Official Tournament Rules

Organizer: BlackTail Heaven LLC — an Oregon limited liability company registered to transact business in California · 222 Royal Oak Drive, Durant, Oklahoma 74701 · hunt@blacktailheaven.com
CDFW Contest Permit No.: 26-2-098
Tournament Director: Derik Julian · (916) 380-7464 · hunt@blacktailheaven.com · All times Pacific.

Section 1 — Event, Organizer, and Eligibility

1.1 The King of the Feather (the "Tournament") is a skill-based king (Chinook) salmon fishing competition organized by BlackTail Heaven LLC (the "Organizer"). The Tournament runs from one hour before sunrise on August 15, 2026 (lines-in, consistent with California's lawful salmon fishing hours) through 8:00 PM on September 15, 2026 (final scale close, at the close of the final evening weigh window). Trophies are presented and provisional results announced at the final weigh window on September 15; all standings remain provisional until post-Tournament verification under Section 6 is complete, and cash prizes are paid under Section 8.

1.2 The Tournament is open to entrants in compliance with all California sport-fishing licensing requirements applicable to them: entrants age 16 or older must hold a valid California sport fishing license with all required report cards and validations; entrants under 16 must comply with all regulations applicable to unlicensed minors. Entry requires acceptance of these Rules at registration.

1.3 A minor (any participant under 18) may participate only as a named angler on a Team of 2 or Team of 3 entry — Lone Wolf and Day-Pass entries are available to participants 18 and older only — and only after the minor's own parent or legal guardian has executed the Guardian Addendum (entry consent, waiver and release, and media release on the minor's behalf; form enclosed with these Rules). No fish may be weighed for a minor before the Addendum is complete. Any prize attributable to a minor is paid to the executing parent or legal guardian.

1.4 The Organizer, its owners, employees, and Tournament and weigh-station officials, and members of their immediate families and households, are not eligible for the cash prize pools. The Tournament Director does not fish the Tournament.

1.5 Winners are determined solely by verified fishing results under these Rules. Success depends on angling skill, water knowledge, technique, and effort.

1.6 The special conditions of CDFW Contest Permit No. 26-2-098 are incorporated into these Rules by reference.

Section 2 — Registration, Entry Categories, and Consents

2.1 Registration is completed online through the Organizer's official registration platform, or in person at the weigh station or an Organizer-authorized location with payment and a signed registration form. Entry categories:

• Lone Wolf — $100 — one angler (18 or older), every legal fishing day of the Tournament; every fish weighed counts toward all three pools.
• Team of 2 — $175 — one entry covering two named anglers; any team member may weigh fish for the entry.
• Team of 3 — $250 — one entry covering three named anglers; any team member may weigh fish for the entry.
• Day-Pass — $20 — open to any angler 18 or older. A Day-Pass activates automatically for the single calendar day immediately following its purchase (12:01 AM – 11:59 PM Pacific the next day). There is no date selection, no rescheduling, no deferral, and no exceptions: buy it today, fish it tomorrow. Required at purchase: participant full name and signed consents. The weigh station verifies every pass against the timestamped purchase and consent records, and only fish caught on the pass's activation day are eligible. Passes are non-transferable. Day-Pass fish compete in all three prize pools. Upgrade: the $20 Day-Pass price may be applied as a credit toward any full entry purchased within 48 hours after the pass's activation day.

All entries — full entries and Day-Passes alike — are open to everyone and are valid from any boat or the bank, with or without a guide. Any guide may guide any registered individual or team; guiding requires no payment to the Organizer, and no guide is ever required to pay the Organizer anything to guide Tournament participants.

2.2 Consents. Every entry requires affirmative acceptance of: (a) these Official Rules, compliance with all California sport-fishing laws and CDFW regulations, catch verification (including the mandatory catch video of Section 6.4 and ventral incision of any top-five leaderboard fish), the AIS requirements of Section 3.8 (including Form DFW 777 for boaters), the discretionary polygraph clause, and the disqualification terms; and (b) the Liability Waiver and Assumption of Risk (Section 9.1) and the Media Release (Section 9.2). Marketing communications are governed by a separate, optional consent. Online entries record these consents by required checkboxes; in-person and other entries record them by signed registration form, on paper or electronically. An entry is pending — and no fish may be weighed for it — until the entrant's signed consents and, for any minor, the Guardian Addendum are recorded. For Day-Pass entries, the registration/consent form records the purchase timestamp and the automatic activation date (the calendar day after purchase).

2.3 Entries are non-transferable. Entry fees are non-refundable except as provided in Section 3.4. Late entries are accepted throughout the Tournament at full price; a late entrant's eligibility begins at activation, and late entrants compete against fish already weighed.

Section 3 — Tournament Waters, Season, Lawful Methods, and Safety

3.1 Tournament waters are the Feather River from the upstream boundary at the unimproved boat ramp above the Thermalito Afterbay Outfall (the upstream limit of the open salmon section under 14 CCR § 7.40(b)(43)(D)) downstream to the East Gridley Road Bridge (the Tournament-designated downstream limit). If applicable CDFW regulations define the lawful salmon boundary differently, the regulatory boundary controls and these Rules conform to it automatically. Boundary coordinates and a map are published at BlackTailHeaven.com. Fish hooked and landed outside these boundaries are ineligible. Access advisory (informational): portions of the Oroville Wildlife Area at the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet are closed for construction; consult the published map for open access points and launches.

3.2 All fishing must comply with California law and current CDFW regulations, including legal methods, gear restrictions, and bag limits. The Tournament confers no special take rights. Any violation of law or regulation in connection with an entry results in disqualification.

3.3 Participants fish independently on public water. The Organizer does not guide participants during the Tournament and operates a shore-based weigh station only.

3.4 Closure contingency. If CDFW or the Fish and Game Commission closes or materially restricts the Tournament fishery: (a) if the closure takes effect before lines-in, all Entry Fees are refunded in full; (b) if the closure takes effect after lines-in, the Tournament ends at the effective time of the closure and the prize pools are paid according to the official verified standings at that time. Entrants will be notified before any public announcement.

3.5 Water safety. Participants fish at their own risk on a river with swift current, cold water, flows that can change quickly with upstream releases, and unstable banks. Drowning is a real hazard for both boat and shore anglers. The Organizer strongly recommends that every participant wear a U.S. Coast Guard–approved personal flotation device at all times on the water and when fishing from the bank near swift water, and that participants fish with a partner. Boaters must comply with all boating laws, including child life-jacket requirements (California law requires children under 13 to wear an approved life jacket aboard a moving recreational vessel, subject to statutory exceptions), operator-card requirements, kill-switch use, and navigation-light rules. Minors must be under the direct supervision of an adult at all times while participating, on the water or on the bank. In an emergency, call 911.

3.6 Courtesy and integrity. Participants share public water with non-participants. Maintain reasonable distance from other anglers and boats, do not crowd or cut off an angler working a bank, and follow weigh-station staff instructions. Keep all fishing activity above suspicion; if something doesn't look right, report it to the Tournament Director. A first violation of this Section draws a warning; repeat violations are grounds for disqualification.

3.7 Specific regulations every entrant is expected to know. Without limiting Section 3.2, the following provisions apply directly to Tournament fishing, and every entrant is responsible for reading and following them (full text available from CDFW and linked at BlackTailHeaven.com):

• 14 CCR § 7.40(b)(43) — the Feather River salmon regulation: open section, season, and bag and possession limits. The Tournament boundary sits inside the lawful salmon section (Section 3.1).
• 14 CCR § 2.05 — Leader length. In anadromous waters, the distance between the terminal hook or lure and any weight on the line or leader must be less than six feet.
• 14 CCR § 2.10 — Hook and weight restrictions. Maximum hook gaps (1 inch single, 3/4 inch multiple), restrictions on weights near hooks, and no weight attached directly below a hook.
• 14 CCR § 3.00 — Fishing hours. In the Valley District north of Interstate 80, which includes the Tournament waters, no salmon may be taken at night (night is more than one hour after sunset to one hour before sunrise).
• Fish & Game Code § 5514 — Mouth-hooked fish only. A salmon that has not taken the bait or lure in its mouth may not be killed or kept; any salmon hooked elsewhere than in the mouth must be released unharmed. A foul-hooked fish is never eligible in this Tournament, and presenting one is grounds for disqualification.
• 14 CCR § 1.73(b) — Hatchery salmon head recovery. Any salmon with a missing (clipped) adipose fin must have its head relinquished immediately to CDFW upon request, so the Department can recover its coded-wire tag. See Section 6.5 for how the Tournament scores a fish whose head has been collected.

3.8 Aquatic invasive species (AIS) compliance — required by CDFW Permit Special Conditions. (a) All vessels, trailers, and equipment must be clean, drained, and dry before participating in the Tournament, and cleaned of debris and drained of water at the conclusion of the Tournament; participants should follow the CDFW Aquatic Invasive Species Decontamination Protocol (provided at registration). (b) Every participant fishing from a vessel must complete Form DFW 777, Aquatic Invasive Species Self-Inspection Certification, BEFORE launching, and keep the completed form (hard copy or legible cell-phone photo) on the vessel for the duration of the Tournament. (c) Each boating participant must provide the Organizer a copy or photo of their completed DFW 777 at registration or at their first weigh-in; the Organizer documents completion as the permit requires. Fishing from a vessel without a completed DFW 777 is a violation of these Rules and of the permit. (d) AIS informational materials (golden mussel, quagga/zebra mussel, and New Zealand mudsnail advisories and the CDFW Decontamination Protocol) are provided with registration and posted at the weigh station. Suspected invasive species sightings: (866) 440-9530 or invasives@wildlife.ca.gov.

3.9 Keep your first fish — required by CDFW Permit Special Conditions for Chinook salmon contests. Every angler must keep the first legal king salmon captured, and each legal fish thereafter, up to the legal daily bag limit. Releasing a legal king salmon to continue fishing for a larger one (culling or high-grading) is prohibited, violates the permit, and is grounds for disqualification. Current freshwater sport fishing regulations for salmon are provided to every participant at registration, as the permit requires.

Section 4 — Prize Pools, Payouts, and Bonus Awards

4.1 Eighty percent (80%) of Entry Fee receipts is allocated to the prize fund. "Entry Fees" means all amounts paid for Lone Wolf, Team of 2, Team of 3, and Day-Pass registrations. The prize fund is divided into three pools. Each pool is winner-take-all, decided by a single biggest fish; entrants may weigh unlimited fish; one fish may win multiple pools. Pool amounts depend on total registrations and are announced at the finale.

• Pool 1 — Heaviest Fish: 60% of the prize fund. Tiebreakers: greater length, then earliest weigh-in.
• Pool 2 — Longest Fish: 20% of the prize fund. Tiebreakers: greater weight, then earliest weigh-in.
• Pool 3 — Final Week Big Fish: 20% of the prize fund. Awarded to the heaviest verified fish weighed in from 12:00 PM September 9 through the final scale close on September 15. Tiebreakers: greater length, then earliest weigh-in. A fish eligible for Pool 3 also remains eligible for Pools 1 and 2.

All Tournament prizes, including every pool and any bonus award, are determined solely by objective, verified fishing results under these Rules. No prize offered to entrants is awarded by drawing, random selection, or any element of chance.

4.2 No calcuttas, side pools, or wagering of any kind are conducted, sanctioned, or permitted in connection with the Tournament.

4.3 Official standings are maintained by the Organizer from weigh-station records; the leaderboard is published and updated at least every 24 hours. Participants are responsible for checking the current published standings each day before fishing. Each daily standings update carries the Tournament's regulations and AIS notice, and the same notice is posted at the weigh station each day, so that participants joining mid-Tournament receive it. All standings and finale-day announcements are provisional and subject to audit and verification (Section 6).

4.4 The remaining twenty percent (20%) of Entry Fees is retained by the Organizer for Tournament operations. Sponsorship revenue is separate from Entry Fees, is retained by the Organizer, and does not fund the prize pools.

4.5 Sponsor Bonus Awards. The Organizer may announce sponsor-donated bonus awards before or during the Tournament. Each bonus award will state objective, skill-based criteria and its qualifying period, published before that period begins. Bonus awards are additive: they never reduce, delay, or alter the prize pools, and no bonus award offered to entrants is decided by drawing, random selection, or any element of chance. Sponsor recognition accompanies each award. If no items are donated, no bonus awards are run.

Section 5 — Weigh Station, Windows, Measurement, and Field Equipment

5.1 The weigh station operates daily during the Tournament on private property at 887 Vance Avenue, Biggs, California — less than two miles from the Thermalito Afterbay Outlet — hosted with the written permission of the property owners, in two windows: 12:00–1:00 PM and 6:30–8:00 PM. Any participant physically in line at the station at window close will be weighed. One station, one certified Tournament scale, and one official measurement board serve the entire Tournament. The Organizer also maintains a certified mobile scale and measuring board, used only for official mobile weighs under Section 6.5(c).

5.2 Fish must be presented whole (not gutted or filleted; bleeding in the ordinary course of harvest is permitted), fresh, and on ice, and are drained of water before weighing. Measurement is nose to pinched tail, recorded to the nearest 0.25 inch on the official measurement board; weight is recorded on the certified Tournament scale. Official station records control; the weigh master's determination of freshness and eligibility at the scale is final, subject to Section 7.3. A fish whose head has been collected by CDFW is scored under Section 6.5.

5.3 Same-day rule. A fish is eligible only if presented at the weigh station during a weigh window on the same calendar day it was caught. Fish caught after the final window closes for the day may not be weighed and do not score — no fish may be held overnight for weigh-in, and no exceptions are made for any pool.

5.4 Required field equipment. Every entry (each Lone Wolf, Team, and Day-Pass participant or team) must carry, while fishing, a working portable scale and a measuring device (tape or ruler) adequate to record the catch video required by Section 6.4. Field readings are informal; official weight and length are determined solely at the weigh station under Section 5.2.

Section 6 — Catch Verification Protocol

6.1 Every weighed fish passes verification: (1) freshness examination; (2) palpation; (3) gullet light inspection; (4) catch-video review under Section 6.4 for every fish; (5) ventral incision of any fish entering the top five of a leaderboard, performed so fillets remain intact (consent given at registration; the Organizer is not liable for the condition of any fish following inspection); and (6) a discretionary polygraph examination, which the Organizer may require of any potential winner before payout. Any polygraph is administered by a qualified examiner selected and paid by the Organizer and is limited to questions concerning compliance with these Rules.

6.2 Refusal of any verification stage, including catch-video presentation and the polygraph, results in forfeiture of the affected entry's standing and any associated prize.

6.3 Evidence of tampering, freezing, stuffing, weighting, water-loading, any artificial alteration, or presentation of a fish caught or obtained outside Tournament waters (from any other water, including without limitation the American, Sacramento, or Yuba Rivers) results in disqualification and forfeiture of all standings and prizes for the entry.

6.4 Mandatory catch video — every fish. Purpose: to confirm that every weighed fish was caught inside Tournament waters and not brought in from any other water (including without limitation the Sacramento, American, or Yuba Rivers). Every fish presented at the weigh station must be accompanied by a video recorded at the catch site immediately after landing, showing in one continuous, unedited shot: (a) the angler with the fish, freshly landed; (b) a recognizable landmark or fixed feature (bridge, outfall, ramp, powerline crossing, or similar) sufficient to establish the location within Tournament waters — a phone GPS/map screen may supplement, but does not replace, the visible landmark; and (c) the fish clearly enough to identify it at the scale — its distinguishing features (adipose clip, marks, scars, coloration) and/or a length measurement against the angler's measuring device — so station staff can match the video to the fish presented. The video must be shown to weigh-station staff when the fish is presented, and the Organizer may retain a copy. A fish presented without a compliant catch video will not be weighed and does not score, for any pool. Fish handling must at all times comply with law: the fish must be dispatched and retained in the ordinary course of lawful harvest immediately after filming, and nothing in this Section authorizes holding or transporting live fish.

6.5 CDFW head collection (14 CCR § 1.73(b)) — per coordination with CDFW enforcement. Most Feather River king salmon are hatchery fish with a clipped adipose fin, and CDFW may collect the head of any such fish for coded-wire tag sampling. If CDFW requests the head, the entrant must comply immediately and fully — cooperation with CDFW is a condition of participation, no Tournament rule delays or conditions compliance, and CDFW personnel always have the final say. Scoring works as follows:

• (a) Call the Director immediately. Any participant who lands a potential leaderboard fish should call the Tournament Director at (916) 380-7464 right away. The Director or weigh master will conduct an official weigh and measurement — at the weigh station if the participant can present the fish there, or on the spot with the certified mobile scale and measuring board — before any head collection occurs, whenever CDFW's timing allows.
• (b) If CDFW personnel are present, the participant may respectfully ask for a brief opportunity to have the fish officially weighed and measured first. The decision belongs entirely to the CDFW personnel, and a participant must never argue, delay, or condition compliance on it.
• (c) If the head is collected before an official weigh (at the station or by the Director's certified mobile equipment), the fish is not eligible for any pool or leaderboard position. No field video, participant scale reading, or other substitute is accepted for scoring. Official weights and lengths come only from certified Tournament equipment.
• (d) Falsely claiming a CDFW head collection, or interference with CDFW sampling, is a disqualification under Section 7.1.

Section 7 — Conduct, Compliance, Disqualification, and Protests

7.1 Grounds for disqualification include: violation of these Rules or of any law or CDFW regulation; fishing outside Tournament waters; presenting an ineligible, altered, or imported fish; refusal of verification; providing false registration information; repeat violations of Section 3.6 after warning; and unsportsmanlike or unsafe conduct at the weigh station or any Tournament event.

7.2 Disqualification decisions are made by the Tournament Director after review of station records and verification results. The Tournament Director's decisions on standings, verification, and disqualification are final.

7.3 Protests. Any protest of a weigh-in, verification result, or standing must be delivered in writing at the station or by email to hunt@blacktailheaven.com to the Tournament Director within 24 hours of the posting of the result protested, and in every case before final awards are made. The Tournament Director decides protests after review of station records and verification results; decisions under this Section are final.

7.4 Automatic disqualification — enforcement citations. Any participant — including every angler named on a Team entry and every Day-Pass holder — who is cited by CDFW or any other wildlife or boating enforcement authority, for any offense, at any time during the Tournament (August 15 through September 15, 2026) is automatically disqualified from the Tournament, without refund. A citation to any angler on a Team entry disqualifies the entire entry. All standings and prizes of a disqualified entry are forfeited. Every participant must report any citation received during the Tournament to the Tournament Director within 24 hours; failure to report is an independent ground for disqualification. This Section applies upon issuance of the citation and regardless of its later outcome in court — the Tournament applies its own integrity standard, and the Director's determination under this Section is final.

Section 8 — Prize Administration and Taxes

8.1 Prizes are paid by the Organizer within 14 days after post-Tournament verification is complete. As a condition of payment, every cash winner must complete IRS Form W-9 and either California Form 590 (California residents) or applicable nonresident withholding documentation. The Organizer withholds and remits as required by law, including 24% federal backup withholding where a valid taxpayer identification number is not provided, and California withholding on payments to nonresidents to the extent required by law (currently 7% once total payments to a payee exceed $1,500 in the calendar year). The Organizer issues information returns (including IRS Form 1099) as required by law. Winners are solely responsible for all taxes on their prizes, including the fair market value of any merchandise or bonus award, and should consult their own tax advisors.

8.2 Prizes attributable to minors on Team entries are paid to the executing parent or legal guardian.

8.3 Winners must execute a winner's declaration of eligibility and compliance, on the Organizer's form, before payment.

Section 9 — Waiver, Media Release, Rules Changes, and General Terms

9.1 ASSUMPTION OF RISK, WAIVER, AND RELEASE — READ CAREFULLY. Fishing, boating, and attendance at Tournament locations involve inherent risks, including without limitation: swift current and cold water; drowning; flows that change quickly with upstream releases; unstable banks; slips and falls; collisions and boating hazards; weather; wildlife; hooks, knives, and equipment; and conditions at the weigh station. Each participant voluntarily accepts and assumes all such risks, known and unknown. To the fullest extent permitted by law, each participant, for themselves and their heirs and representatives, releases, waives, and discharges the Organizer, its owners, members, employees, volunteers, sponsors, the weigh-station site owner, and Tournament officials (the "Released Parties") from any and all claims — including claims arising from the ordinary negligence of a Released Party — arising out of or related to participation in or attendance at the Tournament; agrees not to sue the Released Parties on any released claim; agrees to indemnify the Released Parties against claims brought by or through the participant; and agrees to cooperate with the Organizer's insurers in connection with any incident. Nothing in this Section waives claims that cannot lawfully be waived, including claims for gross negligence or willful misconduct. For a minor, this Section is accepted on the minor's behalf by the parent or legal guardian executing the Guardian Addendum. If any part of this Section is held unenforceable, the remainder continues in effect.

9.2 Media release. Entrants grant the Organizer the right to use their name, likeness, images, and catch records in Tournament coverage, archives, and promotion, in any media now known or later developed, worldwide, without royalty or additional compensation.

9.3 Rules freeze. Upon publication at registration launch, these Rules will not change during the Tournament except as required by law, CDFW directive, or emergency closure (Section 3.4).

9.4 These Rules are governed by California law. The exclusive venue for any dispute is the Superior Court of California, County of Butte. If any provision is held unenforceable, the remainder continues in effect.

9.5 The winners list and these Rules are available on written request to hunt@blacktailheaven.com for 60 days after the final scale close.

9.6 Privacy. Registration data is used to operate the Tournament (registration records, pass rosters, verification, and payout records). Marketing use occurs only under the separate marketing consent.

Adopted as the Official and Final Rules of the 2026 King of the Feather, July 27, 2026. Revisions 1–3 add Sections 3.7 and 6.5 (regulatory references and the CDFW head-collection protocol) following coordination with CDFW, relocate the weigh station to private property at 887 Vance Avenue, Biggs, and add § 7.4 (automatic disqualification upon enforcement citation). Revision 5 removes the Captain's Belt program entirely; guiding remains free and open to all guides. Companion forms: Registration & Consent Form and Guardian Addendum. Administrative items maintained by the Organizer outside these Rules: boundary map publication at BlackTailHeaven.com and the signed site-permission letter for the weigh-station property.