It depends what you’re aiming at Kai?
What competition format did you have in mind?
I’m a big fan of best specimen but that doesn’t necessarily mean a single fish. You could look at best brace or even best three, for example.
Within that you could have best specimen or biggest round fish, flat, hound, ray etc.
Is it catch and release?
Must admit I’m not a fan of the ‘heaviest bag’ type comps these days. Even assuming all fish are weighed and released, it’s still potentially a lot of dead loss, plus people have got to keep stopping to weigh or measure fish. Imo anyway.
I’d assume the boat and shore sections would be separate from each other?
Would the shore (and boat) be ‘roving’ ie anglers can fish anywhere within set limits over a set time span?
Or at a fixed venue and pegged?
If you went for a best specimen or heaviest fish format, but catch and release, there’s ways around the trust issue now ie anglers to video the weighing of fish while giving a password that’s only given out just before the start. Sounds a bit anal but the best way to avoid potential cheating, if it’s a big open with prize money at stake.
The one issue with that really is ideally you’d need to check their scales against accurate scales at the outset, which is obviously a faff.
As for competition rules, they’re entirely up to you, within minimum fish size limits if any fish were to be retained.
Don’t let anyone tell you the rules ‘have’ to be this or that, it’s a private event and you can run it however you like. Unless it fell under a governing body but even then, there’s no law at all that says you have to follow their guidelines.
Generally speaking a standard comp format would be something like, two rods, three hooks (a pennell rig counts as one).
Some comps ban certain baits, or used to, but I never saw the point of that.
How fish are weighed, measured or recorded is entirely up to you.
If it was at a fixed venue ie a beach, you’d have the option of pegging it and usually wise to say no setting up before signing in (if people have to sign in on the day).
Otherwise you’ll get people camped out on their favourite spot five hours before it starts ?
Pegging it eliminates that.
If it’s effectively a roving boundary then it’s not such an issue as people will all have different ideas of where they want to go anyway.
As far as insurance goes, I have no experience but if it’s a competition open to the general public rather than in house with a club (which would probably have its own insurance), you’d be wise to get something in place.
You could perhaps ask competitors to sign a waiver of T&Cs saying the organisers accept no liability and people fish are their own risk etc. Would also be worth including simple things such as no littering, cheating, looking after fish welfare etc.
But… if something did happen and it was deemed organisers were negligent in some way, I don’t know how much that would protect you in law.
Generally speaking a blanket insurance for an event is probably a wise move.
How much such a thing costs I have no idea!
A risk assessment would probably be needed for that, especially if you were holding it at a set venue.
As far as boats go, if it’s charters they’ll have all their own insurance and indeed so should private boat owners although I suspect a lot don’t.
Sorry, long waffle, but maybe if you could say what format you were thinking for the event, where it is, how many expected to take part, it would be easier to offer suggestions.
