CLUB By-Laws version 17 affective 11/09/10
SECTION I – Club Name, Purpose and Affiliations
A. The name of this club is the Clinton River Bass Club, herein referred to as CRBC.
B. The club purpose is to promote bass fishing through friendly, competitive tournaments.
SECTION II - General Club Rules
A. Club membership is limited to 30 members.
B. All active members must agree to obey all club By-Laws and Tournament Rules.
C. All active members must participate in at least half of the point tournaments each year.
D. The term "year" in these By-Laws and Tournament Rules is defined as the period of time between October 31 and November 1.
E. Motions concerning club matters other than covered in these By-Laws and Tournament Rules can be made at any membership meeting where at least one-half of the active club members are present.
1. These motions must be made and seconded before discussed in detail.
2. Motions will need a majority vote of the attending active members to be acted upon.
F. Safety rules concerning club tournaments may be acted on and added to the Tournament Rules at any membership meeting or enacted by the club Officers.
G. By-Laws and Tournament Rules can be changed or revised at any membership meeting where at least one-half of the active members are present. Each revision or change must carry a majority vote of the attending active members.
H. Treasurer and the President or designee must approve any financial transaction before the transaction is carried out.
SECTION III – Club Membership
A. New members may be added between the last point tournament and the end of the year without any dues being paid for the remainder of that year.
B. Membership approval is by a two-thirds affirmative vote of the attending active members at a meeting or a specially called meeting by the President.
C. Membership voting is done by majority vote.
D. Membership qualifications:
1. An active member must recommend a prospective new member for membership.
2. Prospective new members must attend the meeting where request to join is made.
E. Membership Dues:
1. New and active membership dues are $60.00 annually. Membership dues pay for entry fees to the yearly point tournaments, permits and club expenses.
2. Membership dues are due at the April meeting and are to be paid by the first point tournament. Active members voted into membership after the April meeting must pay dues at the time membership is approved.
3. All membership dues are forfeited by those removed from membership for reasons stated in Section III.F.1 below.
4. Membership dues are non-refundable once the season has started.
F. Reasons for Membership Removal:
1. Any act by word or deed that brings disgrace or dishonor to the club or its members.
2. Failure to abide by the Rules stated in Section II, Paragraphs B or C.
3. It takes a two-thirds affirmative vote of the attending active members present to remove a member of the club. The club Officers set forth Qualifications for reinstatement of a removed member.
SECTION IV – Club Officers
A. Club Officers consists of a President, Treasurer/Secretary, Tournament Director and Weigh master.
B. Active members in good standing are the only members who can be elected to a club office and can only serve as one officer at a time unless an office has been vacated.
C. Members must have at least one year's active membership immediately prior to being nominated for any club office.
D. Officers Elections:
1. Nominations and elections for President, Secretary/ Treasurer, Tournament Director and Weigh Master will take place at the October meeting for duties beginning November 1.
2. Voting for the Club Officers occurs by majority vote.
3. At least one-half of the active members must vote (in person or absentee) in order for the elections to take place.
4. In the case of a vacated office, the President appoints a temporary replacement until an election can be held.
5. Members elected to a vacated office assume duties as soon as they are elected.
E. Officer's Duties:
The President:
1. Presides over all club meetings and functions (except where stated otherwise).
2. Appoints all committee chairpersons.
3. Appoints temporary Officers to vacated offices.
4. Serves as a member of every club committee.
5. Insures adherence to all By-Laws.
The Secretary/Treasurer
1. Maintains accurate records of all financial transactions.
2. Collects all debts due the club and issues payments for all club debts.
3. Submits a monthly a treasury report.
4. Maintains an accurate membership roster.
5. Maintains By-Laws, Tournament Rules, and administers updates as necessary.
6. Maintains Meeting Minutes.
7. Maintains accurate records of all tournament scores and standings.
8. Maintains web site info.
The Tournament Director:
1. Presides over all club tournaments.
2. Reports all tournament records to Secretary/Treasurer.
3. Obtains all necessary permits and or authorizations for tournaments.
4. Informs club of all special or local ordinances.
5. Insures adherence to all "Tournament Rules".
6. Holds mandatory pre-launch meeting.
7. Holds draw for Blast-off position.
8. Announces official Start and End Times.
The Weigh Master:
1. Sets up weigh-in guidelines including.
2. Weigh-in procedures.
3. Insures the safe handling and release of fish.
4. Upon request provides the official “bump board” prior to the weigh-in.
5. Determines official weight of contestant’s fish.
SECTION V – Tournament Rules
A. Adhere to all Michigan fishing laws, boating, safety, local ordinances, no wake zones and or tournament rules. DQ will result if continued disregard occurs.
B. Tournaments will start and end at designated times, unless conditions require "Blast Off" to be postponed.
C. Tournaments will have official Blast point and Return point clearly defined in mandatory pre-launch meeting.
D. Points Tournament lakes are OFF LIMITS (24) hours prior to the start.
E. Tournament Director can inspect a boat(s) prior to the start of each tournament.
F. A contestant who is late must:
1. Call the TD and announce his/her intent to fish.
2. Must find the TD on the water to be checked in. (Inland Lakes only)
G. Non-boaters must pay a rider fee of $10.00 for inland lakes and $20.00 for all others.
H. Tournament Director keeps official tournament time. Contestants must set their watches to the Tournaments Directors watch for the start and end times.
I. Contestants of all Club marine events must wear a Coast Guard approved Personal Floatation Device (PFD) when main engine of the boat is in operation.
K. If a contestant needs to leave a tournament prior to the end they will contact the Tournament Director and forfeit their fish.
L. All tournament boats must be equipped with the following:
1. An aerated live well that is capable of keeping two contestants’ fish alive for the tournament duration.
2. A kill-switch and lanyard that must be attached to the contestant’s PFD when main engine of the boat is in operation.
3. An electric trolling motor.
M. Tournament contestants are restricted to using one rod at anytime, no trolling.
N. Only artificial baits or lures are allowed in club tournaments.
O. Contestants or guests are not allowed to participate in a club tournament while under the influence of alcohol, any controlled or illegal substance. The discretion of the tournament committee applies in these cases.
P. A minimum of fifty-yards (50) must be maintained between tournament boats unless the contestants agree to a shorter distance.
Q. A non-boater will be allowed to offer spots to the boat owner. The windshield is the divide line, remember courtesy.
R. Contestant’s who have already caught 5 legal bass must, upon the catch of a sixth legal bass, cull a fish. Only live fish can be culled. Dead fish cannot be culled.
S. Contestants must return to the designated “Return Point” as defined by the Tournament Director at or before the designated ending time to be on time.
T. A penalty of one (1) pound is assessed per minute to a contestant’s weight for returning late to the “Return Point”. After five (5) minutes late the offending contestant is disqualified (DQ). The contestant will be notified by the Tournament Director of any penalty or DQ as soon as they return to the launch.
U. All protests must be filed with the Tournament Director or designee prior to the start of the Weigh-in.
V. Upon protest request, the Tournament Director forms a protest committee made up of himself or designee and at least 3 active members; that listen to and act upon any protest brought to them during any CRBC tournament. All decisions are final.
X. Anything not covered in the By-Laws pertaining to tournament fishing will be decided by a majority vote. The vote will be cast by the Tournament Director or designee and at least 3 active members.
SECTION VI – Tournament Scoring
A. A 4-ounce (1/4 pound) penalty is assessed, before converting to points, for each dead fish a contestant brings to the weigh-in.
B. First place is awarded 200-points with a 5-point decrease for each place through last place weighing a fish.
C. Members who fish a tournament, but weigh no legal fish receive 40 points.
D. Members who do not fish (DNF) receive 0 points.
E. All fish measurements are done with a closed mouth and pinched tail according to DNR guidelines.
F. If a contestant brings a short fish to the Weigh-in of a club tournament:
1. If more than one fish in the bag, the short fish and the heaviest fish in the bag is eliminated, before the remaining fish are weighed and points awarded.
2. If the short fish is the only fish in the bag, the short fish is eliminated and a 20-point penalty is subtracted from the angler’s year-to-date total.
G. If a contestant brings six (6) fish to the Weigh-in, the contestant is Disqualified.
H. In the case of a tie for total weight during tournaments, the heaviest bass of each tied contestant determines the winner. Tournaments when single fish are in the bag; the tied contestants receive the same points for the position. The contestants who finish in subsequent positions receive points as described in Section VI.B with the exception that one place finish is skipped for each tie.
J. The points determine each contestant's finish at each tournament and standings throughout the year.
K. After six (6) point tournaments, a 40 point bonus will be added to all contestants who fish all 6 points tournaments; This with each member’s 5 best tournament scores determine his/her final standings for the year. The Team tournament and any Paper tournament, if applicable, have no impact to the final standings.
L. Catch and Immediate Release (Paper) Tournaments will measure individual fish; fish greater than 14 inches are rounded up to the nearest 1/2 inch. Winner is the angler with the highest total inches of the five best legal-sized bass caught and released.
SECTION VII – Tournament Schedule and Partner Pairings
A. 6 points tournaments, a (2) day Classic, the MBI and a team Tournament will be the normal schedule for a season.
B. The 6 points Lakes will be determined and scheduled at a “Lakes Meeting” held in November and finalized prior to March 1st.
C. Each member will bring their choice of 6 and (1) alternate lake to the “Lakes Meeting”.
1. Lakes must be sized for the number of boats in the club, have a satisfactory launch site and parking.
D. The top 7 voted lakes will determine the lakes and alternate. Ties will be put into a hat and a winner will be drawn.
E. A tentative schedule will be determined and finalized as described in the above Section VII, B. The club will do its best to accommodate all members to insure a full field is able to participate.
F. Partner pairings will be set when the schedule is finalized and will follow these steps:
1. Once a boat owner has been paired with a non-boat owner for a tournament, he/she is exempt for the next event and subsequent events until all boat owners have been paired at least once for a tournament.
2. In the event a boat owner is not able to attend a tournament in which he/she had been paired, the non-boat owner will be drawn in the pre-tournament meeting by boat owners who are not paired, with respect to the above rule.
SECTION VIII – Tournament Plaques
A. Plaques are awarded for the following:
1. First, Second, Third place of each point tournament.
2. Angler of the Year – first place in overall points.
3. Classic Champion - Classic tournament winner.
4. Team Tournament – Winning Team will have their names engraved on the Team trophy and be holder of the Team Trophy until the next team tournament.
5. Big Bass of the Year – must be from a point tournament.
B. The plaques are presented during the season and or before the end of the club year.
SECTION IX - Annual Classic Tournament
A. The annual Classic Tournament is held the last weekend in September.
B. Classic qualifiers are the top 8 in final points, team tournament winners and (2) wild Card picks.
C. All (12) qualifiers will fish from separate boats, every effort will be made to pair up a non-boat owner who qualified with a boat owner who did not. If a boat cannot be obtained they will forfeit their spot.
D. Wild Card drawing eligibility:
1. Any Club member who didn’t otherwise qualify for the Classic and has fished all the six (6) Points Tournaments receives one Ballot.
2. Any Club member who didn’t otherwise qualify for the Classic who has fished all the six (6) Points Tournaments while catching at least one legal fish in each Tournament receives one additional Ballot.
3. The wild Card Drawing is for any Club member who didn’t otherwise qualify for the Classic. If you qualify for both “1.” and “2.” then you will have two (2) chances in the Drawing. The President or designee will randomly draw names until at least two different members commit to fish the Classic. Then one additional member will be drawn as an alternate. Any non-boat owner drawn will make every effort to obtain a boat; if a boat cannot be obtained they will forfeit their spot.
E. The Classic Lakes
1. The Classic is held on different lakes than fished during the season.
2. The Classic Lake must be right sized for the club, and have a satisfactory launch site and parking.
3. Each qualifier submits one (1) vote for each of the (2) lakes to the Tournament Director or designee.
4. The Classic Lakes will be drawn the morning of the 1st day of the Classic at a pre-determined meeting place.
5. A Classic qualifier cannot receive any information concerning the classic lake or fish finding from any outside sources, including other club members.
SECTION X – Voluntary Money Pots
A. BIG BAG and BIG BASS
1. Big Bass and Big Bag Pots are voluntary; you can join if you wish; member or guest.
2. Big Bag and Big Bass pots apply to the six (6) point tournaments, team tournament, and Classic tournament.
3. Donation is $5.00 per angler per tournament.
4. Donation is due before the start of each tournament.
5. 75% of the donations go to Big Bag.
6. 25% of donations go to Big Bass.
7. In case of a tie for Big Bag, the largest fish in the bag will break the tie. If a tie still exists, the donations are divided equally.
8. In case of a tie for Big Bass, the largest bag will break the tie. If a tie still exists, the donations are divided equally.
B. POT OF GOLD (Bass Greater Than or Equal to 5-Pounds)
1. Pot of Gold is voluntary
2. Pot of Gold applies to all point tournaments, team tournament, and Classic tournament.
3. Donation is $2.00 per member per tournament ($12.00 per year).
4. Donation is due before the start of the 1st point tournament.
5. All Pot of Gold donations will accumulate until a 5-pound or larger bass is weighed.
6. There will be no deductions for dead fish for Pot of Gold.
7. Only donations accumulated for those tournaments fished prior to a 5-pound bass will be given out. The pot starts over again with the remaining donations at the next tournament.
8. In case of a tie for a 5-pound bass, the donations are divided equally among the tied members.
9. If no additional 5-pound bass is weighed in for the rest of the season, the remaining donations will be given to the member who caught the largest bass 5-pounds for the entire year.
10. If no 5-pound bass are caught during the year, all Pot of Gold donations go to the member (or members split equally) who caught the largest bass of the year.
C. UGLY DUCKLING (Big Fish other than Bass)
1. Ugly Duckling is voluntary
2. Ugly Duckling applies to the six point tournaments, team tournament, and Classic tournament.
3. Donation is $2.00 per member per year.
4. Donation is due before the start of the First point tournament.
5. The Ugly Duckling is the largest fish by weight other than a bass caught during a club event. Examples are pike, drum, catfish, dogfish, etc.
6. All Ugly Duckling donations stay in the pot until after the last tournament (Classic).
7. There are no deductions for dead fish for Ugly Duckling.
8. If a tie exists for Ugly Duckling, the tied members split the pot equally.
9. If no Ugly Ducklings are caught during the year, all donations get refunded to the members in the Ugly Duckling pot.
