Online Freshwater Tournament
Top Dawg Freshwater Tournament
Starting Date – May 1st 2020
Ending Date – October 31st 2020
Entry Fee:
$60 Top Dawg till March 31
$70 from April 1st to April 30th
Top Pup – FREE (16 Yrs and younger)
Entry Deadline – April 30th
Contact Information
Email – topdawgspearfishing@outlook.com
Facebook – Top Dawg Freshwater Tournament
Instagram – Top Dawg Spearfishing
Director – Brandon Miller (307)696-3736
2019 RMSA Top Dawg Submission – PDF
2019 RMSA Top Dawg Registration – PDF
2019 RMSA Top Dawg Regulations – PDF
2019 RMSA Liability Waiver – PDF
Online Tournament Format and Rules
Format
This is an online style tournament consisting of Freediving and Scuba Diving. Your choice!
The biggest (longest) fish in each individual category at the end of the tournament wins Top Dawg for that category. At the end of the tournament there will also be a winner dubbed “The Bully”. The Bully will be determined by adding up the total length of each individuals biggest fish in each category. You will want to enter a fish in as many categories as possible. Just because your big fish didn’t win you the Top Dawg for the category, doesn’t mean it still won’t help you in participating for being crowned “The Bully”. Participants must purchase entry into the tournament which includes the tournament hat and complete the registration.. The tournament will run from May 1st until October 31st. All participants must follow all state/ federal rules and regulations where they will be spearfishing. Any violation of state/federal laws, tournament rules or anyone caught cheating will result in automatic disqualification from the tournament and any/all future tournaments. Entries to be submitted, will need to be a photo/video of the fish with your tournament hat visible as well as time stamped with a witness. Examples of a time stamp would be your dive watch, cell phone, current days newspaper, anything to legitimately show the day you shot the fish. Photo/video must also include clear measurement of the fish. Fish must be laying on a FLAT surface! The measuring tape must be a soft tape and must be laid over the top of the fish and pulled snug. The tape needs to be free of any slack and/or wrinkles. The measurement, from the start of the tape to the end of the tape, must be clearly visible in the photo/video. Any submissions where the measurement can not be undoubtedly seen will be unaccepted. Try to get a straight up and down photo/video of the start and end of the measurement. All measurements shall be made from the fork of the tail to the tip of the mouth.
The mouth of the fish must be closed and not open. The tail should also be fanned out to show the deepest park of the fork. Along with the photo/video submission you must also
include written information stating your hat number, measurement, date and who was witness to the taking of the fish. You may submit as many fish throughout the tournament for every category as you wish. Meaning, if you submitted a fish today and go out tomorrow and shoot a bigger fish, you can “cull out” your smaller fish by submitting your bigger fish. This will play a key role in “The Bully”. There will be 2 divisions in the tournament. Top Dawg and Top Pup. Top Pup division will be for ages 16 years of age and younger from the date of registration. The Top Pup division will be awarded by the biggest, overall fish throughout the tournament. The fish species must be one of our category species in the tournament. Parents, no shooting fish for your kids! If you are making a submission for the Top Pup division the rules are still the same but you must write that it is a Top Pup entry. Top Dawg can change tournament rules at anytime. You must comply with the rules at all times. If we make changes due to some unforeseen reason, we will update you on the Official Tournament Facebook and Instagram page as well as email. Be sure to have the notifications turned on for the page to alert you of any updates. As always, safety is the upmost importance. Remember there is no fish worth your life! Always dive with a buddy and remember 1 up, and 1 down! From all of us at Top Dawg, we would like to wish you all the best of luck!
Rules
All submitted fish must be speared with a rubber/pneumatic gun or pole spear.
Tournament waters restricted to all freshwater bodies of water within the United States/Canada where state/federal regulations allow it.
The measuring tape used MUST be a cloth/soft tape measure. Any submissions with the use of a metal or hard plastic measuring tape will not be accepted
The Striper Category is for landlocked Striper only. Meaning those fish do not have access to migrate to and from saltwater. The body of water the fish was taken from MUST be listed when submitting Striper. Fish taken from the Sacramento River and its tributaries, including the American River, will not be accepted in the tournament.
Channel Catfish, due to the nature of its body configuration will be measured by laying the fish flat. The measuring will start from the bottom of the mouth and run along the fish’s side to the fork of the tail. A video of the correct way to measure is posted on the website along with the tournament Facebook and Instagram pages.
All entries must be submitted within 5 days of being taken.
In the event of a 2 person tie for The Bully, the tie breaker will be the total length of each persons 2 biggest fish
In the event of a tie for Top Dawg, the winner will revert back to the first submitted fish
All participants must follow all state/federal laws in the areas they are spearfishing. Any violation or suspected violation, of any of the laws and/or tournament rules, will result in disqualification from the tournament and possible disqualification from all future tournaments.
This tournament works mostly off of honesty.
We try our best to format it to prevent people from cheating. Don’t be that person!
Any participant who gets caught cheating or is suspected of cheating after review from the board at Top Dawg, will be disqualified and will automatically be barred from ever being allowed to participate in future tournaments. Be honest!!!
Measuring tape used in entries MUST be a soft cloth tape measure. No entries will be accepted with the use of a hard metal or plastic tape measure
The method of measurement will be from the tip of the closed mouth to the fork of the tail. The mouth of the fish must be closed and not open. The tail of the fish should be fanned out to show the deepest part of the fork. For all species other than Panfish, measurements go to the closest 1/4 of an inch. To take over the leader board you must beat the previous leading fish by 1/4 of an inch!
Measurements for Panfish will go to the closest 1/8 of an inch. To take over the leader board for Panfish, you must beat the previous leading fish by 1/8 of an inch.
Top Pup division is for all kids from 16 years of age and younger from the start date of the tournament. Fish species submitted for Top Pup must be one of the species listed in the tournament for Top Dawg.
Top Dawg division is open to everyone from 17 years of age and up.
Top Dawg reserves the right to challenge any submission. Proof must be provided from the person submitting the entry if additional information is asked for.
Anyone has the the right to challenge another submission. If your submission is challenged, you will be notified of the challenge, and then notified of the decision once the Top Dawg committee reviews your submission.
All submissions must also include the following written information. Your tournament hat number, date taken, length, species and witness. For Striper you must also list the body of water it was taken.. See below:
Example of Entry
Top Dawg Walleye
Hat number – 01
Date taken – 5/1/2018
Witnessed by – Johnny Spearo
Length – 28.5”
(Post photo/video CLEARLY showing the start and end of the measuring tape showing the length and your entry hat!)
Example of Stiper Entry
Top Dawg Striper
Hat number – 01
Date taken – 5/1/2018
Location taken – Lake Mead
Witnessed by Johnny Spearo
Length – 42”
(Post photo/video CLEARLY showing the start and end of the measuring tape showing the length and your entry hat!)
ALL SUBMISSIONS MUST CLEARLY SHOW THE TIME AND DATE OF YOUR TIME STAMP AND THE START AND FINISH OF YOUR MEASURING TAPE. THE MEASUREMENTS OF YOUR FISH MUST BE CLEARLY SEEN IN YOUR VIDEO/PHOTO. DON’T BE AFRAID OF YOUR FISH! GET THE CAMERA CLOSE SO WE CAN SEE!
The method of measurement will be from the hook of the jaw to the fork of the tail. All measurements go to the closest 1/4 of an inch. To take over the leader board you must beat the previous leading fish by 1/4 of an inch! Any ties will revert back to the first entry that was submitted.
Top Pup division is for all kids from 16 years of age and younger.
Top Dawg division is open to everyone from 17 years and up.
RMSA reserves the right to challenge any submission. Proof must be provided from the person submitting the entry if additional information is asked for by RMSA
Fish Species Category
Common Carp
Buffalo Carp
Walleye
Largemouth Bass
Smallmouth Bass
Northern Pike
Tiger Musky
Channel Catfish
Panfish – (Sunfish, Bluegill, White Crappie, Black Crappie, Yellow Perch)
Freshwater Drum
Lake Trout/Splake
Rainbow Trout
Brown Trout/Tiger Trout
Striper (Land Locked Only)
Sucker (Any species)
Wiper
Prizes for the Top Dawg of each category, will be a sponsored prize and/or cash prize.
Prize for the Top Pup will be a sponsored prize and/or cash prize
Prize for “The Bully” will be a cash prize, champion hat and massive bragging rights for the year!
Disclaimer
RMSA or any of its people cannot, and will not, be held reliable for any death or injuries to any participants by them or their families partaking in the tournament