Finest Kind Swordfish Tournament

[Mike]

FINEST KIND 3rd Annual SWORDFISH Tournament
DATE: August 27, 2005

Weather Date: September 10, 2005

This fun-oriented competition will introduce many to the moonlight gladiators of the sea and provide information on the recovery of this species. Swordfishing is a team effort and awards will be on a boat basis. Weather is a crucial factor in swordfishing and the tournament will only be fished if seas are 3 to 4 feet or less.

AWARDS

Weight - First place - 50% of entries
Second place - 30% of entries
Third place - 20% of entries

Release - First Place - $500 Finest Kind gift certificate
Second place - $300 Finest Kind gift certificate
Third place - $200 Finest Kind gift certificate
Entry fee is $350 per boat before the briefing; $400 per boat after the briefing. No refunds will be made as the prize purse is determined by the number of entries. Ninety percent (90%) of entry fees will be paid back in tournament prize money. In the event the tournament is postponed it will move to Saturday night, September 10, 2005.

Tournament Rules:
1. All boats must have an Atlantic Highly Migratory Species permit. To obtain a permit via the Internet, go to http://www.nmfspermits.com or call 1-888-872-8862. They will take credit cards. (The tournament permit requires tournament officials to report results so individual boats do not need to report the night’s results).
2. Boats may leave from Ft. Pierce, St. Lucie, Jupiter or Palm Beach Inlets. The fishing area will be US territorial waters between 26° 30' N (approx. Boynton Inlet) and 27° 30' N ( approx. Ft. Pierce Inlet).
3. There will be no limit on line test, number of anglers, who touches the rods, or number of rods per boat. Fish must be caught on rod and reel (no electric reels).
4. All fish must be 50 inches or longer when measured from lower jaw to fork of tail to be eligible for weight awards.
5. A legal release is when the leader (20-foot maximum length) touches the rod tip or a crew member takes control of the leader. Tagging is not mandatory but is encouraged.
6. NO triple hooks, please.
7. Fish may be harpooned or gaffed with flying gaff or straight gaff (NO MECHANICAL PROPULSION).
8. Baits may be your preference- -live, dead, or artificial.
9. Lines may be put in the water at 8:00 p.m. (about 15 minutes after sunset). Lines must be out of the water at 6:45 a.m. (about 15 minutes before sunrise). Committee boat will announce times.
10. Official VHF channel 72 (the swordfish channel).
11. All boats must checkout with Finest Kind Marina before entering the ocean and check-in with Finest Kind Marina when inside the inlet. A committee boat will also be offshore. Due to allowing contestants to use multiple inlets, a roll call of registered boats will be conducted after dark. Any boat that returns during the night must contact the committee boat and inform them before starting in and after clearing the inlet.
12. Report all hook-ups, releases, and boated fish to the committee boat. The time a release or a boated fish is reported to the committee boat is the official time for the catch. A fish reported to the committee boat may be fought until landed. The boat will have 1½ hours to return to Finest Kind Marina after the fish has been boated or released and reported. All fish must be brought to Finest Kind Marina, on the vessel from which they were caught, for weighing. Any fish killed but not weighed officially must be weighed and measured and reported to Finest Kind to comply with swordfish regulations.
13. Time will be used for breaking any ties.
14. In the event only one fish is qualified to weigh, the winner will be awarded 2nd and 3rd place cash. If two fish are weighed, 1st and 2nd place will equally share 3rd place cash. All participants who enter and fish in this tournament do so at their own risk.
Weigh-in will be Sunday morning, August 28th from 7:00 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. after fishing stops. Any hook-ups prior to lines out of the water at 6:45 a.m. must be reported. After boating the fish, the boat will have 1 ½ hours to return to the weigh station. Awards will be presented immediately after the weigh-in and all boats have been accounted for. Coffee and other beverages will be available as well as breakfast doughnuts. All are invited to the weigh-in.
The Swordfish Tournament briefing will be Friday night, August 26, 2005 at 6:00 p.m. It will be followed by a swordfish seminar / clinic at Finest Kind Marina and Tackle in Port Salerno. Beverages will be provided. Anyone interested in swordfishing is invited to attend the clinic whether they are fishing the tournament or not.

Boats may register till 6:00 p.m., August 27, 2005.
Questions and further information may be obtained at 772.486.0180 or 772.834.5596.

[Shark Tagger]

Another one for us northern guys Bring it on

[Darkside]

Its a fun tournament for sure, hope it gets 40 boats this year. The weather hopefully will be nice see ya at Captains meeting. Good luck to everyone fishing.