Standard Rules and Scoring:
Most of the standard B.A.S.S. and FLW tournament rules apply in Ultimate Match Fishing. Tournament standings and final winners will be determined by the pound-and-ounce (digital) weight of your catch. Only Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Spotted bass qualify. The limit is 5. Only bass which measure the state required length or more are to be weighed. Any short fish brought to weigh in will ding a pound from your overall weight. A dead fish will ding .25 pounds (digital scale) for each one brought to the weigh in. If you have any questions about standard tournament rules, ask them.

In the event of a tie, the total number of fish weighed will be the first tiebreaker. The second tiebreaker will be the largest bass by weight of each competitor. If there is still a tie, we’ll go to a one-hour fish-off with each competitor changing boat position every half hour until we have a winner.

Ultimate Match Fishing Regulations:
1. The tournament will be divided into four (4) 90-minute periods. Competitors will change positions from front to back of the boat accordingly at the end of each quarter. A coin toss will determine which angler begins the match in control of the boat. The angler can accept control, or defer it at his discretion.

2. Each competition will begin with a “Free Run” time from the launch point. The first quarter will not begin until the angler in control of the boat makes his first cast. The competition will end at the expiration of the fourth period on the water, with the angler in control of the boat not required to factor in run time back to the marina or check in point.

3. The Ultimate Match Fishing boat will be divided into two equal halves. Competitors are NOT ALLOWED to cross, cast beyond, or land a fish past the dividing line. The only time an angler can cross the line is to put a fish in the live well or get bait/tackle from the front or rear storage lockers. Penalties assessed are as follows:

A. First offense: Warning from the tournament referee.
B. Additional Offenses: 0.2 of an ounce (digital scale) will be deducted from your total weight for each additional offense.

The Brackets
The 12-angler field is divided into 6 first round head to head matches. 6 winners will advance to the quarterfinals and the 6 losers will be eliminated from the competition. Actual pairings will be announced once all competitors are confirmed for the event.

Quarterfinals
The Quarterfinal Matches will result in 3 winning anglers, seeded 1-3 according to the weight, as well as a Wildcard angler who has the largest losing weight among the quarterfinalists.

Semifinals
Semifinal Match 1 will pit the First Seed against the Wildcard
Semifinal Match 2 will pit the #2 Seed against the #3 Seed

Championship
The semifinal winners will play the final match. Places 3 and 4 will be determined based on total weight in the semifinal matches.