It’s that time of year in West Virginia where most trails are receiving their 2023 permits as well as looking over the rules the DNR has laid out for the state. This year has undoubtedly raised some eyebrows at the new rules in place for fishing tournaments across the state. You can see the full list of rules for hosting a tournament here.

We wanted to highlight the new rule changes and what each of them mean for tournaments in West Virginia forward.

Rule 1.02.a – Tournament directors shall maintain a list of their participants which includes trailer license plate numbers and participant cell phone numbers in case of emergency. This list must be available onsite during the tournament and must be provided to any WVDNR personnel if requested during the event. Tournament Directors must also provide their cell number on the application and be available at the weigh in location during the entire event.

• New to the rule will be keeping licenses plate numbers for each competitor. Tournament directors will now have to be available at the ramp as well and this will more than likely eliminate a fair amount local derbies as most of the directors also fish the events.

Rule 1.02.b – All participants’ boats must be clearly marked by always displaying a brightly colored motor band during the tournament event.

• We aren’t sure what exactly motor band stands for yet, but we assume a piece of flagging tape around the boat in some fashion will be what they want.

Rule 1.04.b – All reporting forms must be post-marked or emailed to the DNR Fisheries Section no later than 15 days after the event. If completed reporting forms are not received, all future permit applications will be denied.

• In previous years tournament directors would have 30 days to complete and send back tournament report forms.