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.

RULES

 

CONTESTANTS:

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. As a participant in this tournament, any and all participants (anglers and crew alike) agree to submit to a lie detector test if deemed necessary by the weigh master or tournament directors.

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 may call in your hookups/releases by SAT phone to tournament director, Chris Fox at (361) 779-8025. If it is close to quitting time (4:30 pm) and you hookup you must call in that hookup to Chris or a nearby boat and make sure they know you are fighting a fish. Boats failing to report a release may be disqualified.

CONDUCT:

Any person with a protest must present it in writing to the tournament director by 9:00pm, Saturday. The tournament directors and weigh master reserve the right to refuse entry to any contestant for any reason.

WEATHER:

Should weather create an issue on the scheduled fishing day, the fishing day will be rescheduled to Sunday. If Sunday is not suitable for fishing either, it will be at the tournament director’s discretion to reschedule or cancel.

VIDEO RELEASE RULES:

The billfish division of this tournament is CATCH AND RELEASE ONLY! A 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. No Polaroid pictures will be accepted.

The video footage must include the following:

  • The angler catching the fish (at least the last 30 seconds prior to grabbing 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. Any billfish that is mutilated will be disqualified. It is against Federal Regulations to boat any billfish in a ‘release only’ tournament. If the fish species is not identifiable without question only 100 points will be awarded.

  • Participants MUST furnish 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.

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 of 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 of 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 of their release points first will be the winner.