The tournament dates for 2025 will be Friday, April 25th & Saturday, April 26th. We will have as alternate days to fish Thursday, April 24th and Sunday, April 27th. The captain’s meeting and party will be on Wednesday, April 23rd at Fort Pierce City Marina in between Crabby’s and Cobbs Landing.
Entry Fees/Forms:
Only registered teams, whose entry fee has been paid in full; with signed boat captain (or designee) acknowledgment of the rules and waiver will qualify for prizes.
If the tournament is cancelled, all entry fees paid will be returned less 10%. One day of fishing constitutes a tournament.
WITHDRAWAL FROM THE TOURNAMENT - No fees will be refunded unless a replacement boat with fully paid entry fees is registered before the start of the tournament. Any returned entry fees due will be refunded 14 days after the tournament and following collection and clearing of all funds paid.
If no qualifying fish are caught, the prize money will be retained by the tournament.
Teams/Anglers:
All participants must comply with Florida Fish & Wildlife laws and USCG regulations, including a valid Florida saltwater fishing license. Recreational fishing limits will apply.
Any advertiser, sponsor or tournament committee member entering the tournament in compliance with the rules are eligible for any & all prizes.
Eligible Species:
King Mackerel weighing a minimum of 10.00 lbs.
No mutilated fish will be weighed. A mutilated fish is a fish that is injured so that it impacts its fighting ability. Hook and gaff punctures are acceptable.
Tackle:
All fish must be caught on rod and reel, a fish must be hooked prior to gaffing. No electric reels are permitted except kite reels and downriggers.
Boats:
All fish caught pre-fishing or on Day 1 of the tournament must be removed from the boat. No exceptions!
If any registered boat becomes unable to be fished during the tournament, the Boat Captain is required to notify the Tournament Committee and have the replacement boat registered prior to fishing the replacement boat.
Boats may not have contact or pass items to other boats, except in cases of emergencies or safety. In the event of an emergency, please assist as necessary and notify Tournament Director as soon as possible. Assistance may also be provided by a licensed marine tow service. Please provide video evidence when possible.
Boats must come to weigh in under their own power. In the event of a breakdown, an exception will be made if SeaTow/BoatUS can tow you to check-in on time. Please notify Tournament Director immediately when needing towing assistance and provide video evidence when possible.
During tournament hours no person may leave or be added to the boat.
Lines In/Lines Out & Boundaries/Landfall:
This tournament will have no checkout and no boundaries. Boats can depart and return from any inlet. Gentlemen’s start, lines in at 7:00 am and lines out at 5:00 pm. Bait fishing with a Sabiki rig is permitted at any time. Gulf of Mexico & Bahamas is prohibited.
Once fishing hours have begun, no boats will be permitted to touch land until reaching the dock for weigh-in. Special consideration will be given to medical conditions and special circumstances that may arise during the day of fishing. The Tournament Director must be notified in advance of any situation that may warrant an exception to this rule.
Check In:
There is a mandatory check in at “T” Dock at Dockside Marina & Resort for all boats wishing to weigh a fish and must be checked in promptly by 6:00pm. Tournament officials will verbally confirm on Channel 68 once you are considered “checked in”.
Video/Daily Code Word:
A daily code word will be randomly selected at 9pm the night before scheduled fishing days. An email with the daily code word will be sent shortly after to all registered teams. We will also post the daily code word on Facebook and Instagram.
Lines In Video: There is not a land-based checkout for the tournament. Prior to the lines in, each team must video boat number with the daily code word, time & date.
Video: Teams will be required to provide a video of the fish that they are weighing in. This can be while the fish is being gaffed or immediately after the fish is on the deck. A team member must show the boat number with daily code word in the video. This must be filmed on a cell phone with proof of timestamp in video. No Exceptions! A tape measure has been added to each boat number bag. You will need to measure the fish’s length and girth. You must capture these measurements in the video. If the fish is being uncooperative take your time, the video can be as long as needed. *Tip: Start with the "0" on the fork of the fishtail to measure.
Lines Out Video: If an angler is hooked up prior to lines out, they are permitted to fight the fish with video evidence showing time stamp and angler beginning before 4:59:59pm.
Videos must be made available to the tournament committee upon request.
Weigh-in:
This is a 2 fish aggregate tournament, only one fish may be weighed in per day. If a single fish outweighs the two-day aggregate, the single fish may be eligible towards aggregate prize categories. Biggest fish may also be eligible for primary and secondary prizes. Prizes to be awarded solely on basis of weight. Attempted weight alteration of any fish will be subject to disqualification and automatically disqualify the boat from the tournament. The Tournament reserves the right to cut open any fish for inspection of suspected weight altering.
In the event of a tied weight:
If two teams have the same aggregate of two fish, the team weighing first on day 2 will win the higher prize.
The team weighing two fish will win the higher prize against a single fish of same weight.
For inclement weather and acts of God:If weather only allows one day of fishing, boats may still weigh two fish. The biggest fish will apply towards Day 1 and the next biggest fish will apply towards Day 2.
All fish must be weighed in from the boat in which they were caught. No overland transportation of fish. A team member must present the eligible fish to the weigh master.
All fish weighed in are property of the tournament. Unwanted fish may be donated, and every fish needs to be properly iced and cared for.
Scales will open for weigh in at 4pm and will be located at Fort Pierce City Marina. All participants should monitor VHF channel 68.
Protests/Disputes/Polygraph:
Any prize winners are subject to a polygraph at the discretion of the Tournament Committee and shall be polygraphed prior to awards. The individual taking the polygraph must be at least 18 years of age prior to the first fishing day of the event and must be on board for all fishing days. If the polygraph tester determines that the participant is not able to take the test due to intoxication, then a test will be performed as soon as possible, and the cost of the test is the responsibility of the captain. A participant’s refusal to take a polygraph test or failure to answer test questions in a manner satisfactory to the polygraph tester, in their sole discretion, may result in disqualification. By entering the Tournament, participants consent to the admissibility of polygraph results in any dispute or proceeding arising out of the Tournament.
All protests made to the tournament committee must be submitted in writing and must be accompanied by $1,000 cash. Protests must be made no later than one hour after the last fish has been weighed on each weigh-in day. The $1,000 cash deposit will be returned if the protest is upheld by the tournament committee. The $1,000 cash deposit will become property of the tournament committee if the protest is not upheld. All decisions of the protest committee will become final.
Winnings/Awards:
All prize money shall be paid to the Boat Owner or Captain registered with the Tournament.
Award winners will be required to fill out a 1099 form.
Conduct:
Violation of any of the tournament rules shall constitute grounds for automatic disqualification for the tournament. The tournament committee shall be the sole judge of any violations of the rules, and their decisions shall be final.
Any boat violating any of these Tournament Rules or any boat containing a participant violating any of these Tournament Rules is subject to disqualification from the Tournament. By participating in the Tournament, all participants acknowledge that all Tournament Rules are material, and that disqualification is a permitted and appropriate sanction for any violation of any Tournament Rules.
Tournament Discretion:
The Tournament Director reserves the right to implement his discretion at any time during the tournament as it may apply to the rules or any other circumstance that should arise during the course of the event.
Hold Harmless:
It is expressly understood that all registered participants and non-registered occupants of their boats enter into the events in the Ft. Pierce King Mackerel Invitational voluntarily and at their own risk. Further, each registered and non-registered participant on behalf of other family members and/or executors agrees to release and hold harmless Ft. Pierce King Mackerel Invitational, its officers, directors, owners, members, representatives, agents, employees, independent contractors, volunteers, promoters, advertisers, sponsors, partners, joint ventures, affiliates, assigns, polygraph examiner, the city and county where the events are held and all other persons connected directly or indirectly with the operation of any event in the Ft. Pierce King Mackerel Invitational (collectively, “Released and Indemnified Parties”) from any and all claims, losses, damages, demands, causes of action, suits and liabilities of every kind arising out of, related to, or resulting from the tournament, activity or event, including but not limited to all events in the Ft. Pierce King Mackerel Invitational, including without limitation, any claim for loss, damage or destruction of property, or injury (including death), regardless of whether such loss arises in whole or in part from the negligence of any Released and Indemnified Party. This release is intended to be as broad and inclusive as possible under applicable law, and if any portion of this release is held invalid or unenforceable, the balance shall continue in full force and legal effect. Jurisdiction over the tournament shall be exclusively that of the tournament director. All parties agree to be bound by the tournament director’s decisions without exception.
