TEXAS WOMEN ANGLERS TOURNAMENT

Port Aransas, Texas US

361.779.8025

The Texas Women Anglers Tournament, also known as TWAT, is a women only, family-run fishing tournament held every summer in Port Aransas, Texas. It was founded in the 1980's with the mission to raise funds for the Women's Shelter of South Texas; now named The Purple Door.

In 1989 eighteen boats registered for the tournament with over fifty women anglers. Today an average of seventy boats and over four-hundered women anglers gather in Port Aransas to fish the tournament and raise money for the The Purple Door.

OFFICIAL TOURNAMENT RULES

 

REGISTRATION 

Boats must be registered by 8:00PM on Friday at the Port Aransas Civic Center.  Fees must be paid in full before leaving the Port Aransas Jetties. 

Friday 8:00PM - Boats may depart through the Port Aransas Jetties following the Captains Meeting

Saturday 6:30AM – Lines In – Fishing Begins

Saturday 4:30PM – Lines Out – Cease Fishing

Saturday 7:30PM – Boats must be inside the Port Aransas Little Jetties


CONTESTANTS

By entering this tournament, participants agree to abide by all rules and decisions made by the Tournament Committee and Tournament Directors. All decisions are final.  

Contestants are boats. Anglers are women only. Pooling of catches or transfer of catches from one boat to another is prohibited. A fish must be brought to the dock and weighed from the boat on which it was caught. In the event of a mechanical failure that disables a participant’s boat, a substitute boat may be used IF COORDINATED WITH THE TOURNAMENT DIRECTOR. No boats may be substituted after registration ends Friday night.

Anyone may set the hook and then hand the rod over to a woman angler. She must reel the fish in entirely on her own without anyone else touching the rod or reel thereafter.


TACKLE

All fish must be caught on rod and reel with hooks only. Fish as many lines or size classes as desired. NMFS regulations require circle hooks when fishing with bait for billfish to be released.


COMMUNICATIONS

You must call in your hookups/releases by phone or text to tournament director, Chris Fox at (361) 779-8025. If you hook a fish within 30 minutes of lines in (4:30) you must report the hookup to Chris Fox or a nearby boat and make sure they know you are fighting a fish. Boats failing to report a release may be disqualified. Do not report fish more than once. VHF Channel 68.


CONDUCT

The Texas Women Angler Tournament is committed to providing a safe, respectful, and sportsmanlike environment for all participants, volunteers, sponsors, Tournament Committee members, and Tournament Directors. Harassment, abusive behavior, threats, intimidation, discrimination, or unsportsmanlike conduct, whether in person, in writing, or online, will not be tolerated.

The Tournament Committee and Tournament Directors reserve the right to refuse entry to any boat or participant for any reason. All decisions are final.

Participants must follow State and Federal fishing regulations. It is against Federal Regulations to boat any billfish in a ‘release only’ tournament. Any fish determined by the Tournament Committee or Tournament Directors to be mutilated will be disqualified and ineligible for weigh-in. All decisions are final.

As a condition of participation, all anglers and crew members agree to submit to a polygraph examination if requested by the Tournament Directors. Failure to submit to or successfully complete the examination will result in the disqualification of the boat.

Any participant disqualified for violating the Code of Conduct may, at the discretion of the Tournament Committee and Tournament Directors, be prohibited from participating in future Texas Women Angler Tournament events.


PROTESTS

Any protest alleging a rule violation must be submitted in writing to the Tournament Directors no later than 10:00 p.m. following the weigh-in and must be accompanied by a $1,000 deposit. The deposit will be refunded if the protest is upheld and forfeited if the protest is denied. The decision of the Tournament Committee and Tournament Directors is final.


WEATHER

In the event of bad weather conditions on Saturday, the fishing day will be rescheduled to Sunday. If Sunday is not suitable for fishing due to inclement weather, it will be at the tournament committee’s discretion to reschedule or cancel. If the tournament is cancelled, all boat pools and entry fees will be refunded, less tournament expenses. Regardless of weather, the owner and captain of each vessel is responsible for decisions made regarding the safety of their crew and vessel. 


VIDEO RELEASE RULES

The billfish division of this tournament is CATCH AND RELEASE ONLY! The preferred video method is an iPad tablet.  Video must be submitted verifying the type of fish caught with the designated object of the day in plain view.  The object of the day will be presented at registration on Friday night. One individual may accompany video footage to present to video judges. The individual accompanying the video submission may not discuss, interpret, explain, or influence the judges' review or evaluation of the video. 

The video footage must include the following:

  • The angler catching the fish (at least the last 30 seconds prior to touching the leader.

  • The release is to include the leader in hand and the release of the fish, whether by cutting the line, removing the hook, breaking the line, or pulling the hook.

  • This footage must be recorded without pauses in the tape or turning the camera off and on. If the fish species is not identifiable without question only 100 points will be awarded.

  • Participants MUST provide everything needed to view the video! If the video is not viewable from your device, you must furnish necessary cords to hook up to a laptop. 

  • Time & Date Verification



SCORING

Blue Marlin - 305 points 

White Marlin - 110 points 

Sailfish - 100 points 

Dolphin, Tuna, Wahoo - 1 point per pound

Billfish: In the event of a tie in the billfish categories, first and second place trophies will be determined according to the time of the releases. The boat that accumulated all their points in that category first will be the winner.


Dolphin, Tuna, Wahoo: A mutilated fish will be disqualified. If there is a tie in weight, the length will determine the winner. If there is also a tie in length, the girth will determine the winner. Tuna category includes Yellowfin, Blackfin and Big Eye Tuna only. 


Overall: The winner of the overall trophy will be the boat with the most points in the billfish category plus 1 point per pound in the dolphin, tuna, and wahoo divisions. Only one fish per species (Dolphin, Tuna, Wahoo) per boat will count towards this total. Each boat may weigh in more than one fish in each species but only the heaviest will count towards the overall points. In the event of a tie in overall points, the boat that accumulated all their release points first will be the winner.


Top Women Angler: The winner of the top woman angler trophy will be the angler with the most points in the billfish category plus 1 point per pound in the dolphin, tuna, and wahoo divisions. If there is a tie in points, the angler that accumulated all their release points first will be the winner. 


Disbursement checks for tournament winnings will be mailed to contestants address within 10 business days or you can arrange to pick up with the Tournament Directors. A registration or prize pool check payable to the tournament and later returned by your bank as NFS will result in immediate disqualification from the tournament.


RELEASE OF LIABILITY & ASSUMPTION OF RISK

By entering or participating in the Texas Women Angler Tournament, each participant, including anglers, captains, and crew members, acknowledges that boating and fishing involve inherent risks, including serious injury, death, and property damage. Each participant voluntarily assumes all risks associated with participation in the Tournament and related activities.

This Release applies to all Tournament activities conducted on the water and at all official Tournament venues, including, but not limited to, Fisherman's Wharf, the Port Aransas Civic Center, and any other location designated by the Tournament Committee for Tournament events.

As a condition of participation, each participant agrees to release, waive, and hold harmless the Texas Women Angler Tournament, its officers, directors, Tournament Committee members, Tournament Directors, Weighmaster, volunteers, sponsors, Fisherman's Wharf, the Port Aransas Civic Center, and their respective officers, employees, agents, representatives, and affiliated organizations from any and all claims, demands, damages, losses, liabilities, or causes of action arising out of or related to participation in the Tournament, including those resulting from ordinary negligence, to the fullest extent permitted by Texas law.

By participating, each participant further agrees to abide by all Tournament rules and acknowledges that the Tournament Committee and Tournament Directors have final authority regarding the interpretation and enforcement of all rules and decisions.

Submission of a tournament entry or participation in any Tournament event constitutes acceptance of this Release of Liability and Assumption of Risk.