1. Winners are determined by the highest combined, two-fish aggregate weight, per Levels 1/2/3. 
  2. Competition shall take place on Friday, September 27 and Saturday, September 28; one fish weighed per day to achieve the two fish aggregate.  In the event the weather is deemed unfavorable for competition, on Friday, September 27, Saturday, September 28 will become the single competition day, and teams will weigh two fish to achieve the two fish aggregate. In the event Saturday, September 28th is deemed unfavorable for competition, Sunday, September 29th will become the single competition day, and teams will weigh two fish to achieve the two fish aggregate.  Monday, September 30th and Tuesday, October 1st are optional reschedule dates.
  3. Boat inspections and boat check-out will take place from 6:30 am to 7:00 am. No participant may refuse or impede a boat inspection or they will be disqualified. Boats will be inspected and checked-out from James Island Yacht Club docks beginning at 6am.  If a boat is unable to be inspected by 7:00am, special arrangements must be made for a late check-out prior to 7:00am.  Once checked out, boats proceed by idling to the designated holding area between the green channel marker and the James Island Yacht Club docks.  There will be a shotgun start at roughly 7:15 am, also monitor VHF 68 for the “GO” signal.
  4. Weigh-in will take place at Shem Creek, Saltwater Cowboys Restaurant docks.  Weigh-in opens at 3pm. Boats must at the weigh-station dock by 5pm.  All boats MUST be visible to weigh-master by 5pm. 
  5. A polygraph may be administered to Kingfish Tour Championship winners. The test MUST be taken within one hour of the last fish being weighed.  It is mandatory that EITHER the Captain or Co-Captain NOT CONSUME ALCOHOL within an hour prior to this testing. The tournament may choose to polygraph more than one member from a team.  Any refusal to take the polygraph by a team member, or if any team member fails the polygraph, constitutes grounds for disqualification by the Palmetto Kingfish Tour Rules Committee. 
  6. The Palmetto Kingfish Tour registered Captain OR Co-Captain MUST be on the boat to fish the Championship.
  7. No mutilated fish will be weighed. A mutilated fish is one in which the injury impacts the fish’s ability to fight. Hook and gaff punctures are acceptable.
  8. Official tournament time is determined by GPS time.
  9. A replacement boat will not be authorized after tournament fishing hours have begun each day.
  10. All fish must be weighed in from the boat in which they were caught. No trucking of fish to weigh station will be allowed.
  11. A boat may not make landfall during tournament competition hours.  A crew member may exit the boat during competition hours so long as landfall is not made.  No person and no items may be added to the boat during competition hours.
  12. Tournament will monitor VHF Channel 68. During weigh-in, all boats should monitor tournament channel to receive instructions
  13. Any fish weighed containing lead or any other foreign matter, including ice, will be subject to disqualification as decided by the tournament committee.
  14. All protests made to the tournament committee require $250 cash from the protester. All protests shall be made no later than one hour after the last fish has been weighed on each weigh-day. The $250 cash deposit will be refunded if the protest is upheld by the tournament committee. The $250 cash deposit will become non-refundable if the protest is not upheld. All decisions of the protest committee shall be final.
  15. Prizes are awarded solely on the basis of fish weight. In the event of identical weights, the first fish weighed shall be declared the winner.  In the event of identical weight, but fish caught on different competition days, tie break will be determined by earliest weigh-in timestamp, not the day of weight. Earliest fish weighed wins.
  16. Two (2) or more boats congregating during fishing hours may be disqualified.  Safety consideration is the only reason this rule can be overridden:  The boat receiving assistance will be disqualified and the boat giving assistance will be allowed to continue.
  17. If a boat has to be towed or receives assistance for any reason, it will be disqualified from competition for the day.
  18. All fish must be caught on rod & reel. The maximum number of lines out at any one time is seven.
  19. Violation of any of the tournament rules shall constitute grounds for automatic disqualification from the tournament. The Tournament Committee shall be the sole judge of any violations of the rules, and their decision shall be final.

Tour Sponsors

Freeman Boatworks
Reel Fish Gear
Dekit
Hall's Chophouse
Saltwater Cowboy's
Palmetto State Armory
Marsh Tacky Carbon