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Sailfish Marina, Palm Beach Shores, FL
January 31 to February 2, 2024

Join us for the 2024 IGFA Light Tackle Open!

This exclusive two-day tournament will take place during peak sailfish season in South Florida. With a maximum line class of 12-pound and strict adherence to IGFA Angling Rules, the IGFA Light Tackle Open is a great platform for light tackle anglers from around the world to showcase their skills and sportsmanship.

We are excited to once again host this premier event out of the celebrated Sailfish Marina Resort, located in beautiful Palm Beach Shores, Florida. All proceeds from the IGFA Light Tackle Open will benefit the IGFA Great Marlin Race, the world’s most extensive billfish satellite tagging program, securing the future of billfish stocks across the globe through productive science.

The IGFA Light Tackle Open has partnered with CatchStat to ensure a smooth and seamless registration and accurate, live scoring during the event. To receive more information about this event, please contact the IGFA at 954-927-2628 or [email protected].

Schedule

Schedule of Events

All events listed below will take place at Sailfish Marina Resort. We encourage all anglers, their guests, and crew members to attend the social events during the tournament.

Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Captains Meeting & Kick-Off Party

Team Registration Open
4 PM

Kick-Off Steak Dinner
5 PM

Captain’s Meeting
5:30 PM

Thursday, February 1, 2024
First Day of Fishing & Dock Party

Lines In
8:30 AM

Lines Out
3:30 PM

Docktail Party
4 PM – 6 PM

Friday, February 2, 2024
Final Day of Fishing & Awards Ceremony

Lines In
8:30 AM

Lines Out
3:30 PM

Awards Ceremony
6:00 PM

Rules & Categories

Tournament Rules

The Captain’s Meeting will be held on Wednesday, January 31, 2024, at Sailfish Resort & Marina. A team representative must be in attendance, as rules are subject to change.

1. GENERAL REGULATIONS

Boats and anglers must comply with all state and federal fishing regulations and licensing requirements. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. All boats must carry appropriate liability insurance.

2. FISHING DAYS & HOURS

Fishing days for the 2024 IGFA Light Tackle Open are Thursday, February 1, 2024, and Friday, February 2, 2024.

The tournament will begin with the call of “lines in” at 8:30 a.m. and continue until the call of “lines out” at 3:30 p.m. for all fishing days of the tournament.

Any game fish requiring a weigh-in must arrive at the scales prior to 5:30 p.m. Fish arriving at the scales within 15 minutes of the deadline must receive verbal confirmation from tournament officials. Scales will close at 5:30 p.m. If a boat receives verbal confirmation from tournament officials of a visual prior to 5:30 p.m., scales will remain open until that boat’s fish are weighed.

If you have fish to weigh, you must weigh the fish on the day you catch it at the official weigh station at Sailfish Marina

There are no lay days or weather days unless determined by the tournament officials. Fish at your own risk.

3. BOUNDARIES & DEPARTURE

Northern Boundary: St. Lucie Power Plant (27.3473° N, 80.2449° W)

Southern Boundary: Hillsboro Inlet (26.2595° N, 80.0825° W)

Eastern Boundary: US Contiguous Zone Limit

All boats can confirm over VHF Channel 79 their departure each morning between 7:00 a.m. and 8:00 a.m. EST.

4. ANGLING & EQUIPMENT

All IGFA International Angling Rules apply.

All anglers are required to fish with the tournament-provided 6 kg (12 lb) monofilament line.
- Boats will be sent bulk spools of line upon registration.
- Random line samples may be requested.
The use of backing is permissible per IGFA rules.
Top shots must be a minimum of 5 meters (16 feet, 4 inches) in length.
Leader (any material) is limited to 15 feet including floats/corks and is measured to the bend of the last hook.
Double line is limited to 15 feet.
The combined length of the double line and leader shall not exceed 20 feet.

5. TOURNAMENT SPECIFIC RULES

Any type of live, dead or artificial bait can be used.
Teams are required to declare to whether they used live bait, dead bait, or artificial upon the release of any fish.
Four anglers per team/boat, per day, are permitted, with no restrictions.
No chumming of any kind is permitted (this includes both natural and artificial).
A maximum of six lines (with hooks) are permitted at any one time. An unlimited amount of hookless baits or teasers are allowed.
“J” hooks may be used on artificial lures only.
Natural baits (alive or dead) must be deployed with only a single, non-offset circle hook.

6. TOURNAMENT SPECIES
Blue marlin, white marlin, sailfish, and spearfish are eligible for catch and release only. Dolphinfish, king mackerel (kingfish), tuna, and wahoo are eligible for weight categories. Little tunny, commonly known as bonito, are not eligible for the tuna category.

7. REPORTING OF BILLFISH RELEASE
All billfish releases must be called into the tournament scorekeeper immediately on Channel 79 (or via cell phone to tournament officials) with the following information:

1. Species released
2. Live bait or dead bait confirmation
3. Boat name
4. Angler name

The tournament scorekeeper will then verify your information and confirm your release time, which must be recorded on your daily catch report and turned in at the end of the fishing day, with your video evidence. If you lose your fish prior to release (i.e. jump-off, pulled hook, etc.) please inform the tournament scorekeeper as soon as possible.

All hook-ups occurring within the final 15 minutes of fishing each day must be reported to the tournament committee via VHF Channel 79 or cell phone.

8. CATCH & RELEASE RULES
All billfish must be released to qualify. A billfish is considered released when: a) the swivel between the mainline or double line and leader hits the rod tip, b) the mate grabs the leader or, c) the wind-on leader comes through the rod tip.

Please release the fish in good condition by either removing the hook-set or cutting the leader as close to the hook-set as possible. “Popping” the leader is not a good method of healthy release, and we ask that you refrain from doing so.

9. CATCH & RELEASE POINTS

Dead Bait & Artificial Lures

Blue Marlin: 500 points
White Marlin: 400 points
Spearfish: 400 points
Sailfish: 300 points

Live Bait

Blue Marlin: 400 points
White Marlin: 300 points
Spearfish: 300 points
Sailfish: 200 points

WEIGHT SCORING

Awards will be given to the angler that catches the heaviest of the eligible weight species, which includes dolphinfish, king mackerel, tuna, and wahoo. Release points will not be awarded for weight species.

10. CATEGORIES & AWARDS

ANGLER RELEASE CATEGORY

Top Angler

Second Place Angler

Third Place Angler

In case of a tie the winner will be determined by which angler/boat reaches the number of points that resulted in the tie first.

BOAT RELEASE CATEGORY

Top Boat

Second Place Boat

Third Place Boat

In case of a tie the winner will be determined by which angler/boat reaches the number of points that resulted in the tie first.

WEIGHT CATEGORIES

Heaviest Dolphinfish

Heaviest King Mackerel

Heaviest Tuna (blackfin and yellowfin)

Heaviest Wahoo

Ties on weight fish will be broken by the length of the fish.

11. CATCH & RELEASE VERIFICATION

It is the responsibility of each team to provide the tournament officials with the completed and signed daily catch report, which is supplied by the tournament. The daily catch report must be turned in at the designated Sailfish Marina location no later than 120 minutes (2 hours) after “Lines Out” on each day of fishing.

Video documentation is only required if anglers are reporting a billfish release for any species other than a sailfish. If no video documentation can be provided to accurately identify the billfish species, it will be counted as a sailfish.

Video Requirement: Releases on any billfish other than sailfish must provide video evidence confirming the identification of the fish. Each team is responsible for providing their own video camera and the appropriate media to record video footage that documents the releases on their boat. The preferred video formats are SD cards.
Video/Content Release: Video footage submitted becomes property of the IGFA and may be used for all promotional purposes. All registered captains, anglers, and occupants of their boats consent that tournament officials may use all video content without payment or restriction.
Release Confirmation: All billfish releases (time of release) must be radioed/phoned to the tournament scorekeeper; time on SD card is not official tournament time. Each release will be audibly verified on the VHF via Channel 79. It is the responsibility of each boat to have a sufficient VHF radio and/or cellular phone. Tournament standings will be reported on the radio at the start and conclusion of each day. Live scoring via the internet will be available throughout the tournament.
If fish are being fought at “Lines Out” time, the captain MUST report the number of fish hooked up before lines out, and only those fish, if successfully released,
will count.
Disputes & Protests– All disputes and protests must be submitted to the tournament officials by 6 p.m. (EST) on the day the infraction or event takes place. All disputes will be settled by the tournament committee. All decisions are final. The tournament committee for the IGFA Light Tackle Open includes Jack Vitek (IGFA Staff), Capt. Karl Anderson, Michael Criscola, Jason Schratwieser (IGFA President).

Video Evidence: General Instructions & Suggestions

Be sure that your camera meets Tournament requirements prior to its start.
Be sure to possess the appropriate cables, adapters, cards, readers, etc. to allow the tournament officials to download your evidence, if needed.
Designate a qualified team member familiar with your camera operation to bring the evidence (and Daily Report Form) to the tournament officials.
Have two cameras recording during the fight. Back up is never a bad idea.
Be sure to have batteries fully charged and extra batteries, SD cards, etc. on hand.
Recordings should be cued up for tournament official review.
Be familiar with your equipment.
Test your equipment prior to the Tournament start.
Designate someone to record the release evidence, be familiar with the equipment and the tournament rules.
Do not store the equipment in an air-conditioned environment to avoid fogging.
Underwater video (i.e. use of a GoPro or other underwater device) is the best way to positively identify your billfish species.
Be sure you have captured all the evidence necessary for qualification prior to submission.

Register

Registration

Sailfish Marina, Palm Beach Shores, FL
January 31 to February 2, 2024

The entry fee for the IGFA Light Tackle Open is $3,000 per team. Your team’s registration fee covers all food and beverages at the three events taking place during the tournament, in addition to the tournament bags.
Teams are responsible for chartering or providing their own boats for the tournament.

The deadline for registration is Friday, January 26, 2024!

Accommodations & Boats

All events for the 2024 IGFA Light Tackle Open will be hosted at the Sailfish Marina Resort. The tournament has secured a select number of slips, which will be distributed on a first-come, first-serve basis. Docking is limited at Sailfish Marina, therefore boats participating in the tournament are not required to dock at Sailfish Marina Resort.

Listed below is the contact information for charter boats, docking, and lodging options.