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RULES & REGULATIONS 

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The Kayak Angler Tournament Series is proud to reintroduce its Gulf Coast tournament for the 2021 season.  

We hope you are as excited as we are to continue growing this venture and welcome those anglers who are ready  to put their inshore fishing skills to the test.  

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To stay up to date on anything related to the 2021 Saltwater KATS, or to ask questions, please visit  www.fishkats.com. We look forward to seeing you at all of our KATS events! 

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2021 RULES AND FORMATS

 

Tournament Rules and Procedures 

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▪ The following are the rules and procedures for the 2021 KATS Saltwater Tournament and may be modified  up and until the completion of the captain’s meeting taking place the day prior to the competition. 

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Compliance with Applicable Law. 

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▪ All anglers must follow applicable federal, state and local regulations, laws and tournament rules. Any  violation of such regulations and laws and/or other tournament rules may result in a penalty including  but not limited to and any combination of the following. Daily weight penalty, dead fish(s) penalty, fishing  time penalty, disqualification from a tournament day, disqualification from all future events, or any  combination thereof as decided by KATS Saltwater officials. 

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Eligibility Requirements. 

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▪ KATS officials reserve the right to deny entry to or remove from this competition any angler, person,  participant and or competitor for any reason its officials deem necessary. Anglers refusing to take or  failing to take a requested truth detection test from any tournament or tournament trail or being banned  from competition by another tournament or trail for cheating, unsportsmanlike conduct, public  demeaning displays or similar reasons and at the officials discretion may be refused entry in to or be  disqualified from any KATS Saltwater event at any time prior to or during the event at the time  knowledge of same was discovered.

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Fishing License. 

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▪ Competitor(s) must have a current, legal fishing license for the state of Texas 

Entry Fees. 

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▪ $100.00 USD. Payment is available online at www.fishkats.com 

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Payout 

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▪ 1st Place – 5th Place 

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Water Boundaries 

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▪ Open to all inshore coastal water. Jetty, surf, or offshore fishing is not permitted. ▪ All anglers must launch from a public launch available to all participants.  

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Tournament Format. 

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▪ Solo angler or two-person Team  

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▪ Total weight of two (2), redfish, minus penalties determine place of finish. 

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▪ Available to all Kayak/SUP/Paddleboards. 

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▪ Human or electric motor powered. 

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▪ 1-day event to be held in Galveston, Texas and 1 day event held in Rockport, Texas. 

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Launch & First cast 

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▪ On the day of the tournament anglers cannot launch prior to 4:00 AM. 

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▪ First cast will be announced during the Captains meeting. 

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Off limits, Practice, Equipment and Information. 

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▪ There is no limit to the days allowed to practice for either event. 

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▪ Captain’s meetings will be held at 7:00 PM the afternoon prior to the first day of competition. ▪ All anglers competing in a KATS event must be off the water by 5:00 PM the day of the captain’s meeting. ▪ All teams must have at least 1-member present during the online captain’s meeting. 

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Tackle and Techniques. 

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▪ Angler(s) must cast, flip or pitch their lure to the fish they catch. 

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▪ Only artificial lures may be used and only artificially produced bait attractants. 

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▪ No live or dead bait allowed. 

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▪ Only one rod at a time may be used per angler.

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▪ A cast must be fully retrieved by an angler before that same angler may make another cast.

 

▪ All redfish must be caught alive in a conventional sporting manner. 

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▪ No snagging of fish, netting of fish or scooping of distressed surface fish is allowed.

 

▪ No multi lure rigs allowed. 

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▪ Angler(s) must obey all local, state and federal laws in regards to equipment and fishing. 

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Live Fish, Limits and Penalties. 

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▪ Angler(s) may not intentionally attempt to manipulate the weight or length of any redfish.

 

▪ A .25 pound penalty will be assessed for each dead fish presented for measuring.

 

▪ No culling of dead fish permitted. 

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▪ Dead fish may be kept separate from live fish but only with water and/or an ice substitute, frozen water  bottles, Arctic Ice, etc. 

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▪ It is the angler(s) responsibility to keep control of their fish from their live well till it reaches the weighing area, any loss of control or intermixing of any fish with other angler(s) fish while catching a ride with  another competitor(s) during a mechanical issue, getting fish ready for weigh in may result in all fish  affected without control of the angler being deemed un-weighable. 

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▪ The length of all redfish must measure within minimum and maximum “slot” sizes. 20-28 inches.

 

▪ The Check-it-Stik will be used only with the fish's head facing left and the tail to the right only, no flipping or  measuring 2nd side of fish. 

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▪ The perfect pincher will be placed on a fish’s tail and slid to 27 inches. 

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▪ KATS Officials reserve the right to refuse any red fish for measuring and/or weighing deemed by  representatives to have a damaged tail or nose/head area sufficiently to make determining the exact  length of the fish’s overall length non conclusive using official tour Check-It-Stik measuring system.  Redfish with abnormal, severely damaged and/or deformed tails or noses and in the opinion of the KATS  Officials, not normal in its appearance. 

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▪ Angler(s) are encouraged to take a picture and submit via text to the tournament director for ruling during  tournament day on a fish’s overall condition, and whether or not that fish would be approved or denied if  presented in the current pictured condition. 

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▪ Failure to notify officials and having a fish weighed with a hook, lure, jig or other object in its mouth may  incur dead fish penalty. 

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▪ Re-weighs of an angler/team’s catch are only executed by the weigh master or tournament director (not  at the request of any angler) and based solely on his/her judgment of conditions. 

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Acceptable Fishing Locations. 

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▪ Angler(s) may only navigate and fish those waters open for navigation, kayaking and fishing to the general  public equally.

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▪ Angler(s) nor anyone working on their behalf may lift, unlock or pass through gates, chains, booms or  other canal, river and/or waterway objects meant to divide public from nonpublic waters during a  practice period or any day(s) of competition. 

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Communication. 

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▪ The use of mobile communication devices such as cellular telephones, marine radios, walkie-talkies, CBs,  pagers or any electronic device able to communicate any information pertaining to fishing or navigation  with anyone outside your registered team is strictly prohibited. Lock information, family emergencies and  work-related calls may take place as long as no discussions pertaining to fishing information relevant to  the tournament or tournament waters at which event is being held on or near is discussed. Anglers can  contact anyone at any time by any means when an emergency issue arises.  

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Extreme Weather. 

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▪ Extreme weather will be monitored and evaluated from a 30 mile radius of the weight-in location. 

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▪ Small craft advisories (A Small Craft Advisory means that wind speeds of 21-33 knots are expected to  produce hazardous conditions to small craft vessels) at time of launch and or forecasted by NOAA or  similar reputable organizations to include official tournament waters during a day of competition will  immediately execute a no go for that day. Launch may be delayed if small craft advisory forecasted to be lifted. “The National Weather Service does not specifically identify what constitutes a “small craft”,  although the United States Coast Guard informally assigns the designation to boats with a total length  of less than 33 feet”. 

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▪ Should any day(s) of a KATS Saltwater event be cancelled due to extreme weather or the imminent  threat of extreme weather the event will either be cancelled or rescheduled. 

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Sportsmanship and Penalties. 

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▪ It is prohibited and against the law to enter any fish in a saltwater fishing tournament where the length or  weight has been altered. Angler(s) doing such will be disqualified and could be prosecuted.

 

▪ Angler(s) are required to display the highest level of sportsmanship to each other, recreational anglers sharing the waters, ACK, KATS officials and it’s staff, including sponsors. 

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▪ Act(s) or action(s) deemed to be intentional and unsportsmanlike toward another angler(s) is  prohibited.

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▪ Angler(s) cannot cast, pitch or flip within 100 yards of a competitor’s kayak (not separated by land or  jetties but in the same body of water) which is anchored by a traditional anchor and/or anchoring system  such as Power Pole or obviously stationary.  

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▪ Angler(s) may not use their kayak to limit passage or access to waters that are outside of the 100-yard rule. 

Protest and Truth Detection. 

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▪ Angler(s) that feel they cannot take or pass a truth detection test, for any reason cannot fish with KATS  tournaments. Any angler(s) that have failed or refused to take a polygraph test on any tour or in any  tournament will not be eligible to compete. Angler(s) being prosecuted and pleading or refusing to  defend in a court of law may be ineligible to compete in the event. 

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▪ A reported violation may be brought to the attention of KATS officials at any time during or after the  conclusion of the event and penalty(s) for any violation. 

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▪ Should a polygraph or other truth detection test be needed to settle a protest, the angler protesting and  the angler being protested may both be required to render to the tour the fee for the polygraph test,  with the winning angler being reimbursed the test fee. 

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▪ Should no polygraph test be available the day of the protest, the event will continue as normal, under  protest with the results, tournament placement, prizes, points and awards being retained by the tour  until a test can be administered to settle the dispute. 

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▪ All truth detection results are final and not contestable by any competitor(s). 

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▪ KATS , the hosts, sponsors and tour officials are not involved in or in any way responsible for the results  of or methods used in any truth detection test given. 

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Angler Code of Conduct and Registration. 

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▪ Any angler(s) participating in any KATS event shall observe this code of conduct and the applicable rules  for the specific event in which they are participating. Anglers shall, at all times, conduct themselves in a  professional manner that demonstrates integrity, honor and respect toward fellow competitors,  tournament staff and the general public and does not reflect unfavorably on KATS, its members, officers  and/or representatives and/or community and product sponsors of KATS. 

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Anglers are frequently in the public eye and are considered role models by young people; therefore, it is  imperative that tournament competitors demonstrate good sportsmanship in fishing. Sportsmanship is  defined as fair play, respect for opponents and polite behavior while competing in the event and sport.  

Following are examples of unacceptable behavior by competitors in KATS events that will be cause for  penalties as outlined in this document.

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▪ Heated and loud public disagreements with KATS officials, other competitors and fans and volunteers  during an event that can be seen as a public display of unsportsmanlike and unprofessional conduct.

 

▪ Public attacks through the media, including social media, upon the integrity of KATS rules and/or officials.

 

▪ Public comments that an angler knows, or should reasonably know, will harm the reputation of KATS officials, and/or tour sponsors. 

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▪ Displays of anger and displeasure for reasons related to fishing competition where members of the  public, including other anglers, spectators and the media, are present. 

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▪ Publicly questioning or criticizing a tournament official or official decision, ruling or penalty except  through the proper channels. 

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▪ Abuse (physical, verbal, threatening or slanderous) of tournament officials, volunteers, fellow  competitors or others connected with a KATS event. 

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▪ Offensive or slanderous comments with racial, cultural or sexual overtones regarding event officials,  event personnel or fellow anglers. 

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▪ Intentionally interfering with a fellow angler’s ability to compete. 

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▪ Any disqualification, suspension or other disciplinary action imposed by any tournament and/or fishing  organization may result in disqualification from competition and rejection of an application for  participation in a KATS tournament.

 

▪ Any angler(s) who violates any of the provisions of the Sportsmanship Rules or the Angler Code of  Conduct may be subject to fines, reduction of points, forfeiture of tournament winnings, suspension from  competing in individual KATS events, permanent ban from competition or any combination thereof  deemed by KATS and officials.