- The Inaugural Eastside Tuna Roundup will run from April 15th, 2024, thru May 31st, 2024.
- This is “you pick your day” tournament, with a maximum of 3 days to fish. The captain must declare their fishing day no later than 9pm the night before by email, eastsideroundup@gmail.com, or text, (904)705-7263, to declare a fishing day.
- The boat with the heaviest 3 yellowfin tuna fish aggregate will be declared the winner of the Inaugural Eastside Tuna Roundup.
- The largest single yellowfin tuna fish in the tournament will automatically win second place, unless it is part of the largest aggregate, in which the second largest fish would be declared the winner of 2nd place.
- Each boat may weigh 2 fish per fishing day declared. If a boat weighs more than 3 fish during the tournament, the lesser of the weights will be dropped.
- Boats may leave from and return to any inlet but may only deploy baits within the tournament boundaries. Tournament Boundaries are between latitude 27.45.000 N and latitude 30.45.000 N in the Atlantic Ocean. There is no Eastern Boundary.
- This is a no check out tournament, but boats may only fish between lines in at 6AM and lines out at 7PM. Boats must check in by 10PM by satellite or cellular phone with status update and to let the tournament committee know if they will be weighing fish the following day.
- All fish must be weighed between 10 am and noon the day after a day is fished. No mutilated fish will be accepted.
- A digital photograph is required with the tournament issued boat number after a fish has been landed. This photo must be sent to tournament committee upon arrival back to port.
- This is a total weight tournament, if a two fish aggregate weighs more than a three fish aggregate, the larger aggregate will be the winner. In the event of a tie, the aggregate with the larger fish will be deemed the winner. If the big fish weight is a tie, the fish that was weighed first will be deemed the winner.
- Only one prize per boat in the Roundup, excluding the Tournament within a Tournament prizes.
- You may undeclare a day of fishing by 8:00am, via cell phone, satellite phone, or email, of the declared fishing day one time for mechanical failure if a line has not been deployed. You may undeclare multiple times due to weather before leaving the inlet. You may substitute a boat one time during the tournament but only with a boat that is not registered in this tournament.
- The captain and crew of all entrants are subject to a polygraph test at any time during the tournament. Winning captains will be required to submit and pass a polygraph test prior to being presented any prize. Refusal to submit to polygraph automatically revokes all claims to prizes and disqualifies the captain and crew from the tournament.
- Use of flying drones are not allowed in this tournament.
- All decisions by tournament committee are final.
- Tournament reserves the right to deny any captain entry to tournament at their own discretion.
- Every boat is required to have a satellite communicator and epirb on their boat when fishing a declared day. Can be a Satellite phone or texting unit like Garmin inreach.
- All boats must comply with all local, state and federal regulations.
- All boats must leave and return under its own power. If a boat cannot return under it’s own power it will be disqualified for that day of fishing and the day is counted as a declared day. A boat rendering assistance to a boat needing assistance will not be disqualified.
- Weather Warning: This is a Captain’s Choice tournament. Each captain is always solely responsible for the safety of his or her vessel and crew. Captains and crews are responsible for following any federal, state, and local fishing or boating laws. We encourage all Captains to heed any weather warnings or dangerous weather conditions, as safety is paramount. It is up to each Participant to determine whether their craft is seaworthy for the conditions of any given fishing day.
- Small Craft Advisory: A fishing day will automatically be cancelled for the next day if, at 9pm the evening before, the National Weather Service Marine forecast has a “Small Craft Advisory” in effect for winds of 20 knots or more for the next fishing day. “Small Craft Exercise Caution” is still Captains Choice and can be a fishing day. These forecast zones will be the Altamaha Sound to Flagler Beach, Flagler Beach to Volusia/Brevard County line and the Volusia to Sebastian Inlet 20–60-mile zone. The Inlet you depart from will be the NWS Zone that will be used to determine whether it is a fishing day or not. A fishing day will not be cancelled due to large swells.
- You may use electric reels but only without anything with a hook on it. IE planers/kites.