Key points from the unofficial tournament rulebook. Download the full document for complete rules. All published rules are unofficial until announced at the captains meeting.
Unofficial Rulebook
Download the complete tournament rules and regulations document
Billfish: release only · Gamefish: optional jackpots only
Blue Marlin, 300 points per release
White Marlin, 100 points per release
Sailfish, 100 points per release
Spearfish, 100 points per release (Roundscale Spearfish scores as White Marlin)
Gamefish (Tuna, Wahoo, Dolphin (Mahi)) eligible only in optional added-entry jackpots. Judged by weight to the half pound, 10 lb minimum.
Gamefish must reach the Barceló Village scale within 60 minutes of the boat returning to the dock. The weigh master may inspect any fish and reject any that is mutilated or tampered with. Weigh master decisions are final.
Fishing Hours
All times Atlantic Standard Time (AST)
Lines In: 8:00 AM AST each fishing day
Lines Out: 4:30 PM AST. Absolute. A fish must be hooked before 4:30:00 PM to be eligible.
A fish hooked before lines out may be fought until released or lost and will score if all release criteria are met
Tournament Control's time is the official tournament time for all starts, hookups, releases, and stops. All video recording equipment must be time-stamped to the official time stated by Tournament Control.
No lines, teasers, or sonar in the water before the official lines in call
All boats must be back at Marina Cap Cana no later than 7:00 PM each fishing day
Fishing Boundary
50 nautical mile radius from Marina Cap Cana sea buoy
Fishing is restricted to a 50 nm radius from the Marina Cap Cana sea buoy
A vessel may cross the boundary only while actively fighting a hooked fish, and must return before resuming fishing
Any hookup that occurs outside the boundary does not score
Penalty for fishing outside the boundary: forfeiture of all points earned that day (billfish and gamefish)
No fishing permitted within any Dominican Republic marine sanctuary or protected area. Violation results in immediate disqualification, no refund.
Team & Anglers
One vessel per team · Unlimited registered anglers
Each team fishes from one vessel, named at registration. A team may not fish from, or score releases or gamefish caught on, any other vessel during the tournament.
If the named vessel suffers a mechanical failure, the tournament committee may, at its sole discretion, approve a replacement vessel. The replacement may not be a vessel already entered, must meet the team's declared division rules, and must be approved before it begins fishing. Catches on a replacement vessel before approval do not score. Points earned on the original vessel carry over.
Each boat must carry one designated captain and at least one designated mate at all times
A team may register an unlimited number of anglers across the tournament
Any new angler must be added to the team roster online before they can score release points on a given day
Any angler not registered online prior to lines in cannot score release points
No more than eight (8) anglers may fish on a boat on any single day. Lineup changes must be reported to Tournament Control before lines in, or releases by an unreported angler do not score that day.
Divisions
Sonar Division · Non-Sonar Division
Sonar Division: omnidirectional sonar permitted
Non-Sonar Division: omnidirectional sonar may not be used or powered on at any time during fishing hours
Permitted in the Non-Sonar Division: side-scan, downscan, and standard fishfinders
Boats in the Non-Sonar Division are subject to inspection at any time during the tournament
A violation by a Non-Sonar boat, including powering on omnidirectional sonar at any point during fishing hours, results in disqualification of that vessel for the day
The Non-Sonar Division is trophy recognition only. There is no separate Non-Sonar prize money; every boat, Sonar or Non-Sonar, competes for the same prize pools.
Reporting & Radio
VHF Channel 24 · WhatsApp tournament group
All hookups and releases must be reported to Tournament Control, without exception, immediately after they occur
VHF radio is the primary method. Every boat must try Tournament Control by radio first. If there is no answer, report immediately by any other means: the official WhatsApp group, a phone call, or a text to the tournament phone.
Reports must include boat name, angler name, and species
All lost fish must also be reported
Every gamefish intended to be weighed must be reported to Tournament Control at the time it is boated, and the boating must be filmed with the angler's day wristband clearly visible. Otherwise it will not be weighed.
Tournament Control time is final. Failure to report may result in the fish not scoring. Intentional false reporting results in immediate disqualification.
Tackle & Gear
IGFA angling and tackle rules apply unless otherwise stated
Maximum line strength: 130-pound test
Leader length: 30 feet max · Combined double line + leader + hook set: 40 feet max
Rods and teasers: unlimited in use or numbers
Non-offset circle hooks required for all natural-bait and natural-bait-with-lure combinations
Artificial lures without natural bait may be rigged with conventional J-hooks
Live bait is permitted for gamefish only. NOT permitted for billfish under any circumstances. Any billfish hooked on live bait does not score.
Prohibited: power-driven, ratchet-handle, or dual-crank reels · wire line · drones · green sticks · live bait for billfish
Hook & Hand Protocol
Hook-and-hand fishing is permitted under strict conditions
If the captain or mate hooks the fish, the rod must be transferred to a registered angler immediately after hookup
Once the rod is in the angler's hands, that angler must fight the fish to conclusion. The rod may NOT be passed to a second angler under any circumstances.
A rod holder may be used to hook a fish but NOT to fight one. Once hooked, the rod must be removed and placed in an angler's hands.
Violation results in the release not scoring; repeated or intentional violations may result in tournament disqualification
Video Verification
Upload from the boat, or in-person video review · 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM daily
Every billfish release must be verified on video. Teams may upload release video through the tournament site as soon as the release happens (for example, over Starlink), or bring their footage to in-person video review at Barceló Village from 5:00 PM to 7:30 PM.
Each team provides its own camera(s) or cell phone. Accepted media: SD card or cell phone video file. Insta360 footage must be exported as a standard MP4 before uploading.
Wristbands: each team receives 40 wristbands, 10 in each of 4 colors, in the captain's bag at registration. The color for each fishing day is announced the evening before.
The angler fighting the fish must wear the day's wristband, and it must be clearly visible in the release footage. A release shown with the wrong day's wristband does not score.
Required on video: clear species ID, the registered angler fighting the fish, the day's wristband, the leader touch, full release of the fish, camera timestamp
Leader touch: a release counts when a crew member touches the leader, or the leader or swivel reaches the rod tip. Touching only the double line does not count.
A continuous video sequence from the time video evidence is established to the leader touch and release must be maintained. Uploaded clips may be trimmed as long as that sequence is intact.
Signed catch affidavits, and SD cards for any release not uploaded, must be turned in no later than 7:30 PM each day (adjusted for teams still fighting a late fish, or if Tournament Control grants an extension for extraordinary circumstances)
Entry Fees & Registration
$5,000 base entry fee per team · Optional jackpots announced separately
Base entry: $5,000 per team
No limit on registered anglers per team
Final registration: October 22, 5:30 to 7:00 PM at The St. Regis Cap Cana (Ground Floor) · Captains meeting mandatory at 7:00 PM, also at The St. Regis
Registrations remain open until 7:59 AM on October 23 (lines in)
Withdrawals more than 60 days before the tournament start date: full refund of entry fee
Withdrawals within 30 to 60 days of the tournament: 50% refund of entry fee
Withdrawals within 30 days of the tournament: no refund
Jackpot entry fees are refundable only if the team withdraws before registration closes
Tournament cancelled in whole for a force majeure event (severe weather, government action, acts of God): full refund of all entry and jackpot fees
If any team fishes on any fishing day, the tournament is considered held: no entry or jackpot fees are refunded, and prizes are awarded
All jackpot entries must be submitted at or before final registration. No jackpot entries accepted after lines in on October 23.
Prize Money & Payouts
One prize pool per jackpot · 50% of base entries and 85% of jackpot entries go to prize pools
Base entry: 50% of every $5,000 base entry ($2,500 per team) goes into the Tournament Place prize pool. The other 50% is retained by the tournament for operations, events, and hospitality.
Optional jackpots: 85% of every jackpot entry goes into that jackpot's prize pool. The other 15% is retained by the tournament.
Each jackpot is one prize pool. Sonar and Non-Sonar boats pay into, and compete for, the same money.
Only teams entered in a jackpot can win money from it, including any unclaimed money that is redistributed under the Unclaimed Prize Money rules
Tournament Place (every team) and Overall Release Points: top 3 teams by release points are paid 60% / 30% / 10% of the pool
Release WTA: the team with the most release points wins the entire pool
Daily Release (Level 1 and Level 2): the pool is split equally across the three fishing days. The team with the most release points each day wins that day's share.
First Release of the Day: the pool is split equally across the three fishing days. The first confirmed billfish release each day wins that day's share. Tournament Control time determines the first release. If two or more qualifying releases are reported to Tournament Control within two (2) minutes of each other, the tournament committee will compare the release videos, and the release with the earliest verified video timestamp, to the second, wins. To be eligible, a release must be reported to Tournament Control within five (5) minutes of the release time shown on its video. The committee's decision is final.
Gamefish WTA: Heaviest Tuna, Heaviest Dolphin (Mahi), and Heaviest Wahoo are three separate jackpots. The heaviest tuna of the tournament wins the Tuna pool, the heaviest Dolphin (Mahi) wins the Dolphin (Mahi) pool, and the heaviest wahoo wins the Wahoo pool.
Daily Gamefish: the pool is split equally across the three fishing days. Each day's share is split evenly among the species weighed that day (Tuna, Dolphin (Mahi), Wahoo), and the heaviest qualifying fish of each of those species wins its part. Example: on a $1,000 day with a tuna and a wahoo weighed but no Dolphin (Mahi), the heaviest tuna and the heaviest wahoo each win $500.
Ties in release points go to the team that reached the point total first, based on the official release time recorded by Tournament Control. Ties in weight go to the team that boated its fish first, based on the Tournament Control call-in time.
Unclaimed Prize Money
Prize money stays with the teams entered in that jackpot
Unfilled places: if fewer teams score than there are paid places, the unfilled places go to 1st place. Example: if only one team scores in a 60% / 30% / 10% jackpot, that team receives 100% of the pool.
Daily jackpots: if no team wins a given day, that day's share is split evenly among the winners of the other days
Gamefish WTA: if no qualifying fish of a species is weighed (for example, no tuna), that jackpot's pool is split evenly among the winners of the other Gamefish WTA jackpots who were also entered in the unclaimed jackpot. A winner who did not enter the unclaimed jackpot receives none of it. If only one eligible winner remains, that team receives the entire pool. If none of those winners were entered in the unclaimed jackpot, every team entered in it is refunded 85% of its entry (the tournament keeps its 15%).
Daily Gamefish: if no gamefish is weighed on a given day, that day's share is split evenly among the other days. Only teams entered in Daily Gamefish can receive any of this money.
Winnings & Tax Compliance
W-9 / W-8BEN required prior to payout
All payouts are subject to U.S. tax reporting and withholding rules
U.S. winners must submit IRS Form W-9 before any payout is released
Non-U.S. winners must submit IRS Form W-8BEN before any payout is released
Tax forms are collected at the time you claim winnings; no payout is released without a valid form on file
Prize payouts may be reported to the IRS on Form 1099-MISC where applicable; backup withholding may apply if a valid TIN is not furnished
Protests & Conduct
$1,000 protest fee · Tournament committee decisions are final
All protests must be submitted in writing with $1,000 USD attached
Protests must reach the designated rules official by 8:00 PM on the day of the alleged incident
All decisions of the tournament committee are final, non-appealable, and non-justiciable
Unsportsmanlike or threatening conduct toward officials, participants, or marina staff results in immediate team disqualification. No refund.
Deliberate rule violations may result in expulsion from this and future editions of The Makaira Invitational