Official Rules and Regulations

General

Rowing Requirement

Approved Tackle

Registering to Fish

Fish Qualification

Fish Disqualification

Protests

Buttons and Awards

Etiquette on the Water

GENERAL

1. To be eligible for membership in The Tyee Club of British Columbia and for any of the Tyee Club's buttons or awards, an angler must fish in accordance with these Rules and Regulations and in accordance with the current Department of Fisheries and Oceans Regulations.

2. Qualifying fish must be taken from the waters of Discovery Passage bounded on the north by Seymour Narrows and on the south by a line extending due west from Cape Mudge.

3. The Tyee Club fishing season each year begins on July 10%th and ends on September 15th except as may be modified by regulations issued by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans.

4. No more than two qualifying fish may be taken in one day. Season limits are those of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. A qualifying fish is a salmon taken in accordance with these Rules and regulations and weighing at least 30 pounds.

ROWING REQUIREMENT

1. Fish may be taken only while trolling from a boat that is being rowed or paddled. No motor power may be used while fishing or landing a fish.

2. Trolling is defined as the method of fishing by which the lure is drawn behind a boat which is moving in relation to the water.

3. Outboard motors may be used only for transportation to and from the fishing grounds and should be tilted while fishing to avoid line entanglement. Motors must not be used in the are designated by the Canada Shipping Act.

APPROVED TACKLE

1. The word tackle shall be defined as consisting of rod, reel, line, leader, and lure.

2. The rod shall have a minimum length of six feet and a maximum of nine feet. It may be made of wood, cane, glass, synthetic material, or tubular metal.

3. The reel may be any hand-operated type. Electric or spring wound automatic reels are excluded. No slipping or clutch mechanisms are allowed in single action reels. It is suggested that the reel has a minimum capacity of 250 yards of line.

4. The line shall be of linen or synthetic material. The Tyee Club line test requires that the line breaks before lifting the "Official Testing Device". The Official Testing Device weighs 26.25 pounds. It should be remembered that most synthetic lines are much stronger than advertised and that they may be tested following immersion in water for two hours at room temperature. Line labeled 20 pounds will normally pass the line test.

5. The use of a leader is optional. When used, it shall be 6 feet or less in length. The line may be doubled for a length of three feet or less at its attachment to the leader.

6. The lure may be any type of artificial lure that has one single barb-less hook only, and its basic use is for trolling. Lures designed for jigging, spinning, still fishing, or attraction by electronic or sonic means shall be excluded. Any lure about which there is doubt as to the acceptability should be referred to the Tackle Committee for a ruling prior to fishing.

7. Use of depth sounders or any electronic devices for fish detection are not allowed.

REGISTERING TO FISH

1. To be eligible for membership in The Tyee Club of British Columbia and for any of The Tyee Club's buttons or awards, an angler must register, prior to fishing, with the Weighmaster at the Tyee Clubhouse on the Spit or by qualified personas at other locations designated by The Tyee Club. An angler need not register more than once each season.

2. If an angler encounters difficulty in registering prior to fishing, an "intent to register" will suffice. Prior to fishing, an "intent to register" can be accomplished by an angler doing any one of the following:

notifying any Director of The Tyee Club
notifying the Weighmaster
signing up on the "intent to register" board at the Tyee Clubhouse

Notification can be made by telephone or in person. Within 24 hours of giving notice of "intent to register", the angler must complete registration by paying the registration fee and providing the required information to the Weigh-master.

3. The annual registration fee for members is $20.00. Life members and angles 16 years of age or less are not required to pay an annual registration fee. Non-members must pay a $10.00 fee to register and a further $10.00 fee upon registering a Tyee.

4. The Tyee Club urges every angler to have his or her line tested by the Weighmaster prior to fishing although such testing is not required.

FISH QUALIFICATION

1. An applicant for membership must qualify by taking a salmon of 30 pounds, minimum weight, while fishing in accordance with these Rules and Regulations.

2. Every angler must bring his or her fish to gaff or net by us of rod and reel only, and unaided, except that the guide or other angler in the same boat may net or gaff the fish and loosen the lead. The guide or other angler may also aid the angler if his or her line tangles with another line, catches on a propeller, or is fouled by other objects.

3. All fish must be weighed and recorded, on the date of capture, at the Tyee Clubhouse in order to be eligible for qualification and Club competition.

4. The club expressly reserves the right to require an additional line test and to call for an examination of tackle whenever such action may be deemed advisable. The current practice is for the Weighmaster to randomly test the tackle of anglers entering qualifying fish.

5. Qualifying fish, which are of a weight that may result in the angler winning any of the Club awards, will require immediate testing of the line, whether or not the line has been previously tested.

6. In case of a tie in weights of fish, the first taken shall be considered the winner.

FISH DISQUALIFICATION

Except as provided in section E, the following acts or omissions will disqualify a catch:

1. a broken rod

2. hand-lining a Fish

3. any person, other than the angler, touching the rod or reel while the angler is fighting the fish

4. hand-lining the double line or the use of a boatman's hand line, snapped on or in any way attached to the double line or leader.

5. failure to comply with tackle regulations

6. shooting a fish

7. throwing a gaff at the fish before leader is within reach of the boatman

8. use of a lily iron, harpoon, lance, or gaff over four feet in length

9. anyone other than the angler and one gaffer assisting in gaffing or killing a fish.

10. the mutilation of the fish by sharks, seals, or other sources, that in the judgement of the Tackle Committee will have affected the fighting qualities of the fish.

11. fishing from an anchored boat

12. use of motor while fishing

13. a fish hooked anywhere other than the mouth or jaws

PROTESTS

1. Any protest based upon a possible violation of the Rules and Regulations by an angler must be made to a member of the Executive Committee of The Tyee Club within 24 hours after the weight of the fish is recorded. Such protest must be filed in writing.

2. Within ten days of the filing of the protest, the Executive Committee of the Tyee Club shall meet to evaluate the protest.

3. After investigating all circumstances relating to the protest, and after considering all available evidence and hearing all pertinent testimony, the Executive Committee shall rule on the merits of the protest. Such ruling shall be final.

BUTTONS AND AWARDS

Buttons are available for purchase by anglers who have taken a qualifying fish according to the Rules and Regulations of The Tyee Club of British Columbia. Members may purchase one button for each qualifying salmon.

The Club buttons shall be:

1. Bronze button for Tyee salmon weighing 30 pounds or over, but under 40 pounds.

2. Silver button for Tyee salmon weighing 40 pounds and over, but under 50 pounds.

3. Gold button for Tyee salmon weighing 50 pounds and over, butunder 60 pounds.

4. Diamond button for Tyee salmon weighing 60 pounds and over, but under 70 pounds.

5. Ruby button for Tyee salmon weighing 70 pounds and over.

6. Tyee Man button which is presented to the angler taking the largest Tyee salmon for the tournament.

7. Catch and Release button.

Catch and release has been used for many years by anglers throughout the world in an effort to conserve fish stocks. Scientists now agree, generally, that the survival rate of released fish is sufficiently high enough to have a beneficial effect upon fish population. The Tyee Club offers, for sale, a Catch and Release button to any angler who chooses to release, rather than take, a salmon, providing the following conditions are met:

-the angler must be an active or life member of The Tyee Club, or must have registered previously a fish which, if approved by; the Board of Directors of The Tyee Club, would qualify the angler for membership
-the fish must have been caught and released while fishing in accordance with these Rules and Regulations
-the fish must be released in good condition
-both the angler and the guide must estimate the weight of the fish to be at least 30 pounds
-the angler's name, the guide's name, and the estimated weight of the fish must be given to the weighmaster at The Tyee Clubhouse on the same day the fish was caught and released.

The Tyee Club encourages the practice of catch and release of fish of all sizes, when the fish can be released in a healthy condition.

Trophies will be awarded to anglers taking fish according to the Rules and Regulations of The Tyee Club of British Columbia in various categories as follows:

1. Tyee Man Trophy is presented to the angler taking the largest Tyee of the season.

2. Lillian J. Sparrow Trophy is presented to the female angler taking the largest Tyee of the season by a female.

3. Ballentine Trophy is presented to the angler taking the largest pair of Tyee in one day during the season.

4. Gavin Chisholm Trophy is presented to the angler taking the largest Tyee using a single action reel in the season.

5. Les McDonald Award is presented to the angler who takes the first Tyee of the season.

6. Dr. Julien E. Benjamin Trophy is presented to the guide whose anglers take the largest number of Tyee during the season.

7. W.C. Mainwaring Trophy is presented to the guide whose angler takes the largest Tyee of the season.

8. Dr. Richard Murphy Trophy is presented to the guide who rows the most new members into the Tyee Club during the season.

9. Raven Trophy is presented to the junior angler, 16 years of age and under, who takes the largest fish of the season, in that age group.

10. Isfeld Trophy is presented to the angler who takes the largest pair of fish on separate days of the season.

ETIQUETTE ON THE WATER

1. The Tyee Club expects all anglers and rowers to observe certain common courtesies while fishing and while travelling to and from the fishing grounds.

2. Canadian Coast Guard regulations require that no motor power be permitted within the Tyee Pool. Motoring is permissible outside the boundaries , including a strip along the shore west of the low water mark.

3. The Club asks all anglers and rowers to encourage good sportsmanship and to be courteous to all anglers.

4. When a fish is hooked the angler/rower should serve notice to others in the area by conveying a loud "fish on" warning. Nearby anglers should immediately retrieve their lines to avoid fouling. The rower should endeavour to manoeuver the fish to deeper water, away from the other boats, as soon as reasonably practical, to allow others to resume fishing.