Fishing Event Rules and Guidelines

Marco Sportfishing Club 2-Line Rule – January 1^st, 2019

• Fishing is by rod and line only. Individual anglers may use no more than two rods/lines while participating in any MSC fishing event. This includes all backwater/ offshore/near-shore events, as well as the Triple Crown Tournament. In addition, fish registered for Fish of the Month and Leaderboard must be caught using a maximum of 2-rods/lines by the angler submitting the catch. 

• The 2-line rule applies whether fishing from a boat, kayak, or from shore. 2-lines max per angler. 

• The 2-line rule also applies regardless of how many anglers are aboard a vessel, or fishing together from shore. If one angler is only using one rod/line, the other angler may not use a 3^rd line to reach the maximum of 4 lines for the 2 anglers. In this case, 3 lines would be the maximum allowed. The rule is 2 rods/lines per individual angler. This is similar to filling out another angler’s daily bag limit once your daily bag limit has been reached. Not allowed. 

• The use of “trot lines”, hand lines, multiple hook unattended lines, etc. in addition to the 2-rods is not allowed. 

• All other MSC rules still apply, such as “No-Guide” rule, MSC boundaries, as well as individual event rules per the event coordinator as specified. 

• The 2-line rule is in effect as of January 1^st, 2019 having been voted on and approved by the MSC board of directors. 

MSC No Guide Rule: Any MSC member or member’s guest who has guided/chartered six or more trips in the past 12 months or has ever guided full-time (12 or more trips per year) in Southwest Florida (past or present) is ineligible to compete or participate in any MSC tournament/event that awards prizes.

In addition, any fish caught while on a guide’s boat, chartered vessel, or while fishing with a guide on any member’s boat is not eligible to be entered in any MSC contest. This includes FOM (fish of the month), Leaderboard, Triple Crown, or any MSC sponsored monthly event. 

Backwater:

Offshore: