Tournament Rules | United States | Boca Chica Beach Legends

The BCBL’S Leyendas Surf Fishing Tournament/Beach Cleanup Fishing Tournament Rules

Tickets will be available at the following locations:

Gordon's Bait & Tackle - 7066 Padre Island Hwy, Brownsville, TX 78521
Phone: (956) 831-4825 or online at www.bcblsleyendas.com

The BCBL’S Leyendas Surf Fishing Tournament/Beach Cleanup will be held on Saturday, August 24, 2024. An alternate date will be used if Boca Chica Beach is closed, hazardous conditions exist on the primary date, and/or the Leyendas Tournament committee deems it necessary.

The Leyendas base camp will be located ¼ mile to the right once Hwy 4 ends.

Entrance fee to participate in the tournament is $30 Pre-Sale or $35 at the event. NO REFUNDS will be given, and tickets are NON-TRANSFERABLE.

IMPORTANT: All contestants must check in at base camp prior to the start of the tournament.

Registration and check-in can be made at base camp on Friday, August 23, 2024, from 7:00 PM through 11:59 PM or on Saturday, August 24, 2024, from 5:00 AM through 6:00 AM. Registrations will not be accepted after tournament fishing hours start at 6:00 AM on Saturday, August 24, 2024

Online Pre-sale tickets will close on Friday, August 23, 2024, at 11:59 P.M.

Kids ages 3-12 may participate for free in BCBL'S Kids Whiting Tournament. They must be accompanied by a parent and/or guardian. In order for kids to participate, the parent a and/or guardian must register in the tournament. Kids may participate in the Adult Divisions but must pay the entry fee as an adult.

Raffle tickets will be available and sold for $10 each. There will NOT be a limit on the number of tickets an individual can purchase. The raffle drawings will be held during the awards ceremony. Winners must be PRESENT to win.

Goodie bags will be given to the first 150 registered contestants who show up to the event.

Contestants will have a chance to win door prizes provided by our tournament sponsors.

Tournament Boundaries: Southern boundary will be down to the mouth of the Rio Grande River. Northern boundary will be up to 50 feet away from the Boca Chica Beach Jetties.

The deadline to turn in catches will be at exactly 2:00 PM on Saturday,August 24, 2024, and all entries must be submitted at base camp. LATE ENTRIES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

2:00 PM through 3:00 PM participants may bring a canopy and chairs to set up for the award ceremony.

Tournament ceremony will start at 3:00 PM

Tickets for trash will not be issued for trash brought after 2:45 p.m. on Saturday, August 24, 2024.

Awards and door prizes will be presented on the day of the event. Winners must present tournament tickets, a valid photo ID, and must be present to win. Winners will only be provided THREE opportunities to claim prize at the time of the raffle and giveaways.

All contestants are required to sign and return a Liability Release and Rules Acceptance Form prior to participating in the event. In addition, minors are expected to have a parent and/or guardian sign a release form allowing them to participate in the event.

Participants in the tournament enter at their own risk. The Leyendas Tournament committee, its members and all persons directly or indirectly involved with the operations of the tournament assume no liability for loss, damage, negligence, harm, injury or death suffered by a participant.

Obstructing and/or interfering with the normal flow of vehicle traffic is prohibited. Be aware of how you park your vehicle and how traffic is going to be affected by your camp site.

Pedestrians always have the right-of-way. Slow down when driving through campsites and always look both ways for children and/or people that may cross the roadside. Always be vigilant.

TOURNAMENT RULES

1) It is the participant’s sole responsibility to read and understand the rules and requirements of this event and failure to do so can result in disqualification.

2) The rules and regulations of the tournament are subject to change. Each angler is responsible for being familiar with the most up to date rules. Notice of any changes will be provided to all registrants.

3) All fish must be hooked, fought, and landed from the surf. Fish caught or hooked from the jetties, channels, or while in a kayak or other floating device will not be accepted as a valid entry.

4) Fishing outside the designated tournament areas will result in DISQUALIFICATION. Leyendas Tournament staff will be driving around to ensure no contestant is fishing outside the designated tournament boundaries.

5) Rules for the categories are as follows:

1) Redfish closest to 28” wins Redfish Division.

2) Trout closest to 20” wins Speckled Trout Division.

3) Kids Whiting Division will be determined by the longest Whiting registered.

4) Kids ages 3-12 years old may ONLY participate in the Whiting Division, unless they purchase an adult ticket.

5) Black Drum closest to 30" wins Black Drum Division.

6) Redfish [20”-28”] with the most spots at the end of the tournament wins the “Most Spots Jackpot.”

7) Earliest registered Redfish [20”-28”] with no spots wins the “No Spots Jackpot.”

8) If there is a tie in length then the earliest fish registered will be the winner. In the case of an absolute tie in length and time then the heaviest fish will be the winner.

6) No fishing lines will be allowed in the water before 6:00 AM of tournament date.

7) Contestants must present a valid photo ID proving identification to Leyendas Tournament staff. ID types include driver’s license, state issued ID, Military ID etc. Minors are exempted from having a state issued ID.

8) This tournament is an individual event. Use of non-participants to gain any advantage will result in DISQUALIFICATION.

9) Contestants must present a current Texas Parks & Wildlife Department [TPWD] fishing license with proper saltwater stamps. Minors are not required by TPWD to have a fishing license and are exempted. All TPWD regulations apply, including size and length limitation.

10) Each contestant will be allowed to register two fishing rods with their ticket purchase but will have the opportunity to register an additional rod for $15 [Limit 1 additional fishing rod per participant and must be purchased at base camp ONLY]. All contestants will have their two or three fishing rods labeled at the time of registration. If a contestant’s rod is broken during the tournament, the contestant will be required to bring his/her broken rod to the registration tent and may have a spare rod labeled.

11) All tournament fish must be caught by rod and reel. No gigging, seine nets, spearing, cast nets, gill nets, or gaffs may be used to capture tournament fish or aid in landing tournament fish. A dip net can be used in aiding to land a hooked fish.

12) Sharks, Stingrays, and Hardhead Catfish are NOT allowed to be registered for the biggest fish of the hour. Skipjack and Gafftop Catfish are allowed.

13) All catch entries must be caught using only a hook, line, gear, baits and/or lures. Terminal tackle will be limited to two hooks.

14) Only one prize per angler within each category will be awarded.

15) From the time that a fish strikes or takes a bait or lure, the angler must hook, fight, and land the fish without the aid of any other person. Assistance may only be provided while helping land the fish with a dip net.

16) All fish caught must remain hooked on the labeled rod and be brought in alive. Any fish that is gutted, mutilated, or otherwise altered from its natural state will not be accepted.

17) No wind and/or motor-powered boats, jet skis, kite boarding, kayaks, drones, or other remote-control devices will be allowed. Bait launchers will not be allowed. All baits and gear must be casted from within tournament boundaries and not from any part of the jetties. No fishing in the river, jetties, bay and/or channels will be allowed.

18) It will be participant’s responsibility to check every hour to see if their catch is still on the leaderboard of one of the categories.

19) At any time during the event, a Leyendas Tournament staff member can approach a participant and/or their camp sites to request that any violations observed on the Boca Chica Beach, State of Texas, and/or TPWD be corrected. Non-compliance with Leyendas Tournament staff member regarding any violation to be corrected can result in all participants present within the camp site to be disqualified.

20) Leyendas Tournament staff members are not eligible to participate in this event. However, sponsors and anyone associated with them are eligible to participate.

21) Any protests/complaints must be submitted in writing to tournament officials within 25 minutes after the announcement of winners and be accompanied by a fee of $100.00 USD. A decision will be made by the BCBL’S Leyendas Board Member Committee within one week after the tournament date.

22) All participants are expected to keep their campsites clean and collect trash prior to leaving Boca Chica Beach. Contestants will have a chance to win a donated trip by returning a full trash bag at the end of the tournament. Trash bags must be completely full to receive a raffle ticket. Trash bags will be issued at time of registration/check-in times at base camp. Additional trash bags maybe picked up at base camp if needed.

23) Unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated and can result in disqualification and being banned from future events. Disputes or grievances will be handled by the BCBL’S Leyendas Board Member Committee in private. NOTE—All illegal activity will be reported to the proper authorities.

24) Staking out is strictly prohibited; EACH participant is limited to a fishing area not to exceed 25 feet of beach frontage.

25) If any member of a contestant’s party is found fishing and has not registered for the event then the entire party will be disqualified.

26) Driving in dunes, grasslands, and/or mudflats is prohibited. Drive with caution and observe posted speed limits. As per Texas State Law, the digging of trenches is strictly prohibited.

27) Tournament rules will override all printed material.

The BCBL’S Leyendas Board Member Committee will resolve all disputes and their decision is final. The committee or its organizers cannot be held liable for decisions made during judging. This includes but is not limited to prizes, prize money and entry fees.

Please understand it is a criminal offense in Texas to attempt to cheat in a fishing tournament as per Chapter 66, Section 66.023, Parks and Wildlife Code. Any violators will be reported to the proper authorities.

Updated: July 18, 2024 -BCBL