These rules are an overall guideline that the series will follow, however, there may be some event specific rules that will be listed on the individual event pages on TOURNEYX.  These event specific rules will supersede those listed in the overall series rules.

For any questions or concerns please contact any of the following people:

Ben Lea: Series and Lake Trail Tournament Director (412) 334-5953

Ryan Vantine: River Trail Tournament Director (724) 671-0381

Nate Hall: Assistant tournament Director for both trails (724) 584-6283

Payout and Entry Fee Structure:

Individual Event Fees and Payout:  Each individual event will have a $45.00 entry fee.  This will be split in the following way: $6.50 to the TourneyX fee, $5.00 to juice the pot for the top three anglers at the championship, and $33.50 to the event payout.  The top 10% of competitors or top 3 anglers, whichever is greater, will receive a payout after the event.  This amount will vary depending on the number of participants.  This year we will be using STRIPE through TourneyX to payout anglers.  This will eliminate the 21 day holdover that PAYPAL hit us with last season and allow us to payout anglers after 48 business hours.  Anglers can still sign up using PAYPAL through TOURNEYX.

Championship

To qualify for the 2-DAY CHAMPIONSHIP in the KEYSTONE BASS KAYAK SERIES, anglers must compete in 4 total events between the LAKE and RIVER TRAILS:.

CALCULATING AOY POINTS

Anglers competing in events will be added to the database that is live on www.keystonebassks.com. Anglers can accumulate points from either LAKE or RIVER TRIALS but only your best 4 events will be used to calculate your total points prior to the Championship.  The FIFTH event that will be used to calculate your overall AOY points and crown an AOY CHAMPION will be the OVERALL 2-DAY CHAMPIONSHIP.  The OVERALL CHAMPIONSHIP is worth double AOY points and can change the leaderboard of AOY points dramatically. 

Eligible Waters:

Lake Trail: Anglers are allowed to travel up to 5 river miles (5 miles following the waterway, not a straight line) up any tributary on the lake the event is taking place.  However, anglers must launch from public property on the main body of the lake.  Fish caught out of bounds will be disqualified from the event and launching out of bounds will cause the angler to be disqualified from the event.

River Trail: Anglers are allowed to travel up to 5 river miles (5 miles following the waterway, not a straight line) up any tributary on the river the event is taking place.  However, anglers must launch from public property within 1 river mile of the main body of water for the event.  If an angler is unsure if his/her launch site is legal, it is their responsibility to confirm its legality with the tournament director (Ryan Vantine) prior to the start of the event. Fish caught out of bounds will be disqualified from the event and launching out of bounds will cause the angler to be disqualified from the event.

**Property is considered public if all anglers have access to this property.  Pay launches are public because the entire field of anglers have access to pay this fee.  Parks and State Game Lands are also public property and can be used as a launch site.**

Judging and Scoring Photos:  **Anglers must download the TourneyX Pro app to submit pictures for tournaments**

Approved Measuring Boards: Ketch Products Boards (Karbonate, X, Board & Cradle) and Hawg Trough brand measuring boards.  Fish submitted on any other board will be disqualified.  

Note: No foldable boards are approved for use.

Identifier:  There will be an identifier specific to the KBKS events. There will also be a one time code released prior to each individual event.  Pictures of fish submitted without both being clearly visible will be disqualified. 

Black Bass: The only acceptable fish in these events are black bass which are as follows; Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, and Spotted Bass.

Orientation: Fish must be facing left with the belly down and tail to the right (See Pictures Below)  Fish with an incorrect orientation will be disqualified.

Note: As long as the fish orientation on the board is correct, photos that are submitted upside down can be rotated by judges and will be accepted.

Minimum Length: Fish must be at least 8 inches long to count.  If there is a penalty assessed to a fish that causes the ending length to be less than 8 inches, the fish will be disqualified.

Measurement:  Fish will be measured to the nearest ¼ inch that the tail clearly touches on the board.  Be aware and submit fish at the correct length.  We had a Caudal Fin rule last year that many viewed as too strict.  The only purpose of the rule was to prevent the use of a cut off tail being used to extend the length of a bass.  After further discussion after last season, we have decided that we can loosen the reins around the rule so that we can still eliminate cheating but make it easier on judges and anglers when judging/submitting catches.  The new modification will be as follows:

• DENY FISH CATCH IF

  • EYE COVERED

  • MOUTH IS COVERED

  • ANY PART OF HAND IS UNDER THE GILL FLAP

  • "FULL" IDENTIFIER NOT IN PHOTO("Full":Angler name and event code are visible)

  • KAYAK NOT VISIBLE

  • GPS COORDINATES DO NOT MEET EVENT BOUNDARIES

  • FISH ORIENTATION IS NOT FACING LEFT WITH BELLY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MEASURING BOARD 

  • PHOTO IS TOO BLURRY TO ESTABLISH ANY OF THE ABOVE CRITERIA

For any photo that falls under the deny category, the angler will be contacted and asked if a better picture exists.  Failure to produce a better picture will result in the angler’s catch not counting toward their total.  If a better photo can be used, the angler can delete the catch and resubmit the accepted photo.  

• FISH PHOTO DEDUCTIONS

  • MOUTH OPEN DEDUCT 1”(if the measuring board can be seen through the mouth, this penalty will be enforced)

AVOID THE RED CIRCLED AREAS BELOW  WITH YOUR HAND AND PHOTOS WILL BE ACCEPTED