Welcome to the Crown City Bassmasters Draw Trial online!

Our DRAW TRAIL tournaments are held on Saturdays. We have 9 points tournaments and a Classic for anyone who has fished 5 points tournaments. The Draw Trail helps to develop the fishing skills of all of our members, non-boaters and boaters alike. If you are just starting, need practice at tournament events or if you just want to meet a great bunch of fishermen, the Draw Trail is for you.

Date	Lake	Ramp and Map	Notes	Results
June 28	Owasco	Emerson Park, Auburn
July 12	Sandy Pond	Wigwam
July 13	Redfield Reservoir	State Launch
July 19	Otisco	Ryfun's on the Lake
August 16	Fairhaven	State Park Rd off Rt-104A
August 30	Waneta / Lamoka	County Road 23
September 27	Oneida Lake	TBA
October 4 (Classic)	Cross Lake	TBA
October 18 (early bird)	Onondaga Lake	Onondaga Lake Park Marina

 

2007 Draw Trail Points Totals

Find previous years' results by linking here.

2008 Draw Trail Tournament Committee

Official Draw Trail Tournament Rules

Revised June 2006

Draw Trail events last 8 hours, we start at first "good" light.
Everyone must be at the ramp at least 1/2 hour prior to blastoff.

All events are for points - you must be a club member.
Some guest spots are available for anyone interested seeing what we do, with the idea that you might like to join the club.

Registration is $30 ($20 pot, $5 Lunker and $5 Classic surcharge)
Partners are Drawn at the monthly meeting just prior
to each tournament.

All Participants are responsible for their own Lifejacket,
License, fishing equipment, food, water and weather protection.

All non-boaters must give their boater a boating fee
of $20 per event and pay half of the launch fee.
Some boaters may opt to return part of the boating fee at their discretion.

Eligibility:

1. A member must be in good standing (dues paid, etc.) to get points or prizes from any event.

(a) Dues are $30 ($10 Club + $20 National B.A.S.S.) and are required by the regular December Meeting.

(b) A member must participate in at least 5 current season events in order to eligible for the club "Classic". The only exception to this rule is: an angler who has fished 4 events must pay a full $30 to the treasury to cover a 5th event.

Participation Options:

2. An angler may chose to fish for points only at the time of sign up. Points only entry fee is $5 (Classic Surcharge). Any angler can also elect to fish for Lunker Pool ($5) and/or Pot ($20), but must specify and pay for any or all of these options prior to launching.

3. All money paid for a tournament, after the Draw Meeting for that tournament, must be paid in cash. A $10 late fee will be charged to any entry paid after the Draw Meeting or the Sunday prior to the event.

Prizes/Payouts:

4. The full entry fee of $30 will be broken down into prize money for that event ($20), Lunker Pool ($5) and Classic surcharge ($5). The fee will be determined for the regular season events prior to the Season Opening Draw. The Early-bird entry fee and rules will be in accordance to all previous season rules. The points for the Early-bird will be applied to the following tournament year.

5. If you sign up for a tournament and leave the launch area without specifying and paying your entry fee preferences: you will pay full entry fee ($30) and you will not receive points for that tournament. You will not be allowed to participate in any future events until you are in good standing (paid up).

6. The Tournament Director or Club Officer must be notified for pre-tournament withdrawal the Sunday prior to an event. Being excused from a tournament with notification of less than 5 days is up to the discretion of the Tournament Director and the Club President. Any or all fees may be forfeited for short notification.

Non-Boater Requirements:

7. Non-Boaters are required to cover a portion of gas and launch fees. This will be $20 and ½ of the launch fee unless there is a case of a long distance tournament. A reasonable settlement between boater and non-boater will be agreed upon for excess fuel, tolls and trailering costs. The boater can return a portion of the "gas" money at his discretion.

8. Non-boaters are required to provide their own life vest or make arrangements prior to the tournament with their boater.

Boat Requirements:

9. All boats are required to carry ALL the Safety Equipment required by the U.S. Coast Guard.

10. In order to be used in a club tournament a boat must meet these minimums; 15 feet in length, 40 HP motor, electric trolling motor, a separated livewell, steering wheel, motor kill switch and meet all U.S. Coast Guard requirements for safe boating. The Tournament Committee can make allowances at their discretion, for non-safety requirements, prior to individual tournaments.

Tournament Guidelines:

11. Ease-off time and place, weigh-in time and place and Off Limits boundaries shall be set and agreed upon prior to each Partner Draw by the Tournament Director. In the event a member is not present at the Partner Draw they must abide by any decisions made in their absence.

12. All tournaments will be 8 hours from the determined Ease-off time unless suspended when an issue of angler safety is at hand.

13. All tournament water shall be designated off limits at sundown on the Sunday prior to an event.

14. When pairing boaters and non-boaters during the partner draw: non-boaters will be blind drawn first by tournament directors and placed in launch order as selected (1st selected - 1st at Ease-off).

15. Non-Boaters will select a boater from a blind draw in the Ease-off order already established. If the non-boater is not present to draw an unbiased draw will be made on their behalf. If there are more boaters than non-boaters the boater retains the right to fish alone under the conditions of rule 19. Any boater who allowed to sign up to fish a tournament after the Draw will be allowed to fish as a non-boater and will be paired with the next lone boater. The member in this case will not fish alone or have senior boater rights. This will NOT count as being forced to leave your boat, because there is ample time to realign if any angler needs to withdraw.

16. Decision of the boat to be used between paired boaters shall be resolved by gentlemen’s agreement or a coin toss.

17. Tripling -"3 IN A BOAT": No rule shall be set when non-boaters exceed boaters. Extra boater situations shall be resolved on a case by case basis: a committee consisting of Tournament Directors, a Club Officer and 2 members in good standing will decide on the best possible solution for each instance. (Some options: find another boater prior to tournament, find a volunteer to triple up, draw a boat from all boaters participating, etc.) No boat lees than 19 foot will be tripled. The boat selection will start at the top of the Ease-off list and work down. A boat can not be tripled twice in one year until all other eligible boats at that event have already been tripled.

18. Members may fish together no more than 2 times per year, Early-bird for current year included.

19. A member may fish alone no more than 2 times per year. In the case of a 3rd lone boating situation the boater will be paired with the 1st available lone boater (tripling & 2 time rules apply).

20. A boater who voluntarily leaves his boat home more than 1 time, in a season, will go to the bottom of the non-boater list.

21. A new member may be required to fish their first 2 events with a veteran at the Tournament Directors discretion.

22. An angler with no experience at a tournament site should be paired with a member who has experience at that location, when possible.

23. Guests are subject to a $5 entry fee (Classic surcharge) and are eligible to enter the Lunker Pool and Prize Money Pot if they choose to pay the applicable fees.

24. Only casting, spin-casting and spinning tackle may be used. No rod shall exceed 8 feet in length. Any number of rods is permitted in the boat, but only one may be used at one time. (soaking a pork frog over the side does not constitute a "rod in use")

25. Only artificial baits may be used. Pork baits are considered artificial.

26. No alcoholic beverages will be on-board any boat or consumed by any contestant during a tournament. Failure to follow this rule will result in disqualification and forfeiture of all entry fees, prize money and points for that event. The end of a tournament is when the last fish is weighed. All Launch Area and Parking Area Rules must also be followed.

27. All contestants must arrive at least ½ an hour prior to Ease-off. Late arrivals shall be allowed to fish at the discretion of a committee consisting of; all of the tournament committee present, a Club Officer and 1 non-office holding member.

28. The highest standards of sportsmanship and good ethics shall be practiced by all participants at all times. Disqualification could result for anyone not meeting these standards.

29. All participants are required to properly wear an U.S. Coast Guard approved PFD when the internal combustion engine is in operation.

30. Trolling under motor or oar power is prohibited. When using propulsion for anything other than minor positioning all fishing must cease. Drift fishing is permitted.

31. At Ease-off the official current time and weigh-in time shall be announced by a tournament director. The last starting boat will announce the line up and each boat shall leave one by one as the order is read. Leaving prior to the announced start will result in a 1 lb. penalty be assessed to the boat driver. The starting order will be set prior to the event and will, in most cases, be established at the partner draw. The last boat on the "Ease-off" sheet will call the "Ease-off".

32. Landing nets are to be used only on hooked fish. All landing of fish must be accomplished from the boat.

33. Except for emergency situations partners may not leave the boat. Hygiene is considered an emergency situation. Partners may not be out of sight of one another, except when modesty calls and then only for a reasonable period.

Scoring:

34. Scoring shall be by total weight of up to 5 fish (12 inches or longer, unless otherwise specified) per angler. Only Largemouth and Smallmouth bass will be scored. Mutilated fish will not be scored.

35. You must weigh fish in order to receive points. A participation credit will be marked toward your 5 tournaments required for the Classic even if you don’t weigh any fish.

36. There is a no Culling rule for dead fish. If you are in possession of one or more dead fish you must keep them and count them as part of your legal limit.

37. A Dead Fish penalty of 4 ounces will be deducted for each dead fish. Mutilated fish will not be scored. All efforts should be made to maintain the good health of all fish caught. Catch and Release of 100% of the fish taken at each tournament is our goal (See Lunker Rule 39). Any fish weighed alive will be released at the discretion of the Tournament Committee. Dead fish are the responsibility of the person who caught them after being "weighed & released" by the Tournament Committee. Do not leave dead fish in the water or at the weigh/launch area.

38. All fish shall be scored at each event using a consistent measure. (same board, bag and scale) The scales will be in complete working order prior to weigh-in as to assure consistent weights. Measurement is to be done mouth closed and tail fanned. Mutilated fish will not be accepted.

39. All Lunkers shall all be weighed in a consistent manner for the entire season to ensure a fair and consistent weight for "Lunker of the Year" scoring. Lunker is a measure of the heaviest bass caught in an event. For end of year awards the heaviest Largemouth and heaviest Smallmouth for each event will be recorded. Mutilated fish will not be accepted. One Lunker fish can be kept for the purpose of mounting.

40. Short fish will not be penalized nor will they be scored, provided they are alive. A short dead fish shall incur a dead fish penalty and its weight will not be included in scoring. A "FREE" courtesy check of a fish’s length is allowed if it is requested prior to a tournament committee person viewing the fish.

41. Any boat checking in late for weigh-in will be assessed a penalty of 8 ounces per 3 minute period for each angler. (i.e.: 1-3 min. = minus 8oz., 4-6 min. = minus 16oz., etc.) Any boat more than 15 minutes late will be disqualified.

42. A point scoring system shall be employed to rate anglers throughout the season. It will be scored as: Top weight 150 points and each subsequent finisher decreases by 4 points (i.e.: 2nd =146, 3rd =142). In the case of a tie the points awarded for those finish positions will be combined and evenly divided among the tied anglers(i.e.: tied at 6 and 7 = 130 and 126 combined total 256 divide by 2 = 128 points for each angler. The next point position is 8 with 124 points. You must weigh fish in order to receive points.

43. Any participant may protest any act by another participant by notifying a Tournament Director(s), no later than, immediately after the protested angler’s fish are weighed.

44. A protest board of 3 non-involved participants will be assembled and a majority resolution will be established prior to officially scoring the event. Any penalty assessed shall be according to "The Official Rules". (Tournament directors and highest ranking club officers will be 1st choices for board.)

45. All decisions of short fish, dead fish, early start, late arrival and protest shall be final at the time the Official Scoring is announced.

46. In the case of a tie, in any of the top "paying" weights, the place benefits shall be combined and shared among those involved in the tie. This also applies to ties for Lunker.

47. "Angler of the Year" shall be determined by points earned (based on 5 best finishes totaled) in the present seasons events (Early bird is included, no points earned in the Classic). In the case of a tie "Co-Champions" will be named.

Six Man Team:

48. The Six Man Team will represent the Chapter at the NY State Club Team Championship (CTC).

(a) The team will consist of the Top 5 in the Draw Tournament point standings and the Top non-boater in the Draw Tournament point standings will fill the 6th spot on the team.

(b) All team members must be NY State Federation Nation members in good standing by the August meeting of the qualifying year. And they must also maintain CCBM as their Primary Club for the CTE tournament year.

(c) The top 3 in the point standings will be considered "Boaters" and unless they opt for a non-boater position must take their boat to competition. If the top non-boater is in the Top 5 he will maintain that position and the next person in the point’s standings will fill the "non-boater" 6th position. If someone in the "top points" position is not eligible to fish at the State Level the next points person lower in points, who is eligible, will fill that position.

(d) If no eligible "points leader" wants to take a position or is unable to attend the tournament the Chapter Officers can fill the next open position in order as listed in Article III, Section 1 and 1A of the Bylaws.

(e) The Six Man Team will have their CTE tournament registration fees paid and will receive $100 per man to help defer tournament expenses. The team will split all prizes amongst themselves as awarded, team or individual. It is highly recommended that the team raise and share additional money to defer the high cost of these events. A separate sponsor for team shirts is also recommended.

Lake Selection:

49. Lake Draw - During the December meeting the lakes will be chosen for the upcoming season. Eight lakes will be selected for our "Regular Season" events.

(a) 6 "old lakes" will be selected, tournament lakes from the prior 2 seasons.

(b) 2 "new lakes" will be selected, lakes we haven’t had a tournament on in the prior 2 seasons.

(c) Early Bird Event -1 lake will be selected for the next season’s Early Bird. This event will be held after the Classic and before the close of the NY State bass fishing season.

(d) The Classic site will be selected after the 8 regular season lakes have been decided on. It can not be the same lake as the previous years Classic and it must be a lake that has been selected to be fished in the "Regular Season" included is the Early Bird from the end of the previous season.

(e) Only members in good standing for the upcoming year are eligible to vote on lakes.

(f) A team of 3 members headed by the Tournament Director will select dates and launch sites.

(g) The Tournament Director will confirm launch sites ASAP and post the official schedule.

End of Year Awards:

50. All Awards are based on the 8 regular season events and the "Early Bird" from the previous fall. The Tournament Director and Club President or their Designees will make all Awards decisions.

(a) Angler of the Year – is determined by the Best 5 point tournaments scores added together. 1st, 2nd and 3rd places are awarded.

(b) Non-Boater of the Year – The top Non-Boater point leader is determined by the Best 5 point tournaments scores added together. Only non-boaters are eligible. If a non-boater is requested to bring his boat due to a lack of boats he is still considered a non-boater.

(c) Rookie of the Year – The Rookie point leader is determined by the Best 5 point tournaments scores added together. Only members who have not previously participated in a full season are eligible for this.

At the discretion of the Tournament Director and President Team Bass members may not qualify.

(d) Lunker of the Year "Largemouth" – Based on the heaviest Largemouth weighed during the Early Bird or a regular season event.

(e) Lunker of the Year "Smallmouth" - Based on the heaviest Smallmouth weighed during the Early Bird or a regular season event.

(f) Classic Winners – The Top weights at the "Classic" are awarded 1st, 2nd and 3rd place awards.

(g) Most Improved Angler – Is the angler who has the largest increase in points over their Best 5 point score from the previous year.

(h) Toilet Bowl Award – The club member who does something of an unusual or "outstanding" nature will receive a nameplate on this award. The Club President or his designee will select this award recipient. The award is passed from one recipient to the next.

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