Hair of the Dog Rules last updated 1/12/2024 8:55 AM by Justin

West Michigan Bass 2020 HOTD/Super Saturday Tournament Rules

Rules for: Hair of the Dog and Super Saturday

Participation

Tournaments will be held at the scheduled start date, time and location on this website and are scheduled to run 8 hours.  Launch time may be affected by sunrise or sunset times and therefore will be announced at the ramp prior to take-off.  It is the responsibility of the director to announce the weigh-in time prior to take off, however it is the responsibility of the angler to know the weigh-in time. If the angler misses the announcement, they should ask the director prior to take-off or on the water during competition.

There is a $50.00 yearly membership fee per angler (not team) to participate. This fee covers your membership for WMB and the membership Bassmaster Team Trail.  All members 18 years and older must read and sign liability waiver before participating in any WMB tournament.  A signed waiver is considered valid for one tournament season.

The membership fee is waived for participants 15 years of age or younger. These participants must be accompanied by a chaperone who is 18 years of age or older. Minors fishing with non-related or non-legal guardian partners as chaperones must also have a signed permission slip from a parent or legal guardian expressly permitting the activity. Donating sponsors and directors are also exempt from this fee, but must however pay all entry fees in full at every event.

The entry fee for HOTD or Super Saturday weekend events is $120.00 per boat.  This includes $10.00 entry for a big bass pot.  $10.00 from each entry will be held from the payback and kept for the year end classic tournament.

There is no boat limit. Commitment to participate will be decided upon by the angler by paying the entry and membership fees.  Parking tickets or other infractions because of limited space or creative parking are the responsibility of the angler.

General Rules

The winner of the tournament is determined by the weight of the best 5 bass or less.  All fish must be culled prior to end of the tournament. Only largemouth or smallmouth bass can be weighed.  In the event of a tie, big bass weight will be used to determine the winning team.Anglers may only activley fish with one rod at a time. Anglers may not drag one bait/rod while activley fishing with another.

Tournament Participants are only allowed to use artificial baits during the tournament.

The Great Lakes are off limits on any body of water that is connected to the Great Lakes.  You may not go past the end of the pier heads.

The resolution of protests will be handled by the director(s) at the time the protest is presented.  All protests must be presented within 10 minutes of the scales closing.

Boat and Boat Operation

West Michigan Bass requires the use of USGC approved life vest and kill switch lanyards at any time when using the outboard engine.It is the boat owner’s responsibility to comply with all state and local regulations and have the watercraft equipped properly with safety equipment.

It is the boat operator’s responsibility to know and understand any and all boating laws, no wake restrictions, high speed boating restrictions, lake speed limits or other similar rules or restrictions.

Boaters are not allowed to pass other competator boats while in a no wake zone.

Teams

  • A Classic qualifying team is established at the HOTD Early Draw or at the registration of first tournament fishing.
  • Teams are a maximum 2 anglers per boat.
  • Anglers may fish alone or with any partner they wish at any event.  Not fishing with same partner will affect classic eligibility and end of the year points scoring.  Please read thoroughly and understand The Year End Classic and Eligibility section below.
  • A substitute may fish in place of either teammate but a team can only use one (1) substitute per season.

Tournament Conduct

Sportsmanship and courtesy will be shown by all teams entered towards fellow tournament anglers as well as any local fishermen, other boaters or property owners. Failure to comply can result in disqualification at the discretion of the Director(s). Disqualification will include forfeit of entry fees. Participants are not allowed to use illegal drugs or alcohol during tournament hours.

No Wake Zones

No wake zones are also no passing zones at all times. It will not be considered passing if the overtaking vessel is not following the same route or coming from a different angle as the boat being overtaken. No wake zone violations must be brought to directors attention prior to the closing of scales and must be accompanied by - video or photo evidence of a violation, existence of a written ticket or warning issued for the violation or corroboration or the violation by 2 or more separate boats participating in the tournament.

Life Jackets

Life Jackets must be worn at all times the gas motor is running and in gear. Life Jacket violations must be brought to directors attention prior to the closing of scales and must be accompanied by - video or photo evidence of a violation, existence of a written ticket or warning issued for the violation or corroboration or the violation by 2 or more separate boats participating in the tournament.

Off-Limits

Areas which are to be off limits will be announced by the director prior to each tournament. In addition to these specific areas, any and all areas publicly marked as private, no tresspassing, non-motorized craft only or otherwise off-limits to powered boats will be considered off-limits to all participants. Violations must be brought to directors attention prior to the closing of scales and must be accompanied by - video or photo evidence of a violation, existence of a written ticket or warning issued for the violation or corroboration or the violation by 2 or more separate boats participating in the tournament. Additionally, a single boat can request the directors verify GPS tracks on the accused as evidence of a violation.

All other Legal/Regulatory Violations

Unless specifically outlined above, any and all other protests must be accompanied by a written ticket or warning with description of the violation issued to the accused party during tournament hours.

  • Boats must be stationary or at idle speed within 150 feet of the ramp by the specified return time.
  • There will be NO grace period.
  • There will be a 1 pound per minute penalty
  • Returning to the ramp 5 minutes late will disqualify the days catch

Dead Fish

  • Every effort should be made to keep fish alive.
  • Dead fish will result in a 1/4 pound (4oz) penalty.
  • You may weigh in only ONE dead bass.
  • You may NOT weigh a dead fish for Big Bass

Short Fish

  • All fish must meet or exceed legal size limit
  • Fish length is determined as the longest length from the mouth to tail, being measured with the mouth closed.
  • Suspect fish, may be bumped on the official measuring stick prior to weigh-in.
  • If the Director bumps a short fish, the short fish and the largest fish of the sack are immediately culled.

Culling

  • A Team’s bag must be culled to 5 fish before the end of official competition.
  • Failure to cull will result in the following:
  • The Team’s best 5 fish bag will be separated
  • The remaining fish will be immediately released
  • 1 fish from the final bag will be culled for each fish over the 5 fish limit – each time culling the smallest fish from final bag. 
  • If the infraction is discovered after the bag has already been weighed - the big fish of the bag will be forfeited for the 1st fish over the 5 limit and a 2lb penalty for each subsequent fish shall be applied 
  • EXCEPTION: a team may poses greater than 5 fish without penalty if the excess fish have expired and are not being weighed. Please do not cull expired fish back into the water. A dead fish will be considered "in excess" if it is smaller than the best 5 fish or cannot be weighed in due mutliple expired fish. 

Points & Scoring

Points can be accumulated as follows (per team, per event):

  • Single Event Participation: 10pts
  • Points Per Boat: (see below)
  • 1st Place Finish Bonus: 3pts
  • 2nd Place Finish Bonus: 2pts
  • 3rd Place Finish Bonus: 1pts
  • Big Bass Bonus: 2pts
  • 2nd Big Bass Bonus: 1pts

Points per Boat One point per boat will be given based on the number of boats (Number of Boats - (Place + 1) = Points) for example with 11 boats, 1st place receives 11 pts, 2nd 10pts, 3rd 9pts and so on. Zero fish ties and/or last place will be awarded 0 additional points.

Team of YearHOTD T.O.Y top 5 highest overall points getters will recieve a cash award from The Outdoorsmen Pro Shop.Team of the year will be determined by a fish off between the top points getters from each division.  The fish off will take place during the classic and the top finishing team will be presented an award.

Year End Classic & Eligibility

A team must participate in all 5 HOTD or Super Saturday tournaments to be eligible to fish the classic.  The classic entry fee will be free to those teams that qualify through a division point’s race.  Teams that have fished all 5 HOTD or Super Saturday tournaments, but didn’t qualify with points, may participate in the WMB Classic for an entry fee of $100.00.  Payouts can include any paid entries topped with the money kept from each tournament, sponsor donated cash or prizes and trophies/awards.

The top ~30% of boats that have fished the required amount of events in each division will be eligible for free entry.  Eligible boats must commit to participating in the classic no later than one week prior to the event.  Launch order will be determined by point standing.

Please note, Classic qualifying team pairing rules have been updated for 2016.

Points per team are calculated as the sum of:

  • Points earned by single angler team
  • Points earned by both teammates fishing together
  • Points earned by a single teammate fishing alone where the 2nd teammate is not present
  • Points earned by a single teammate fishing with a 1-time substitute for a Saturday events, where the 2nd teammate is not present
  • Each teammate must fish at least 1/3rd rounded up, of a divisions events. For a Saturday events that means each partner must fish a least 2 events.
  • A substitute may fish in the place of either teammate. A team is allowed 1 substitution for HOTD or Super Saturday. The director must be alerted to the substitution at registration for the event.
  • The substitute must pay the yearly membership fee.
  • Any angler fishing alone must provide his/her teammate's name to the director at registration if they wish for the points of that tournament to be included toward their team's final standings.

Directors

West Michigan Bass directors will be allowed to fish the tournament(s) they run at no cost providing there is at least 5 boats present not including the director’s boat.  Directors will be required to be the launch boat at each and every tournament.