What is IGFA fly tackle?

The International Game Fish Association (IGFA) is an organization that maintains records for sport-caught fish. They have a set of rules that define fly tackle and fly-fishing techniques that may be used to catch IGFA record fish. Rather than "re-create the wheel", this tournament uses their rules for defining fly tackle.

Complying with IGFA rules for fly tackle is not very difficult. If you use an off-the-shelf fly rod and reel, and the extension butt on the rod (if any) is 6 inches or less (measured from the middle of the reel seat), you're OK. Your leader tippet just has to measure 15" or more between the knots, and meet the breaking strength requirements in the tournament rules (10kg / 22lb class or less). If you want to use a bite tippet (shock leader), it can not be over 12 inches, including the knots.

Our only exception to the IGFA rules is that we allow chumming to continue after a fish is hooked. The IGFA rules call for the halt of chumming after a fish is hooked. This rule was implemented to prevent anglers from trying to use chum to hold a fish near the boat after it is hooked. The type of fish targeted by this tournament are not susceptible to this tactic, so we have decided that the hassle of stopping a chum line and restarting it every time a fish is hooked is too much.

We want people to be on common ground when it comes to tackle, and to be as consistent with IGFA rules as possible. We specifically want to prevent people from using extremely heavy tippets to horse fish in, since after all, fly-tackle is LIGHT TACKLE.

To be safe, you should use IGFA class monofilament for your tippets, or use IGFA-compliant pre-tied leaders, as sold by Ande, Rio, Scientific Anglers, and several other manufacturers. These products will have labels indicating that the tippet or material is IGFA CLASS-rated, rather than simply displaying a "TEST" label. Regular "TEST" monofilament will break at more than the labelled strength. Twenty pound TEST monofilament usually breaks well in excess of 22 lbs, and would not be allowed under IGFA rules. If you want to use monofilament that is rated by TEST, you need to use 15lb TEST or less to be safe.

One of our objectives was to come up with a scoring system would have minimal impact on the fishery, while still providing a challenging format for the event.

Weighing fish on the boat was eliminated as a way to score points because there are too many problems with accuracy.

Using a CPR (Catch-Photograph-Release) process like we do in the 3Bs tournament was eliminated because TYDs can be extremely difficult to handle, especially if they arrive at the boat relatively green. This increases the possibility of injury to both the angler / crew, as well as the fish.

The limited take / no cull / slam scoring system was developed because it calls for the taking of a minimal number of fish, while presenting some interesting strategy challenges.

We encourage everyone to avoid handling fish that are to be released, if possible. Use a dehooking device to release the fish while still in the water.

No tournament's rules, epecially a "for fun" event, can be completely airtight, otherwise it wouldn't be any fun! I've spent a lot of time reviewing the rules with a lot of different people, and I think I know where most of the holes are. I've considered a number of different ways to keep things under control, including going as far as using IGFA-Certified Observers to keep an eye on people. In the end, I decided that would have made things waaaayyy too serious.

The scoring process and other tournament rules are designed to discourage blatant cheating, but are not perfect. For example, the use of tagging bands to mark the fish being kept for score discourages culling, but there are ways around it.

Ultimately, I have to depend on your honesty and sense of ethics. When I've been approached by people on the issue of cheating, I've discovered that cheating in fishing tournaments is something "the other guy does, but not me". Well...DON'T BE THAT OTHER GUY! I've tried to be as clear as possible on the intent of the rules, and I expect people to try to conduct themselves according to the intent. If you've got a question, raise it at the Contestants Meeting, or on our forum.

And if there is an accidental rules violation, own up to it. It is, after all, just a fishing tournament.

Sure! You just can't count any fish caught while trolling a fly for points. Trolling a fly violates the IGFA rules for fly fishing. Your boat must be out of gear when presenting the fly. Note that if you are trailing the fly in the water, and the Boater uses a motor (gas or electric) to move the boat slightly, and a fish hits, you cannot count that fish for score.

Yes, but you must make sure you comply with Mexican laws, including the possession of a Mexican fishing license for everyone on the boat, whether or not they are fishing. Mexico has a 2 dorado / person daily limit, so you can not legally fill your tournament boat limits with Dorado caught in Mexican waters. Also, keep in mind that contestants fishing in Mexican waters do not get any extra time allowance for travel, so you may lose a significant part of your fishing day.

You can leave your boat on the trailer in the Dana Landing or South Shores launch ramp parking lots the night before the tournament. These areas are lit at night BUT ARE NOT PATROLLED, so I would not leave valuables, tackle or electronics where they can be seen.

Overnight guest slips may also be available for a fee at the Marina Village Conference Center. This facility has public slips available for rent during the summer months, but must be reserved well in advance. There is no trailer storage at the Center, however, so you would have to launch at Dana Landing, leave the trailer at the ramp, and take the boat around to Marina Village.

Yes, absolutely. Consider this: a person catching a single TYD Slam gets the same points as someone catching 3 tuna that are twice as large, and in a tie, would actually win, because of the tie-breaking rules. What do YOU think would be a better tactic? The odds are pretty good that you might run into a single school of larger fish of one species, but what are your odds of catching all three species in a single day? It's your call!