Image

The Hunt for Reds in October

2026 Tournament Rules

  1. The Louisiana Invitational will be governed by the fly-fishing rules of the International Game Fish Association and these rules. A tournament judge will be named at the initial meeting.
  2. The tournament is limited to 25 boats for 2026. Anglers may fish with friends or with a guide, either option is welcome.
  3. Entries including fees are due by August 1st.
  4. Anglers must be licensed to fish in Louisiana.
  5. Tippet shall be 6kg or 12 pound test as stated by the manufacturer. Leaders within IGFA rules.
  6. Net or boga-grip style lip grabber may be used.
  7. All boats can leave from Cypress Cove marina at 0700 or later. Fishing can begin immediately. Lines out - fishing stops at 1500. Fish hooked before 1500 may be measured when caught, after 1500. Boats must be in Cypress Cove marina and scorecards turned in by 1700 on Saturday and 1600 on Sunday.
  8. All boats must be traditional flats skiffs 21 feet and under. No platform may be more than 4 feet higher than the deck, no ladders. Trolling motors, fish finders, side scanners and drones may not be used. Boats must be legal according to the US Coast Guard and Louisiana wildlife and fisheries.
  9. Any form of chumming, fishing in chum or dump holes, or fishing pet fish - is not permitted.
  10. IGFA rules and traditional flats boat fly fishing practices will govern anything not specifically mentioned in these rules. If you have a question – ask.
REGISTER

Scoring

Fish will be measured on the skiff on a measuring tape provided by the tournament and photographed on the tape. A token will be provided each morning and must be included in the picture. Picture must show nose of the fish against the stop, the token, and the tail on the tape.
Measurement is nose to shortest, middle portion of tail in accordance with IGFA rules. We need to correctly measure and document so when one of us catches a world record it counts!

The time the fish was measured and the length will be recorded on a provided scorecard. Fish clearly shorter than two you’ve measured earlier should be released quickly.

Overall scoring will be based on total length of two longest fish caught over the two days. Longest single fish will also be recognized. Number of awards will be determined by the number of participants.

Ties for the two fish overall category will go to the angler with the longest individual fish. If the longest fish are the same length, the secondary tie breaker will go to the longest fish caught first based on time. In case of a tie for the longest individual fish, the fish measured first based on time will win.

The scorekeeper will check pictures of any winning fish and may use any picture for tournament promotion in the future. Recognition will be clearly attributed to angler and guide.

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is required of every boat. Crowding or cutting off other anglers will not be tolerated by the tournament. This includes boats not fishing this tournament, everyone has a right to these fish. If someone is in your spot before you, tournament team, solo weekend angler or a guided bay boat, please give them lots of space. Issues in this regard should be directed to the tournament organizers and event judge.