CATT RULES

  1. MEMBERSHIP & Insurance– The CATT Trail requires a $35 membership fee. BASSKINGS membership is $50 and only paid 1 time per year. The Memberships is seasonal because CATT has more than 1 Final. A Spring membership covers all the Spring Trails, a Summer membership covers all the Summer Trails and a Fall Membership covers all the Fall Trails. Anyone under the age of 16 will not be charged a membership fee. Anyone disqualified from a sanctioned event for blatant rule violations will not be allowed to enter a CATT event. It is the sole responsibility of an Angler to carry and maintain the state required minimum liability coverage for themselves and passengers. BassKings requires a separate membership of $50 per person!
  2. PARTNERS – Teams consist of two (2) anglers. Single anglers will be allowed to enter a CATT event and must fish any Final or the CATT Championship single if a partner is not used during the Qualifiers. At least one (1) member must be 21 years of age. Each angler must possess a valid fishing license.
  3. SUBS – Subs pay a $35.00 membership fee at all CATT events.
    1. A team may use a sub at any original CATT Qualifier. A team is allowed to sub no more than 2 times at any CATT Trails. NO NEW SUBS AT THE FINAL. A team at the Final must consist of both original partners or an original partner and a sub that was used during the Qualifiers.
  4. FINAL & CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFICATIONS – Payment for a CATT event for the sole purpose of Final Qualification and not physically fishing in the event is not allowed. NEW SUBS ARE NOT ALLOWED AT A CATT CHAMPIONSHIP or CATT FINAL. A CATT Championship or Final team must consist of the two (2) original partners or a sub that the team used during a CATT Trail Qualifier. A team member cannot team up with another team member at any Final or Championship.
  5. HOLE SITTING – A team having someone who is a competitor or non-competitor sitting on a location for the sole purpose of holding the location for the team will be disqualified. This rule violation will result in the competitors and non-competitors being banned from any and all future CATT events.
  6. POINTS – Ten (10) show-up points will be awarded at each CATT Qualifier. First Place will receive one hundred (100) points, Second Place ninety nine (99) points, Third Place, ninety eight (98) points, etc. A team that does not weigh will receive 10 points less than the last team that does weigh. CATT Trail point winners will receive free entry and blast-off position #1 at the Final. Gaston, James River & Old North point winners receive free entry to following year trail. (James River Trail Points start at 220.) In case of point tie total weight will determine the point winning team.
  7. CATT DEFINITION OF A PRO —  MLF BFL, MLF Toyota Series, NPFL and ABA Open Series anglers will be allowed to enter any CATT event. BASS OPEN, MLF BFL & ABA Open Series Co-anglers will be allowed to enter any CATT event. MLF Bass Pro Tour Anglers and Bass Elites are not allowed to enter. (Only exception is the CATT Lake Norman/Lake Wylie/Lake Hartwell events & Phantom Outdoors Open On Lake Norman)
  8. GUIDE – Any angler who has guided one hundred twenty (120) or more trips on tournament waters in a twelve (12) month period immediately preceding to the date of the CATT event being entered will not be eligible to enter. Salt water guides are exempt from the guide rule. This rule will be included on the polygraph exam. Both members of a team will be tested. Refusal to take polygraph exam for any reason — health reasons included — will result in disqualification.
  9. START TIME – The majority of CATT events will begin at safe daylight and end at 3:00 PM unless weather is a factor. There may be some exceptions. In case of break down or emergency, anglers will be allowed to enter a CATT tournament after blast off.
  10. TROLLING OR LONG LINING — Trolling or Long Lining will not be allowed at any CATT event and will result in disqualification. No live bait is allowed. All fish must be caught on rod/reel and artificial bait.
  11. LIMITS – All CATT events have a five (5) bass limit. Length limits will be determined by DNR length rule in effect for the tournament lake. A four (4) ounce penalty will be deducted for each dead fish weighed. The four (4) ounce penalty will not be subtracted from a team’s Big Fish weight, but will be deducted from the teams total weight. A team bringing a short fish to the scales will lose the short fish and their big fish. A team bringing more than five (5) bass to the scales will results in loss of the team’s tournament Big Fish. A team must have a working livewell. Once a teams bag has been weighed their cannot be a 2nd weigh for any reason.
  12. BLAST-OFF POSITIONS – Blast-off position is determined by order of payment. Any team blasting off out of position will be warned for first offense. Second offense will result in disqualification.
  13. OFF LIMITS — The following off limits rules apply:
    1. CATT events have no off limits time period.
    2. Areas of a lake that will be off limits are all areas designated off limits by the state DNR. A team will be disqualified if rule 13B is violated.
    3. Casting over any skimmer wall or any dam wall is not allowed. Doing so will result in permanent disqualification from all future CATT events.
    4. Any areas that are not accessible by boat are off limits, as well as any other areas specified by CATT as off limits on any given lake.
  14. CULL RULE – Fish must be culled when the five (5) fish limit is reached. Not culling will results in one (1) warning. Second violation will result in disqualification.
  15. TIES – Each team will have a Big Fish weighed in order to break a total weight tie. Total weight will break a Big Fish tie (except at CATT Championships where the prize money will be split).
  16. LATE PENALTY – One (1) pound per minute will be deducted from a team’s total weight for each minute the team is late. Returning to the ramp more than fifteen (15) minutes past the designated weigh-in time will result in disqualification.
  17. POLYGRAPH – Winners and participants are subject to a polygraph exam at any CATT event. Any angler who has failed a polygraph exam in the past fifteen (15) years will not be allowed to enter a CATT event. Refusal to take a polygraph for any reason will result in disqualification.
  18. ALCOHOL, ILLEGAL DRUGS, & FELONS – No alcohol or illegal drugs may be consumed during tournament hours. Anyone who has been convicted of a felony will not be allowed to enter a CATT event. **There may be some exceptions**
  19. WEATHER – In the event of heavy fog, lightning, heavy rain, or any other weather-related problems, the Director can postpone or cancel the tournament. In the event of high winds, trailering will be an option. This decision will be made by the CATT Director.
  20. CELL PHONE – Cell phones may be used during tournament hours for family, business, and emergency calls. No cell phone discussions pertaining to fishing are allowed during tournament hours.
  21. PAYBACK & ENTRY FEES – Pre-paid entries are refundable if conflicts arise causing a team to withdraw from the competition. (Director or CATT owner must be notified before start of tournament.)
    A portion of each Qualifier is held back and goes into the Final Fund of the lake the Qualifier was held on. A CATT GOLD may be included in schedule. A small portion of entry fee goes to the CATT Championship Fund. $30 to $75 goes to CATT from each event to cover tournament expenses and polygraphs. Two (2) Big Fish places will be paid. One (1) place paid for every five (5) teams entered. $80 Qualifiers & $120 Finals. $10 late fee at the ramp. One (1) extra place may be paid at the Final. That decision will be made by CATT director.
    CATT CHAMPIONSHIP & PHANTOM OUTDOORS INVITATIONALS entry fee is $200 per team. $210 at the ramp. Championship & Phantom are 89 -90% payback events. A potion is held back at any CATT Open to pay Tournament expense.
  22. Side Pots $ & BF Pot. CATT offers $25/$50/$100 Side Pots. Up to three (3) Side Pot $ places may be paid. One (1) Big Fish place will be paid. 
  23. LIFE JACKET & KILL SWITCH – A life jacket/vest for each angler and the boat motor kill switch must be in use while big motor is in operation. You will receive a warning 1st offense for failure to wear life jacket/vest. 2nd offense failure to comply will result in disqualification. Life vests must be Coast Guard approved. Excessive speed and reckless driving will result in disqualification.
  24. BOATS – Any boat equipped with a motor exceeding the Coast Guard approved rating for the boat will not be allowed for use in a CATT event. Jet drive engines are not allowed during both official practice and competition. Boats must be a minimum of 16 feet. A working livewell is required.
  25. GAS CAN & JUGS – No gas can be placed on the bank for use in a CATT event. Gas cannot be brought to a team for the sole purpose of enabling the team to advance to other fishing areas or in order to travel back to the weigh-in location. Gas may be obtained from a marina that is available to all participants. NO EXTRA CANS OF GAS CAN BE ON YOUR BOAT AT A CATT EVENT.
  26. ASSISTANCE (Break Down) — If a team receives assistance from a competitor or non-competitor, it must be brought to the Director’s attention for approval. If possible, a phone call should be made to the Director to receive clearance for any help a team receives during tournament hours. If a call cannot be made, the instance must be brought to the Director’s attention before weigh-in. A team member can return to the weigh-in with the team’s catch in another competitor’s boat or non-competitor’s boat. A team member can exit the boat in case of the call of nature, emergency, or to pay for gas. A team member cannot exit the boat in order to advance the boat into a fishing area.
  27. PROTESTS – All protests should be made to the CATT Director. Protests must be brought to the CATT Director’s attention immediately after weigh-in is concluded. Any protest brought at a later time will not be reviewed. All CATT Directors’ decisions are final.
  28. Behavior – The following is unacceptable behavior by competitors in any and all CATT events that will be cause for penalties or disqualification from future CATT events. Displays of anger and displeasure for reasons related to fishing competition where members of the public, including other anglers and spectators are present. Abuse whether it’s physical, verbal, threatening, or slandering tournament officials, volunteers, fellow competitors or others connected with CATT including comments on social media. Offensive or slanderous comments with racial, cultural or sexual overtones regarding event officials, event personal or fellow anglers. Family members of any and all CATT officials or personal are strictly off limits!
  29. CATT reserves the right to refuse any entry or membership for any reason. This covers CATT Trails, CATT Opens, BassKings  and any Charity event hosted by CATT.
  30. BASSKING RULES
  31. CATT Rules that apply to BASSKINGS #1, #5, #7, #8, #9, #10, #11, #12, #14, #15, #16, #17, #18, #19, #20, #23, #24, #25, #26, #27, #28 & #29
  32.  Championship Qualification – An Angler must enter 2 BassKing Qualifier to be eligible to enter the BassKing Championship. Payment for an event for the sole purpose of Championship Qualification and not physically fishing the event is not allowed!   
  33.  HOLE SITTING – An Angler having someone who is a competitor or non-competitor sitting on a location for the sole purpose of holding the location for the angler will be disqualified!  
  34. BassKings Off Limits – There will be no off limits for the Qualifiers waters. The Championship waters will be off limits the Monday through Wednesday before with Thursday & Friday as practice days!   
  35. All boat contingencies apply to BassKings!