Lake Verret Bass Club - Purpose & Bylaws

2013 Purpose
The purpose of the club is to promote the art of bass angling with artificial lures and to enjoy the fishing tournaments from a recreational and competitive viewpoint. This club is a non-profit organization, with all proceeds going back to the membership in some form, as approved by the majority of club members.

2013 Bylaws

The by laws can be changed, amended, or add new by laws passed by majority of the membership present at the December meeting.
Officers will be as follows: President, Vice-President, Secretary, Treasurer, and one board member for each 10 members.
There will be one general membership meeting each month. Election of officers will be held at the November meeting. The President may call board of Directors or special general membership meetings at any time.
The fiscal year will be from January 1 to December 31. Annual dues will be $80.00. $25.00 for LVBC and $55 for B.A.S.S. Nation ($25 State / $30 Federal). B.A.S.S dues are $25.00 per year and are the responsibility of the member. Each member must renew their B.A.S.S. membership individually, the club WILL NOT do this. Dues must be paid before the January meeting. Tournament entry fees will be $25.00 per tournament per angler.
All returning members wishing to rejoin must pay their dues (or have them post marked if sending via mail) by December 5th of the previous year. Any returning member failing to meet this deadline will not be added to the B.A.S.S. Nation roster for the Lake Verret Bass Club. The deadline for new members is 1 week prior to the current year's B.A.S.S. Nation Spring Qualifier event in Louisiana. This date changes annually, so check with our officers for more information.
A list of all paid up members, with names, addresses and phone numbers will be given to all members once a year.
All tournament rules and by laws will be approved by a majority of members present at the December general meeting.
All members must participate in a minimum of 6 tournaments per year to qualify for their membership award. The membership award will be a Lake Verret Bass Club Shirt of members choice of short or long sleeve, paid for by the club. No member can receive this award more than once.
Locations and launch sites of tournaments can be changed due to uncontrollable circumstances (IE: high water, low water, idle zones, launch closures, hurricanes, etc.).
**New for 2013** The number of participating members in the Lake Verret Bass club shall not exceed 50 at any time.
**New for 2013** The winner of the Angler of the Year (AOY) award will receive a gift, in addition to the plaque given. The gift will be valued up to, but not exceeding $200.00 and will be determined by angler request and club vote. Examples are club jacket, rod, reel, gift cards, etc.
**New for 2013** The club will have three face to face meetings (if sufficient club business warrants a face to face meeting). These meetings will be held one per quarter with the exception of the summer, where there is only one club tournament and meeting, that meeting will not always be a face to face meeting. The annual banquet can count as one of the face to face meetings. Examples of locations to hold meetings: Cabelas, Don's Seafood, Mike Anderson's, etc.
**New for 2013** The Big Bass Kitty can only be awarded to an LVBC member that has fished 6 events or more, thus qualifying them for all other club awards.

2013 Tournament Rules

The use of alcoholic beverages or any other drugs will not be allowed during L.V.B.C. tournaments. First time offenders will be disqualified from the tournament or asked to leave from said function.
The L.V.B.C. weigh masters will be responsible for the weighing and measuring of all fish at the tournament. If a question arises on the legal size of any fish being weighed, the contestant entering this fish will be called forth to witness the measuring of said fish. The decision of the weigh masters will be final.
Any contestant attempting to weigh in any bass under legal size in length will be immediately disqualified from the tournament.
The limit of 5 bass will be strictly adhered to. Any bass over the limit of 5 will be subtracted from the total weight of the member's legal stringer, largest fish first. The fish subtracted will be completely disqualified from all competition, including big fish award.
Catch and release will be mandatory, except when the majority of the members deem it necessary to keep fish for a club supper or event.
Anyone bringing dead fish to the weigh scale will be penalized four (4) ounces per fish.
All teams must cull down to 5 fish before coming to the scales and cannot have more than 6 fish in their live well at all times.
The following ponds and canals are off-limits during L.V.B.C. tournaments:
1. Morgan City Canal along highway 70.
2. All gated and locked canals.
In the case of a tie, big fish will break the tie. Other ties will be decided by the length of the biggest fish.
No member at any time during the tournament shall intentionally fish within a 50 ft. of any other contestant that is at anchor or fishing along a bank of a canal, bayou, lake, stream, etc., without the explicit permission of the subject contestant. Any violation of this rule must be protested to the tournament weigh masters immediately after the weigh-in and before the payouts are made, or upon arrival at the weigh-in. The tournaments weigh masters will act accordingly.
All fish entered must be caught on artificial lures, strips, rinds, etc. Only rods and reels (casting, spinning, spin-casting and fly rods) are permitted.
A small secondary boat may not be used by a contestant in the tournament. You must stay in your boat at all times. No pulling over dams, bulkheads, etc.
Any contestant late for a designated check in time shall be penalized at the rate of 4 ounces per minute, from his total stringer weight for the first 15 minutes. The same penalty will apply to his largest fish. If he is at the checkpoint later than 15 minutes, he shall be disqualified. Exceptions will be made for mechanical failure (by being towed in). The weigh masters will have the official time.
Any contestant not observing safety on the water with his boat or unsportsmanlike like conduct will be completely disqualified from the tournament upon receipt of a written protest by the weigh masters.
Any protest will have to be turned in to the weigh masters as soon as possible after your arrival at the weigh-in station, or immediately after weigh-in and before payouts are awarded.
All fish will be brought in a plastic bag when coming to the scales. This rule is intended so that the members follow common sense to insure all fish are returned to the water unharmed
Life vests must be worn at all times while outboard motor is running.
Once a contestant hands his fish to the weigh masters, only the weigh masters will be allowed to handle the fish until the fish are weighed.
All fish will be measured on a flat board with the mouth closed.
All members are required to sign attendance sheet at all meetings.
Entry fees can be paid at the pre-tournament meeting the Thursday before the tournament. If a club member wants to fish a tournament, but does not know if he will work or not, he will be allowed to fish because of a last minute work schedule change. Said member must call any member or officer of the club who is fishing that tournament. If the pre-tournament meeting is a conference call, the money will be accepted prior to weigh-in the day of the tournament.
Lake Verret Bass Club year to date standings will be determined by a club-approved point system. A member's best 6 tournament finishes, no matter how many are fished over the course of the year, will be used to calculate the final standings for the year. Points for attendance of all meetings or tournaments will still count to the total for AOY points, only the tournament placement points will be dropped. A Club member with highest point total, will be crowned King Fishermen for that year.
Each angler will be required to authenticate their recorded weight immediately subsequent to their fish being weighed weigh-in. Each angler will initial next to the recorded weight on the official weight recording sheet if their recorded weight is correct. Should the recorded weight not be correct, the angler should note that it is not correct, petition to have it changed and then initial when it is changed. The angler should do this before releasing their fish in case a mistake is made and the fish must be weighed again. If an angler leaves the weigh-in without initialing his weight, it will be assumed that the recorded weight was correct and no challenge will be subsequently allowed.
**New for 2013** LVBC tournaments cannot fish from the same launch in back to back events.
**New for 2013** The "Road-Runner" style tournament format will no longer be used for any tournament, including the "Top 6 Fish-Off".
**New for 2013** The "Top 6 Fish-Off" will no longer automatically be held in December. The month during which the "Fish-Off" will be held will be voted on during the Annual Rule Change / Officer Election meeting. This tournament month will have to be a "singles" format. Money put up by the club for the "Top 6 Fish-Off" will remain $200.00 for the winner, $50.00 for Big Bass.
*****NOTE - the 6 participants in the "Fish-Off" may decide to put up additional money to have a "side pot" payout for this event.

2013 Points System

Meeting Points (2 points per angler): Any member of the LVBC attending a pre-tournament meeting will receive 2 points for each meeting they attend.
Tournament Attendance Points (2 points per tournament): Each angler will be awarded two points for each LVBC tournament in which they are a registered participant. (Qualifications: being present with boat in the water).
Place Points (as noted below): The schedule below will specify the number of points to be awarded, in accordance with the payout sheet. (note: For team tournaments, each angler on the team will awarded the total number of places points, they DO NOT split points). 30 points will be awarded to the winner of each qualifying tournament, 29 for 2nd, 28 for 3rd, etc. All anglers who receive weight credit will receive points. Zero points will be awarded to any angler registered in the tournament but not weighing fish. Angler of the Year points will be awarded based on member weights presented at tournament weigh-in.
Big Bass Points (1 point): The angler weighing in the heaviest bass of a tournament, by weight (regardless of penalties), will be awarded 1 Big Bass point. (In the event of a two day tournament The Big Bass of the day will receive 1 points and the Big Bass of the weekend will receive 1 additional point, for a total of 2 points.) Since the Big Bass competition is separate from the tournament competition, dead fish tournament penalties WILL NOT be considered in the weight of fish for Big Bass.
Short Fish Point Penalty (2 points per fish)
: Any angler presenting a fish at weigh in that is determined to be shorter than the minimum legal length for that lake, will be assessed a penalty of 2 points against their Angler of the Year points total for each short fish presented at weigh-in (ie. 3 short fish = 6 pts. In penalties). This penalty will be in addition to the weight penalty for the tournament - the angler's entire catch / weight will be disqualified from the tournament.
Extracurricular / Charity Bonus Points (1 point per event): Any angler assisting or participating in a charity event or other event sponsored by LVBC or the B.A.S.S. Nation will receive 1 point per event.
Angler of the Year Points - Tie Breaker: If at the end of the tournament year, two or more anglers have the same point total, the tie will be broken by comparing the following categories, in order, until the tie is broken: Creel Points, Attendance Points, 1st Place Points, 2nd Place Points, etc.
Tournament - Tie Breaker: If two or more teams should register the same weight for a tournament, and that weight would position those teams in a "money place", the teams that are tied, will receive ALL OF THE POINTS FOR THE HIGHEST POSITION TIED FOR.