Rules

Live Fishing Elite 2025 Rules

The Live Fishing Elite takes place in teams of two competitors (duo). A competitor alone on the boat may not participate except with the organizer’s agreement.

The 3 rounds will take place on:

  • Half Final A : Friday, July 11, 2025, from 08:00 AM to 11:30AM and 17:30 PM to 21:00 PM
  • Half Final B : Saturday, July 12, 2025, from 08:00 AM to 11:30AM and 17:30 PM to 21:00 PM
  • Final : Sunday, July 13, 2025, from 13:00 PM to 18:00 PM

I. Equipment and Authorized and Unauthorized Practices

  1. There are no restrictions regarding the hull size or engine power within the limit of the legislation in force and the ability to board at least 3 people on the boat. The boat must be covered by valid insurance.
  2. The fish finder and all its adjacent technologies are allowed throughout the competition.
  3. Competitors may navigate and fish in the entire VISPAS domain of Netherland covered by a 4G connection greater than 3Mb/s ascending. Competitors have 2 hours on sunday to come back to Willemstat for the results.
  4. Fishing must be done from the boat only. It may be moored to a stump, tree, or anchored, drifting, stationary, or moving with the aid of oars or an electric motor. It is forbidden to moor to a bridge, infrastructure, or buoy.
  5. Boats will move using either thermal engines or electric motors, but safety standards and locally authorized speeds must be respected.
  6. The distance between boats, in action of fishing, will be a minimum of 50 meters for all concerned teams. In case a boat is fishing in a narrow spot of less than 50 meters, the fisherman must stop fishing to let another boat pass. The boat requesting passage must stop fishing, in case both are moving both boats must stop fishing during the crossing.
  7. While navigating beyond 10 km/h on a course, the safety distance between boats will be increased to 50 meters.
  8. It is forbidden to turn or cut the trajectory in front of the bow of a boat without leaving a distance of at least 50 meters.
  9. These provisions will be at the discretion of the event referee.
  10. During a round, a boat may dock at the port to receive medical assistance, mechanical assistance, and generally for any emergency.
  11. In a competition, a crew in breakdown wishing to withdraw will keep the points acquired before its withdrawal. Any crew in breakdown (electric, thermal, or other) must inform the organizer who will decide on the withdrawal or not of the crew.
  12. Crews are responsible for managing their electricity and gasoline resources.
  13. When netting a fish, the competitor handling the net must hold their rod in hand, otherwise, retrieve their lure out of the water.
  14. During the event, only the competitors making up the duo and the video cameraman may be present in the boat.

II. Fishing Equipment

  1. Prohibited: fish grips or fish pliers, gaffs, keepnets and metal mesh or knotted mesh landing nets.
  2. All types of lure fishing are allowed, including fly fishing in all its forms. Any natural bait, alive or not, is strictly forbidden (dead or live fish, earthworms, squids, pork, etc.).
  3. Lures may be equipped with single, double, or treble hooks with a maximum of 2 hooks. A rod can be equipped with two lures, but there can not be more than two hooks.
  4. Competitors may set up as many rods as they wish on board, but they can only fish with one rod at a time. The fishing action must be effective only with the rod held in hand.
  5. Any form of pre-baiting is prohibited. Only attractants and oils to apply on lures are allowed.
  6. A competitor can be helped by their teammate to land a fish.
  7. Trolling is allowed under the same conditions as the local fishing regulations and remains at the discretion of the fishery guard and/or organizer.
  8. Intentional spearing of the fish is prohibited.
  9. Fishing cannot be done outside the competition zones (VISPAS).
  10. The fishing action cannot be continued if the round is suspended by the organization for a case of force majeure.
  11. Exchanges of equipment between competitors or a third party are prohibited during the duration of the official round.
  12. The use of « post markers » is limited to two maximum in the water at the same time. The crew cannot stray more than 25 meters from its marker. It is forbidden to mark any visible markers or references in the fishing zone before the official start time of the round.
  13. Rods cannot exceed a length of 2.75 meters.
  14. Fishing is allowed before the start and after the end of the different rounds.

III. Sporting Procedure

  1. Pre-fishing is allowed and without limits.
  2. The fish caught will be validated only if they are hooked in the mouth, or between the mouth and the pectoral fins, or between the mouth and the gills. Any fish caught but hooked on another line than that of the fisherman will not be counted and must be released into the water.
  3. Fish taken into account: The species that can be taken into account are as follows:
  • Pike (Esox lucius) > 600 mm
  • Zander (Stizostedion lucioperca) > 450 mm
  • Perch (Perca fluviatilis) > 300 mm
  1. The total maximum length of the fish, from the tip of the mouth to the tip of the caudal fin, will be taken into account.
  2. A fish cannot be kept in a livewell after its measurement; it must be released.
  3. A dead fish, or one that would not swim away, will not be counted.
  4. Livewell is forbidden.

IV. Points Counting and Rankings

  1. The ranking, counting of points, and validation of catches are done exclusively on the site live-fishing-elite.com, which is mandatory.
  2. The length of the fish will be measured in centimeters and entered by the competitor on the site rounded to the lowest. For example, if a fish’s measurement is  30.4 cm, it will be counted as 30 cm. Only fish larger than the legal size will be retained. 
  3. The ranking will be based on the points obtained by adding the square of the length of each fish caught. (Example: a Pike of 60cm = 60²=3600 points; a Perch of 25cm = 25² = 625 points; Total = 3,600+625 = 4,225 points)
  4. All fish, validated by the referees, will be counted to establish the duo’s ranking during each round. (There is no quota)
  5. The events will take place over three days and five rounds. The official ranking will be proclaimed based on the addition of the points. In case of a tie on a round:
  6. The duos will be separated by the number of rounds won.
  7. If necessary, the duos will be separated by the number of fish caught.
  8. If necessary, they will be separated based on the largest fish caught.

V. Briefing

  1. The briefing is MANDATORY and an integral part of the competition. Each competitor or each member of a duo must be present under penalty of sanction. It will take place the 10th July 2025 after the draw.
  2. If a competitor shows signs of abnormal behavior (feverish or apathetic state, etc.), the organizer may decide on the opportunity to let this competitor take part in the competition.
  3. The organizer reserves the right to exclude a competitor from the start in the case of dangerous conditions for fishing and navigation. (Poor condition of the boat and equipment or inappropriate).
  4. Any information announced at the briefing has the value of regulation.

VI. 4G Coverage

  1. 4G coverage of the fishing zone is imperative and must be greater than 3 Mb/s. A fish that will be measured while broadcasting is not possible will not be counted in the competition. The stream of each camera is recorded continuously, and the capture of each fish must be transmitted to the server, free for the director to broadcast the sequence or not live.

Example of services for testing the 4G connection:

Initially, it is also possible to remotely prospect via the official coverage map of the telephone operators.