TTO 2025 Rules and Policies

These rules apply to all contestants entering tournaments. Violations of any of these rules will result in an appropriate penalty or disqualification. It is each teams’ responsibility to know and completely understand the rules set forth for these tournaments. All contestants will be subject to a polygraph test. Failure to pass or refusal to take a polygraph test could possibly result in an immediate disqualification and banishment from all future Team Trail Outdoors LLC events. Protests must be in writing no more than 5 minutes after the weigh-in scales have closed. All decisions will be made at the discretion of Team Trail Outdoors Officials and are final and not subject to an appeal.

Participation and Eligibility 

Participation in Team Trail Outdoors (TTO) tournaments is open to anyone with a paid membership. At least one member from each team must be 18 years of age or older. Team Trail Outdoors LLC reserves the rights to refuse entry to anyone.

​Guide Rule: ​Anyone who has been compensated in any form (cash, gifts, or otherwise) to guide for large mouth, small mouth, black bass, mean mouth, and spotted bass 10 days prior to the start of any TTO event will not be eligible to participate in such event. This only applies to those who guide on the lake for the upcoming event.

Boat requirements

All entered boats must have all safety items required by the United States Coast Guard, a permanently mounted aeration system and no extended or raised fishing decks above the gunnel. All outboards shall not exceed the maximum horsepower rating of the United States Coast Guard.

State Laws

All state, local and federal laws must be obeyed. It is the responsibility of each Angler to read and know all laws.

Teams

All teams shall consist of no more than two anglers, although a contestant may enter this tournament as a one-man team. Only registered contestants are allowed in the boats during official tournament hours. Teams are generally not allowed to substitute partners. If one team member is unable to enter a tournament, the other team member has the option to use a substitute for only one tournament. Teams cannot use the substitution exception for more than one tournament, regardless of which team member exercised the option. If a team member is not available for another tournament, the other team member must fish said tournament solo. If a team uses a second substitute, it will constitute a new team and not count for Anglers of the Year points. With the exception of an emergency situation, both team members must stay in entered boat at all times during official tournament hours. If, for any reason, a team member has to get out of the boat, all fishing must stop until both team members are back in the boat. Tournament Director must be notified any time a team member exits the boat (Donnie Moore 817-896-2309). Contact information is included on cards with boat numbers and weigh-in times.

• Substitution Rules:
  • When registering, please list the name of the substituted Angler. The new Angler must pay the membership fee and meet all TTO requirements.
  • You MUST designate that the Angler is a substitution and list who they are representing (name of team member).
  • Team results will be in the name of the original team members’ names and points will be calculated for the original team.
  • Substitutions used for Championship MUST be a qualified person. This will constitute a new team for both members.

Practice

Off limits begins at midnight at the conclusion of the Sunday before the tournament until the tournament begins. Official practice day is Friday before each event ONLY with a paid entry before launching your boat. Official practice is from safe light until 5:00 p.m. Your boat must be off the water by 5:00 pm. Specific times for official practice hours will be updated on the tournament page and TTO social media prior to the start of practice.

For the Championship, there will be a 2 week off-limits period with an official 3-day practice period before the start of the tournament. Specific dates and times will be posted on the tournament page and posted on TTO social media. During the off-limits period for the Championship, there will be a No-Information Rule imposed. Specific information can be found under “Championship” below.

During official practice, you may only practice solo or with your partner for that event. No one else may be in the boat with you. No exceptions on this rule.

Anyone who participates in or is involved in the unsportsmanlike and unethical practice of catching fish and relocating them to an area on tournament waters that traps them with the intentions of catching them on tournament day will be disqualified from these tournaments as well as all future Team Trail Outdoors LLC events.

The use of drones is strictly prohibited. This applies for all practice and tournament hours.

If you are staying at a cabin on a tournament lake and your boat is at a private dock, your boat must be parked at the dock and you must be out of the boat at 5:00 pm on Official Practice day. You can boat to take-off on tournament day, but you can only use navigation equipment for directions to take-off. Absolutely no drive by fishing spots to map for fish, and no side-imaging or fish-finding equipment can be turned on while driving to take-off.

As mentioned above under “Teams,” both team members must stay in entered boat at all times during official tournament hours. You may not get out the boat to push the boat into and/or out of a fishing area. All areas fished on the lake MUST be accessible without leaving the boat. This rule applies during official practice and tournament hours. The use of push poles are allowed, but you may not get out of the boat.

You MUST practice by all TTO Rules as they apply to tournament day.

Registration

Preregistration opens 30 days prior to each event and can be done online or by filling out the online registration form which can be downloaded from the tournament page and mailed to the address on the form. Teams may also register for the current tournament during onsite registration Friday night before the tournament and the morning of the tournament. Onsite registration times will be announced on all TTO social media. All teams must draw boat numbers during onsite registration.

Teams who wish to prepay the season may do so beginning in February. Prepayment can only be done by contacting TTO Administrator, Pamela Moore, at 903-780-2286. It cannot be paid online.

Safety

All teams must have a United States Coast Guard approved life vest on and buckled anytime the outboard is in gear. Waist belts are not acceptable for use while moving to another location. The driver of each vessel must have an emergency kill switch connected to his life vest anytime the outboard is in gear. Team Trail Outdoors LLC Staff reserves the right to make any changes for safety precautions. No alcohol or illegal drugs are allowed during tournament hours.

Sportsmanship

All teams entering tournaments are expected to show true sportsmanship and common courtesy at all times. No fishing is allowed 25 yards of another entered team without mutual consent. No team at any time, shall block an entry to a fishing area that is considered a public waterway.

Fishing times

All events will be a numbered takeoff, unless otherwise stated by TTO Officials. Boat numbers will be drawn at registration of the event. Weigh-ins will be staggered flights and those flight times will be determined by each teams boat draw. All teams must be checked in with their catch no later than the times given on their flight. ANY TEAM WHO FAILS TO BE CHECKED IN WITH THEIR CATCH BY THEIR FLIGHT DEADLINE WILL BE ASSESSED A 1-POUND PENALTY PER MINUTE UP TO 15 MINUTES. AFTER 15 MINUTES, THAT TEAM WILL NOT BE ABLE TO WEIGH THEIR CATCH.

Take-off

Tournaments will be a controlled start. You may put in at any public boat ramp. We will release boats in number order after prayer and National Anthem at safe light. Boat number 1 will be called at safelight. Please make plans to be there and ready to go prior to safelight. Please communicate with other boaters on the water to line up as much as possible so we can get everyone out quickly. We will not wait to start releasing boats if there are boats still waiting to launch. It is your responsibility to be ready to take off at safelight. It is unfair to those who have arranged to be there and are ready to go at safelight.

Should weather and/or lake conditions force a change to take-off, it will be at the sole discretion of the Tournament Director to call a trailering event. That election can be made anytime through Friday prior to the tournament as weather conditions can change. Changes to take-off will be posted on all social media and updated on the website. Please refer back to the tournament page for updates prior to official practice and tournament start.

Off Limits areas

All areas marked by state, federal, local authorities and areas determined by Team Trail Outdoors LLC Staff are not allowed to be fished (no exceptions). All bridges (marked or unmarked) are considered no wake zones. No fishing within 50 feet of an operating gas pump.

As mentioned above under “Teams,” both team members must stay in entered boat at all times during official tournament hours. You may not get out the boat to push the boat into and/or out of a fishing area. All areas fished on the lake MUST be accessible without leaving the boat. This rule applies during official practice and tournament hours. The use of push poles is allowed, but you may not get out of the boat.

Fishing methods

Only one rod and reel may be used at any time by each team member. No trolling is allowed. When sight fishing, all bass must be hooked in the mouth to be considered a legal catch. All fish must be caught alive and on artificial bait with the exception of pork rinds. Alabama rigs are allowed but cannot be modified with more hooks than the manufactures’ bait allowance.

Length requirements and scoring

Only black bass, small mouth, mean mouth, and Kentucky spotted bass will be allowed to weigh. Kentucky spotted bass and mean mouth bass can be any size. Black bass and small mouth will be determined by the governing lake officials. Team Trail Outdoors LLC will utilize length requirements set forth by the governing officials at each event and will be announced during registration of all tournaments. The official measuring board will be the PRO RULE. Only five fish are allowed in the live well at any time during tournament hours. No culling of dead fish. A dead fish cannot be weighed in for big fish competition. There is a 1 pound penalty and loss of fish for any fish not meeting size requirements. There is a .50 pound penalty for any dead fish brought to the weigh in. All live bass become property of Team Trail Outdoors LLC after they are weighed and will be released back into tournament waters immediately after weigh-in has concluded. Any dead fish remain the property of the Angler and must be disposed in accordance with State and/or local regulations.

Ties

Ties will be settled by combining 2 places and splitting equally. Points will be settled the same way.

Points

Team Trail Outdoors LLC will use a points scoring system to determine Anglers of the Year standings. (example: 1st place gets 200 points, 2nd place gets 199 points and so on down to the last team weighing a fish.) Any team who fails to weigh in a fish at any tournament will receive 30 points less than the last weighing team. The team with the most accumulated points at the conclusion of the final qualifying event will be crowned Anglers of the Year. Anglers of the Year will be rewarded with free entry to the 2025 Championship (doesn’t include side pot) and all qualifying events in this division in 2026 (doesn’t include side pots or membership fees). Anglers of the Year will also be qualified and have paid entry to the 2025 Kings of Cowtown tournament (doesn’t include any side pot options that may be available).

If, for any reason, we are forced to cancel one of the qualifying events, AOY points will be calculated from the last qualifying event. Points will not carry into the championship.

Championship

The championship will be a two-day accumulated weight tournament. To qualify for the championship, you must have a paid entry to all qualifying events. There will be a 2 week off limits period for this event with an official 3-day practice period before the start of the tournament. Specific dates and times will be posted on the tournament page and posted on TTO social media. During official practice, you may only practice solo or with your partner for that event. No one else may be in the boat with you. No exceptions on this rule.

Substitutions used for Championship MUST be a qualified person. This will constitute a new team for both members.

If, for any reason, we are forced to cancel one of the qualifying events, AOY points will be calculated from the last qualifying event. Points will not carry into the championship.

Championship NO INFO RULE 

• • Takes effect at the start of off-limits and runs through the start of the tournament.
  • You cannot practice with anyone other than your partner. NO EXCEPTIONS.
  • No private messages regarding tournament lake are allowed on any social media websites or forums. Other than using publicly available information, no fishing information may be purchased, bartered, solicited or received from anyone who has been on tournament waters during the established off-limits period.
  • Anyone who violates this No-information rule, the entire team will be scratched from the field without refund of entry fees.
  • This will be a polygraph question.

Championship Mandatory Meeting for Anglers 

Friday night before the start of the Championship will be a mandatory meeting. At least one team member must be present. Any teams not yet registered can do so and all teams will draw boat numbers with fishing times. Details for the meeting will be posted online with the tournament details prior to registration.