PRELIMINARY - SEPTEMBER 3, 2026

2026 Tournament Rules

These preliminary rules are open for participant review and may change until a document marked Final is published.

1. Tournament Format

The tournament runs from December 31, 2026 through February 28, 2027.
Each registered boat may fish no more than four declared days during the tournament window.
A boat does not have to use all four fishing days.

Before 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time, start a Trip in The Reel Time App to declare that boat's fishing day.
Select either Live Bait or Dead Bait as the Trip Type. That choice is locked for the day. A different Trip Type may be selected on another declared day.
Keep GPS enabled when starting and throughout the Trip. A captain selection is not required to start the Trip.
A boat that does not start its Trip before 8:00 a.m. may not submit scores for that day.

Lines in is 8:00 a.m. Eastern Time. No hooked line may be in the water before lines in.
Lines out is 3:30 p.m. Eastern Time. No new line may be deployed after lines out.
A sailfish hooked before 3:30 p.m. may be fought until it is released or lost.

End the Trip in The Reel Time App only after the boat has returned inside an approved inlet.
Keep GPS enabled so the App can confirm the boat is inside the inlet completion area.
There is no deadline to end the Trip. Return safely, then end the Trip after the boat is back inside the inlet.

Northern boundary: 28 degrees 19.06 minutes North (28.3177 N).
Southern boundary: 26 degrees 02.00 minutes North (26.0333 N).
There is no fixed eastern longitude. Fishing in Bahamian waters or under Bahamian jurisdiction is not permitted.
Trip GPS, hookup GPS, release GPS, and video metadata may be used to confirm boundary compliance.

No more than six rods with hooked lines may be in the water at one time.
Live Bait Trip: Live bait is permitted. Teasers, dredges, and daisy chains are not permitted.
Dead Bait Trip: Dead or artificial hooked baits are permitted. Hookless teasers, dredges, and daisy chains may be used in addition to the six hooked rods.
A teaser may not carry a hook. A fish hooked by or entangled with a teaser does not qualify.

Report each hookup through The Reel Time App when it happens, with GPS enabled.
Update every hookup with one final status: Pulled Hook, Wrong Species, Broken Line, or Released.
If the boat has no cellular or Starlink connection, keep GPS enabled and submit or sync the hookup as soon as a connection is restored. The device-captured time and GPS must show when and where the event occurred.
Every hookup must be closed with a final status before the Trip is considered complete.

Only a sailfish released alive may score. Marlin and all other species receive no points.
Record and submit every release through ReelCam and The Reel Time App.
The video must clearly show the fish as a sailfish, the mate physically touching the leader, and the sailfish being released alive.
The Reel Time App timestamp and GPS record are the official time and location evidence.
No acceptable video means no score.

GPS is collected only for tournament administration, boundary checks, Trip verification, and score verification.
The tournament will not display, publish, or share a boat's GPS coordinates, tracks, fishing locations, or release locations with the public or other competitors.

Sailfish released during a Live Bait Trip: 200 points.
Sailfish released during a Dead Bait Trip: 300 points.
The Trip Type selected before 8:00 a.m. determines the point value for every qualifying release that day.
Ties are broken by the earliest verified time a boat reached the tied point total.

Standings include Overall, Fishing Day 1, Fishing Day 2, Fishing Day 3, Fishing Day 4, Live Bait Overall, and Dead Bait Overall.
Fishing Day 1 through Fishing Day 4 are the sequence of each boat's declared Trips, not common calendar dates.
Live Bait and Dead Bait standings include only releases made during the matching Trip Type.

The Tournament Committee may review Trip records, hookup records, timestamps, GPS, video, and other evidence needed to verify a score or rule compliance.
Participants must provide requested original video or App records. Failure to provide required verification may result in loss of the score.
The Tournament Committee has final authority to interpret and apply these rules.

The safety of the boat and crew comes first. Each boat is responsible for deciding whether conditions are safe for fishing and travel.
All boats and participants must follow applicable fishing, licensing, boating, and navigation laws.

Version: Preliminary, September 3, 2026. Final rules and approved amendments control once published by the Tournament Committee.