- Contact Us With Questions!
- fishcrosthwait@gmail.com
We’re so excited that you have interest in the Big One! Before you get out there, there’s a few things we need you to know. We’ll lay out the registration fee’s but be sure to download the PDF for a deep dive into the Tournament Rules.
May 16th
Of Angling
All entrants and guests of the tournament are participating at their own risk. In no way is The Bradenton Yacht Club, its Board of Directors and Officers, Members, or the Tournament Committee, its Board of Directors and Officers or Committee Members liable for injuries or property damage as a result of participation in the tournament.
While the tournament would never attempt to control social media use by participants, the committee would like to remind all captains, anglers, and anyone under their direct control that unsportsmanlike and overly‐ aggressive behavior, personal attacks, threats of violence or demeaning statements about other participants on any social media platform will be considered as evidence by the committee if considering disqualification of teams due to unsportsmanlike conduct.
Unsportsmanlike conduct based on abuse of other participants on social media as described in this paragraph is enough, in and of itself, for disqualification as determined at the sole discretion of the committee. If there is a rules issue or suspicion of a rule violation, participants are encouraged to notify the committee, preferably in writing, to seek a determination or resolution of the issue as early as possible rather than airing the matter publicly or on social media.
All sports fishermen (male and female) are eligible to participate. Determination of eligibility is left to the complete discretion of the committee. Any person convicted of a fishing violation is ineligible to participate for five (5) years from the date of the fishing violation.
All requests for pre‐tournament determination of eligibility should be submitted, in writing, to the committee prior to the Captain’s Meeting. All offshore vessels intending to target “highly migratory species” are required to obtain the federal stamp prior to commencement of fishing.
The Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament will be hosted at the Bradenton Yacht Club in Palmetto, Florida located at 4307 13th St W, Palmetto, FL 34221.
The Tournament will occur on Friday through Sunday on the dates established on the Crosthwait Memorial Fishing Tournament Website at fishcrosthwait.com (“Tournament Weekend”).
The number of entries will be limited, and registration may be closed without further notice. For boats registering at least five (5) days prior to Tournament Weekend, the entry fee per team, including Florida sales tax, for each division is as follows:
• Juniors (under 18) ‐ $250.00
• Inshore ‐ $400.00
• Spearfishing ‐ $400.00
• Offshore Limited ‐ $500.00
• Offshore Unlimited ‐ $800.00
Any boat registering within five (5) days of Tournament Weekend will be required to pay an additional fee of $50.00, which includes tax. Qualified entries will be accepted on a first come/first served basis. All boats must meet Federal and Florida safety regulations for their size. The official tournament radio channel is 72, VHF. All official tournament information will be broadcast on channel 72. All boats will be assigned a tournament number card which must be displayed in a prominent place on the vessel at all times. Any vessel operated in an unsafe and/or unsportsmanlike manner shall be ineligible to receive prizes. Note that Federal Maritime Law holds the captain of the vessel responsible for the actions of his boat, its wake and its crew.
EACH TEAM MUST PROVIDE A PHONE NUMBER AT WHICH THEY CAN BE CONTACTED FOLLOWING THE WEIGH IN, IN THE EVENT THEY MUST BE SUMMONED FOR POLYGRAPH EXAMINATION. CAPTAIN MUST MAKE THEMSELVES AVAILABLE TO THE POLYGRAPH EXAM WITHIN 20 MINUTES FOLLOWING THE COMMITTEE CALLING THE CONTACT NUMBER. FAILURE TO DO SO MAY RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION FROM THE TOURNAMENT.
JUNIOR ONLY TEAMS: All anglers on the vessel must under 18 years of age on the date of weigh‐in and will be limited to fishing inshore. Parents will be required to sign an affidavit for every junior angler confirming their knowledge of the rules and authorizing their participation. Anglers in the Junior Division are competing only within themselves, and are not competing against the general, overall tournament.
JUNIOR ANGLERS ON REGULAR DIVISION BOATS: The tournament encourages the participation of juniors (under 18 years of age fishing with an adult) and we will give special individual recognition to those Junior Anglers making outstanding catches. The junior must hook and boat the fish to be eligible for this recognition. Captains, please notify the weigh master of any outstanding catches made by Junior Anglers on your boat.
The tournament will be comprised of four separate divisions that will compete within themselves: INSHORE, SPEARFISH, OFFSHORE LIMITED, and OFFSHORE UNLIMITED. The Captain must register for the division in which his or her team will compete before the close of the Captains Meeting. No change of division will be allowed, under any circumstances, after the Captains Meeting.
Dates of the tournament will be Saturday and Sunday of Tournament Weekend. At 7:00 a.m. on Saturday of Tournament Weekend, a Bimini Start (shotgun) will signal the beginning of the tournament. Each boat with its Captain and entire crew must be recognized by an official tournament committee boat prior to the start. There will be one location for anglers to start the tournament: the traditional location at the mouth of the Manatee River.
The Committee Boat(s) will display tournament flags and be in the starting area thirty (30) minutes prior to the start. For both Inshore and Junior divisions, fishing must cease, and all photos must be submitted through IAnglerTournament.com or the IAngler Tournament App by 12:00 p.m. on Sunday of Tournament Weekend. Any fish submitted to IAngler after 12:00 p.m. will be ineligible.
Dates of the tournament will be Saturday and Sunday of Tournament Weekend. All Spearfishing captains are required to attend the registration beginning at 6:30 p.m. followed immediately by the mandatory Captains Meeting at 7:30 p.m. on Friday of Tournament Weekend at the Bradenton Yacht Club. All Spearfishing teams will be allowed to leave directly after the close of the Captains Meeting and may begin fishing at sunrise on Saturday of Tournament Weekend.
All Spearfishing teams must be officially recognized by a tournament official, either by boat at the dock or in line with a cooler, by 3:00 pm on Sunday of Tournament Weekend at the Bradenton Yacht Club.
Dates of the tournament will be Friday and Saturday of Tournament Weekend. The Offshore Limited division is restricted to vessels with a maximum of 800 horsepower. All Offshore Limited captains are required to attend the Captain’s Meeting at the Bradenton Yacht Club at 12 noon on Friday of Tournament Weekend. All Offshore Limited vessels will be allowed to leave directly after the close of the Meeting and may begin fishing at any time. All Offshore Limited vessels must be recognized by a tournament official by 4:00 p.m. on Saturday of Tournament Weekend at the Bradenton Yacht Club. Teams competing in the Offshore Limited may fish all waters seaward of the Florida mainland within the area defined by 28˚ 10’ North latitude to the north, 27˚ N latitude to the south, and 83˚ 30’ W longitude to the west.
The captain must ensure the vessel has fixed on board an operational GPS unit, chart plotter, depth sounder, or other similar electronic device capable of recording and displaying a graphic representation of the entire voyage of the vessel during the tournament. The purpose of this rule is to provide a verifiable means of confirming compliance with the northern, southern, and western boundaries of this division. In the event a team’s standings in the tournament are challenged by protest and the documentation is not available for inspection by a committee member, said team may be disqualified from the tournament. No team shall be required to divulge coordinates of “fishing spots;” however, a continuous track from the vessel’s start point to the tournament weigh‐in must be shown to a committee member upon request.
Dates of the tournament will be Friday through Sunday of Tournament Weekend. All Offshore Unlimited captains are required to attend the Captain’s Meeting at 12 noon on Friday at the Bradenton Yacht Club. All Offshore Unlimited vessels will be allowed to leave directly after the close of the Meeting and may begin fishing at any time. All Offshore Unlimited vessels must be recognized by a tournament official by 3:00 p.m. on Sunday of Tournament Weekend at the Bradenton Yacht Club.
With the exception of those fishing the Offshore Limited divisions, fishing teams may venture as desired. However, the team boat may not leave the water and be trailered. If you are wade fishing, the boat must be stationary and must remain stationary until all anglers are aboard. Teams competing in the Offshore Limited may fish all waters seaward of the Florida mainland within the area defined by 28˚ 10’ North latitude to the north, 27˚ N latitude to the south, and 83˚ 30’ W longitude to the west.
For Judging
For Different Species
A point system based upon the type and size of fish will be used to determine the winning boat. Each boat will be allowed to enter six (6) fish for judging during the two-day event. The six fish selected and entered by the Captain at the weigh-in may not include more than two (2) fish of any one species, unless otherwise specified in point schedule.
Download the PDF for more info on scoring!