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2022 Rules Book

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2022 Rainy River Walleye Tournament Official Rules

1.      Committee Rights

The Rainy River Walleye Tournament Committee retain the right to change or amend these rules at their discretion.

2.      Rules Meeting

A Final set of rules will be supplied at the Thursday night rules meeting.

At least one member of the team MUST attend the competitor's official meeting "Rules & Registration Night" at the tent, Thursday, September 15, 2022.

3.      Age of Contestants

One contestant per team must be 18 years of age.

Contestants younger than 18 must have a parent or guardian sign consent form.

4.      Required Licence

Each Contestant under 65 or over 17 years of age must possess a valid Ontario fishing license.

All Ontario 2022 Recreational Fishing Regulations apply and supersede any tournament rules. 

5.      Boundaries

Our 23^rd annual Rainy River Walleye Tournament will run two fishing days, Friday September 16^th and Saturday September 17^th, 2022. Tournament Boundaries will be from DNR marker at Wheelers Point at the mouth of the Rainy River markers at Long Sault Rapids east of Stratton on Canadian Side of Border

6.      Bait

Live bait, frozen bait or artificial lures shall be used. All bait shall be the responsibility of the contestant.

7.      Landing

1.      Boats must not come into contact with another boat and the passing of objects between teams is prohibited.

2.      Teams must not tow another boat unless dangerous conditions exist and permission has been granted by the committee.

3.      After a pre-flight inspection and during tournament hours contestants must land at the designated docking area only in Rainy River.

8.      Live Wells

Live wells must have flow through systems (aerated live wells permanent or temporary). The use of water treatment chemicals, which are legally available in Ontario, can be used in live wells. All fish must be kept in live wells at all times.  Temporary live wells must be secured to the vessel.

9.      Laws

All boats must follow all Federal and provincial boating and fishing regulations. 

10.  On Step

1.      Instant stop switches, kill switch, tether switches must be attached to driver and boat kill switch

2.      All contestants must wear approved personal floatation device when main combustion engine is running and boat is on step (if so equipped).

11.  Seating

All boats tiller and console must be equipped with a seat for the passenger and at least one handle device for passenger to secure themselves.

12.  Boat Quality

The Rainy River Walleye Tournament Committee reserves the right at any time to disallow the use of any boat and motor they deem unsafe, inappropriate or unsuitable for use in competition.

RRWT committees’ decision is final.

13.  Team Numbers

Team numbers must be prominently displayed on the outboard motor. The only exception being, should you have an inboard motor, the numbers must be clearly displayed on the side of the boat.

14.  Contestant Behavior

The Tournament officials shall declare any entrant or participant ineligible to compete who may hinder or endanger the safety and wellbeing of any contestant who is unable to perform safety functions. All contestants are always expected to act in a sportsman-like manner regardless of where they are during the tournament. 

15.  Use of Drugs

Use of any drugs, Marijuana or alcohol or possession thereof (other than those prescribed by a licensed physician) during the tournament hours is prohibited.

16.  Fishing locations

Non-Contestants will not be allowed to hold a spot in the river for a contestant.

17.  Underwater Viewing

No underwater cameras (Fish 1 View, etc.) may be used during the tournament.

18.  No Wake Zone

There will be a mandatory slow zone (no wake). Contestants MUST slow down while in the zone. There is no fishing allowed in the slow zone. Slow zone penalty doubles while Kid's Fishing Tournament is in progress.  No wake Zone will be marked during fishing hours.

19.  Cell Phones

Cell phones are permitted to be used for emergency purposes only. 

20.  Fish on Board

2 fish per angler are allowed.  Starting in the morning with no fish, each team may catch and hold up to 4 fish in their live well as they are caught during the day: Therefore, culling of the smaller fish will be done immediately before placing the larger fish into the live well. Your fish will be culled down to 4 by the tournament inspector starting with the biggest fish and the next biggest, etc. Teams may come into the weigh station at any time during the time allotted to weigh in catch (to reduce stress caused by holding fish too long in live wells). All fish lengths will be measured in inches only. 

21.  Slot Size

All fish to be weighed must be at least 30cm or 12” in length.  Each team is allowed to weigh in one fish at or over 460mm or 18.1” per day.  

22.  Weigh Master

All weights and lengths called by the weigh master are deemed accurate and final and are not contestable. Reweighs are not permitted.

23.  Dead Fish

Dead fish will be assessed a penalty of 1 pound (any fish not capable of recovery will be considered dead.) Any team found putting dead fish back into the water will be disqualified from the tournament.

24.  Pre-fishing

Tournament Pre-Fishing shall be allowed until 3:00 PM on Thursday, September 16^th, 2022.

25.  Flights

The schedule for Friday flight positions is as follows based on finish the previous year:

          FLIGHT TIMES MAY CHANGE TO MEET GOVERNMENT PANDEMIC MANDATES

Friday, September 16, 2022

          Saturday, September 17, 2022

Saturday flights will be determined by weight, with highest Friday weight out first.

26.  Weigh-ins

After your team completes their weigh-in for the day, they must remove their boat away from the docking area to allow other teams to weigh in. Each team has 5 minutes to remove their boat from this area after their fish have been weighed.

27.  Inspectors / Spotters

1.      All boats must be available for a pre-inspection each day before departure.

2.      Teams must have all coolers, hatches and live wells open for easy Inspection

3.      Upon direction from Tournament Officials including Spotters, any Team, at any time during the Tournament, is subject to inspection of their boat, its contents, fishing equipment, and catch. 

4.      Failure to comply with this rule, failure to cooperate with RRWT Officials/Spotters, or verbal abuse of same will not be tolerated.

28.  Docking Station

Late teams at docking station will be penalized at the rate of 1 pound for every minute late, up to a maximum of 5 minutes. After five minutes, team will not be allowed to weigh-in.

ALL boats must report to docking station, fish or no fish!

29.  Polygraph Testing

Contestants may be required to successfully pass a polygraph test.

30.  Two-person Team

There must be a team of 2 persons per boat. The same 2 competitors who start the tournament must finish, except in the case of an exceptional circumstance. (Circumstances must be brought to the Committee and the Committee will render final decision. The Committee may assign an alternate or may aid in finding a replacement.) 

31.  Tie Breaking

In case of ties, the team with the biggest fish during the two days of the tournament fishing will be declared the winner. If still tied, the highest second day total catch weight would be declared the winner

32.  Protests:

1.      Any contestant has the right to lodge a protest against another contestant. A protest form will be available from the RRWT committee and must be completed and presented to RRWT committee within one hour of the completion of the fishing day. 

2.      A $100.00 protest fee must accompany the protest form when submitted. The fee will be returned if the protest is found to be valid by the RRWT committee. 

3.      Any contestant involved in a protest must be available to the RRWT committee for three hours following the end of the fishing day.

33.  Cancellation Times

Any cancellations within 90 days of the tournament will be refunded 50% of entry fee. Cancellations within 60 days of the tournament will not receive a refund.

34.  Waiting List and Substitutions 

1.      A contestant whose name is drawn from the waiting list is deemed the Captain of the team and must compete in the year of selection as the Captain of the new team. They may not turn over or assign his spot to any other contestant. If the Captain does not remain with the boat for the first year, the RRWT will choose another team from the waiting list to compete in the event. 

2.      At least one member of each current returning team must have been a member of that team in the previous year. If it is the Captain of the team from the past year that is on the current team, he/she must remain as Captain. If it is the Partner from the past year remaining on the current team, the Partner becomes and must remain the Captain of that team for the current year 

3.      Any person who wishes to place themselves on the waiting list and retain their ranking on the waiting list MUST pay a $25.00 fee yearly. It is a non-refundable fee. In the year the contestant is selected from the waiting list, the $25.00 will be applied towards the contestant’s entry fee.

35.   Team Member Changes

There will be a $25.00 administrative fee for any team that requests a change of partner after September 10, 2022. Rule 34 (1-3) still applies.

36.   “Spirit of the Rule”

All rules have “loopholes”. It is the intention of the organizers to provide an honest, sportsman-like, tournament. In the interest of sportsmanship, contestants are reminded that “the spirit of the rule” will prevail in all judgment cases and the decisions of the RRWT committee are final.

37.  Violations and Fines

1.      It is the discretion of the committee to decide the severity of the violation and the fine to be served.

2.      Competitors may be fined any amount or disqualified for any violation of the tournament rules and will not receive a refund of their entry fee.

3.      Minor Fines are ¼ pound per occurrence

4.      Major fines are ½ or 1 pound per occurrence

All Decisions of the Tournament Judges, Weigh Master and RRWT Committee are Final and non-contestable