4th Annual Vermilion Hawg Fest Open Walleye Tournament

When: Saturday September, 22nd 2007- Blow day, September 23rd 2007
Where: Vermilion River (on water boat check at Red Clay on theRiver)
Flights: 7:30a-3:30p (boats 1-34), 7:50a-3:50p (boats 35-67), 8:10a-4:10p (boats 68-100)

Entry Fees
Pre registration - 2 man teams (4 rod limit) $100, 3 or more man teams (6 rod limit) $150. Paypal registrations subject to $5 surcharge to cover fees. Pre-registration closes on 9/14/07
Registration after 9/14 - 2 man teams (4 rod limit) $150, 3 or more man teams (6 rod limit) $200. Registration on Sept 21 only.

**There will be a mandatory Captain's meeting Friday, September 21st at 7pm for ALL team captains. Ramp registration will be Friday, September 21st from 5pm - 7pm ONLY. Location TBA.**

Payout Schedule
80% payback to 25% of field,
Example - 100 teams pays 20 places, with remaining 80 teams entered in a random drawing. 5 teams will be drawn for payouts.

Big Fish Pot
$20 per team. (optional) 100% payback. 1 fish entry per team. Big fish paid in cash only at the Captain's Meeting at 7pm Friday, September 21st. Location TBA.

Awards Ceremony/Pig Roast and Weigh In
The weigh in will be conducted at the Red Clay on the River. 5150 Liberty Ave. Vermilion, Ohio 44089 at McGarvey's Landing.

The awards will be conducted at the Vermilion on the Lake Club, 3780 Edgewater Drive, Vermilion, OH 44089.

Starting positions will be determined by the order of registration. Pre- registration is available by clicking the register button at the bottom of the page, or by mailing the registration form and check or money order to Ohio Game Fishing, 4719 Reed Rd. #304, Columbus Ohio 43220, (Attention: Vermilion Hawg Fest Tournament). Pre-registration ends on 9/14/07.

Additional on-site registration will be open on Friday September 21st ONLY from 5 to 7 PM. Location TBA. CASH ONLY for all on-site registrations

*There will be no refunds issued for voluntary withdrawl after 9/14/07*

Hawg Fest registrations are non-transferrable.

For any additional information or questions please contact a member of the tournament committee:

Tournament Rules

1. Rules and rule changes
These rules will remain unchanged unless otherwise notified during the mandatory captain's meeting Friday, September 21st. Interpretation of the rules will be to the discretion of the Tournament Director and the Tournament Committee. The rules and the interpretations of them will be final and not open to protest.

2. Sportsmanship
Entrants must conduct themselves in a true sportsman-like manner at all times. NO EXCEPTIONS. Courtesy and ethics of the highest standard are the norm, not the exception. Remember that you not only represent yourselves, but all tournament anglers and competitive fishing. Any rude or insulting type of behavior will be subject to disqualification or penalties enforced. Any team receiving a citation, for a violation in their boat, from any law enforcement agency on the day of the tournament will be disqualified for that tournament.

3. Severe weather
In the event of severe weather the tournament hours maybe suspended or cut short. A tournament may be rescheduled or canceled at the discretion of the tournament director. If the weather is not safe the blow date will be the day after the scheduled date.

4. Safety
Safety must be observed at all times. Each contestant is to follow all Coast Guard regulations. No Alcoholic beverages or illegal substances may be consumed or in possession by teams during fishing hours. All team members are required to wear Coast Guard approved PFD's at blast off to ensure all participants compliance with state watercraft regulations. After blast off the wearing of PFD's is per participants' discretion with respect to state law.

5. Boats and equipment
All boats will be inspected prior to the start of that day of fishing. All boats must conform to the appropriate state, and USCG standards. Your boat must have all USCG safety equipment on board including a VHF radio. All boats will have an USCG or BMA plate attached by the boat manufacturer and the horsepower rating will not be exceeded by any means. Bait and tackle may not be passed between boats after the tournament has started. Only registered contestants are allowed to be on the boat during tournament hours. All boats must have liability insurance.

6. Marine radios and cell phones
You must also have a working VHF marine band radio. The official tournament channel will be channel 80. You may monitor any channel while fishing but cannot transmit by radio, cell phone or any other electronic equipment. Any type of transmission of information via any communicative device concerning any aspect of fishing is prohibited during the tournament.

7. Fishing
Water open to fish will be the Ohio waters of Lake Erie. Competitors must not come in contact with other boats during tournament hours. The only exception to this rule is in an emergency situation. If a competitors boat breaks down another competitor MAY bring their fish to the weigh in and assist with a tow. Any disabled boat must notify the tournament director by radio or phone. Fish must not be combined between teams.

8. Dead fish
There is NO dead fish penalty. Fish do not need to be kept in a livewell.

9. Weigh in
Teams must be past the official check in site before the end of tournament hours to weigh fish. Any team arriving late will not be allowed to weigh. Check in site will be announced at each tournament. Winners will be determined by the weight of their 5 largest fish. Big fish winner will be determined by the weight of single largest walleye. Only 1 fish per team is eligible for big fish. Length of single largest walleye breaks all ties. After checking, in all teams must weigh their fish in a timely manner. Not doing so will be treated the same as being late. Teams not weighing in must notify a tournament director.

10. Protest
The tournament committee or any other contestant has the right to protest another team or contestant. The protest must be made to the tournament director in a timely manner and accompanied by a $150.00 fee. If protest is upheld, the fee will be returned. If it is not, no refund will be given. A lie detector will be available at each tournament.

11. Spirit of the rule
All rules have "loop holes". It is the intention of the tournament Director and the committee to provide a sportsman like tournament. All questions or problems are to be referred to the Tournament Director and the rules committee. They have sole jurisdiction in the determining the application of the rules.

12. Waiver and hold harmless
All contestants in signing an entry form agree to hold harmless any and all promoters, tournament directors, agents, agencies, and organizations assisting the WBSA and OGF tournament operation. Furthermore, all contestants agree to waiver all responsibility for death, injuries, damage, liability, theft, fire or loss of any kind to entrants. I have read, and understand the above rules, and by signing the entry form is in fact signing a waiver form. Entries must be signed in order to participate. Anglers under the age of 18 are welcome but must have a waiver signed by 2 parents or legal guardians.

13. Participation and eligiblity
The field will be limited to the first 100 boats to register. Team size can be from 2 to 6 people. There will be a limit of 6 rods per team unless it is a 2 man team then the legal limit of 4 rods will be observed. The WBSA and OGF tournament committee has right of entry refusal or expulsion from the tournament for any reason.

14. Payback
Payback will be at the rate of 80% of the entries paid back to 25% of the field. Based on 100 boat field, tournament pays out to top 20 teams, with the remaining 80 teams put in for a random drawing. 5 teams will be drawn at random for payouts.

15.Big Fish Pot
An optional Big fish pot will be available for $20 and will be paid back at 100%