2017 Miller Lite Cobia Invitational

2017 MILLER LITE COBIA INVITATIONAL RULES
1. All fish must be caught during the specified dates of the tournament, March 31 – April 2, 2017.
Entry fee is $697.68 plus $52.32 Florida sales tax for a total of $750.00.
2. All fish must be weighed in on the day they are caught.
3. Each boat will be allowed to weigh in SIX fish during the entire tournament. The weights from the top three fish
from each boat will be added together to come up with that boat’s aggregate weight. Each boat will be allowed to
weigh in up to three fish per day not to exceed six fish for the tournament.
4. The weights for this tournament will also count for the Outcast Cobia Classic. They will not count for
the Harbor Docks World Championship. All fish must be weighed at Harbor Docks to qualify for
the World Championship.
5. Tournament hours and dates are from 12:01 AM Friday, March 31, 2017 through 8:00 PM Saturday, April 2, 2017.
6. Official weigh station and Tournament Headquarters will be Tailfin’s Ale House & Oyster Bar
in Destin. Scales will be open from 4:00 PM until 8:00 PM each day.
7. The Captain/Anglers meeting will be held at Tailfin’s Ale House & Oyster Bar in Destin on
Thursday, March 30, 2017. The doors will open at 6:30 PM and dinner will be served at 7:00 PM.
8. The awards presentation will be held at Tailfin’s Ale House & Oyster Bar in Destin on Sunday,
April 3, 2016.
9. Winners will be determined by an aggregate weight of up to three fish per boat. In case of a tie; the first boat to accumulate
the highest aggregate total will be determined the winner. Time is determined when the fish are weighed not at
the time of capture.
10. A polygraph examination will be required and must be passed in a conclusive manner. Failure to submit to such a
polygraph examination will result in disqualification of the entrant, without refund, at the sole discretion of the tournament
committee. All possible winnings will also be forfeited if the entrant refuses to take the required polygraph.
11. Decision of the tournament committee is final. Violation of any of the tournament rules will subject the
boat to disqualification from the tournament without refund.
12. Any protest must be presented to the weigh-master within 24 hours of the weigh-in of the fish in question.
No protest will be accepted after 8:30 PM on the final day of fishing which is April 2, 2017. A $500 (cash only) protest fee
must accompany the protest application. In the event the protest is upheld, the fee will be refunded. If the protest proves
invalid the protest will be forfeited.
13. All fish must be in acceptable condition. The tournament chairman or any committee member reserves the right to
reject any fish entry because of poor condition, mutilation, or being frozen. The condition of the fish will be left up to the
scrutiny of the committee. Their decision is final.
14. All fish must be caught on ROD and REEL. Fish caught by bicycle rigs, spears, traps, nets, or any other
entangling device will be disqualified.
15. The use of illegal fish attracting devices (hereinafter called “FAD’S”) is strictly prohibited during the Miller Lite
Cobia Invitational. For tournament purposes, FAD’S will be defined as any permanent or nonpermanent structure or
device that is deployed into the Gulf of Mexico for the purpose of attracting fish to its location that has not met proper
United States Coast Guard and/or Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission guidelines. Participating vessels
and/or individuals found to have participated in the deployment of, assisted in deployment of, and/or acquisition of coordinates
of previously deployed FAD’S from any source will be disqualified from the Miller Lite Cobia Invitational pending
results of a polygraph test. The captain/owner of each registered vessel must sign a FAD Rules Acknowledgement Waiver
accompanied with the Official Tournament Entry Form to be eligible to participate in the Miller Lite Cobia Invitational.
16. Any Cobia knowingly or intentionally found, hooked, and/or caught on or near a FAD will not be eligible to be
weighed in the Miller Lite Cobia Invitational. If in the course of traditional Cobia sight fishing a Cobia on or near a FAD is
found, hooked, and/or caught, that Cobia will not be eligible to be weighed in the Miller Lite Cobia Invitational unless it is
determined that there was at no point any knowledge of said FAD. Participating vessels and/or individuals found to have
knowingly caught and weighed any Cobia on or near a FAD will be disqualified from the Miller Lite Cobia Invitational
pending results of a polygraph test.
17. The use of HARPOONS is strictly prohibited.
18. Intentional snagging or foul hooking is prohibited.
19. In order to promote conservation and preserve the species; The Miller Lite Cobia Invitational will limit all
of its participants to weighing in a maximum of one Cobia per person per day. NO ILLEGAL ENTRIES WILL
BE ACCEPTED. This complies with the State of Florida regulations at the time of printing. Any changes in
State regulations after the printing of this publication will be covered at the Captain’s meeting.
20. The Miller Lite Cobia Invitational, in order to conserve the resources, has set a minimum weight of 45 pounds.. NO
ILLEGAL ENTRIES WILL BE ACCEPTED.
21. All fish weighed may be subject to random gutting. Failure to allow a tournament committee member
to gut a fish will result in the disqualification of the fish in question.
20. Only one prize per boat per division this includes the optional cash awards categories as well.
21. The Miller Lite Cobia Invitational is under obligation and will report any violation of the minimum size lengths and
possession limits of all fish involved.
22. All rules are subject to change at the Captain’s meeting.