective jurisdiction or be exempt under regulations of their jurisdiction.
Each contestant must conform to the general sport fishing rules and regulations that are in place for the jurisdiction in which they are fishing. You must follow all regulations pertaining to possession limits.
All federal, provincial, local laws must be abided by.
Promoters and organizers assisting in the tournament operation are not responsible for death, injury, damage, liability, theft, fire or any loss to any contestants.
All questions or concerns relating to the rules of this tournament are to be referred to the Organizer. Their decision will be final in all cases. No other person can be considered a spokesman for the rules during the tournament. The contact for this event is The MyCatch Approval team and can be reached by email at [email protected] (please include the name of the event in your email).
The interpretation and enforcement of the rules is set by the Organizer. The tournament Organizer may change rules or impose sanctions as they deem appropriate, including but not limited to disqualifications, forfeiture of prizes, and prohibition from competing in future tournaments. All decisions made by the tournament Organizer are final.
Abuse of tournament officials and volunteers will not be tolerated.
Any angler found to be cheating, breaking the law or disobeying the rules will be disqualified from the tournament. Failure to comply with any tournament rules subjects participants to disqualification and removal from the tournament, as determined by the tournament officials. The right to refuse sale and/or revoke a competition entry to anyone is hereby reserved. Angler’s Atlas also reserves the right to ban anglers from competing in future events.
Any contestant has the right to make a protest against another contestant by contacting an Organizer 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 protest. The fee will be returned if the protest is found to be valid.
In the event of disqualification, any paid entry fees will be forfeited and not refunded.
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.
All participants are expected to follow high standards of sportsmanship, courtesy, safety, and conservation. Any participant who displays poor sportsmanship, violates these rules, or brings unfavorable publicity to the sport of fishing could be disqualified. Encroachment is considered a sportsmanship rule.
Participants are responsible for their own safety, actions, and property at all times.
This is an ice fishing event only. Practice ice safety at all times! Fishing is only allowed on a minimum of at least 4 inches of ice. Only walk and fish where it is safe to do so.
All photo and video submissions may be used by MyCatch by Angler's Atlas and Tourism Cochrane for future use.
7. Proper Fish Handling
We highly encourage conservation and the proper handling of all fish caught. To ensure the best chances of survival for all released fish, all participants are to handle fish safely. The following are suggestions only:
Whenever feasible, keep the fish in the water while handling as long as possible
Cut the line as close to the hook as possible if a swallowed hook can’t be easily removed
Have the camera ready prior to landing fish to minimize air exposure
Hold large fish horizontally and support its body to avoid damage to the internal organs
Do not hold or support the fish by its gills, gill covers or eyes.
Use wet hands when handling a fish. Handle the fish quickly and as little as possible.
When releasing a fish, never throw it into the water.
A fish's eyes and gills can freeze when exposed to sub-zero temperatures. Ice on the eyes or in the gills may be a reason for disqualification.
Wet your boards/rulers prior to measuring fish in cold conditions to help prevent freezing the fish to the board, especially if you are using an Angler's Atlas, Judge or other aluminum/metal boards
Measure fish inside tents or ice shacks whenever possible, especially when temperatures dip below -10 degrees celsius
8.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?
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.
Every research team we work with must sign a data sharing agreement that sets the terms of use for the data.
Data is anonymized before it is provided to the researcher.
Researchers agree not to share the data with anyone else.
Researchers cannot use the data for any purpose other than the research specified in the agreement.
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.
Angler’s Atlas may release data to a law enforcement agency if compelled to do so under court order.
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