Event Rules | Flathead Australian Open

Last updated 24th June 2026

Entry Fees

• $350 per team

Entry Process

• Anglers should use the electronic entry form found on the www.abt.org.au website.
• Start order on Day 1 will be in order of entry. Start order on Day 2 will be a chasing start.
  

Pre-entry Requirements

• All boats competing must provide evidence of insurance. This can be supplied with entry via the webform or email to admin@bream.com.au.
  

Boat Requirements

• Boats must be at least 3.7m in length, 20hp minimum, be carrying all the necessary safety gear for the lake.
• Boats must not exceed the maximum recommended HP on the Australian Builders’ Plate.
• Boat drivers must wear their safety/kill switch at all times the boat is on the plane.
• All team members are to wear their PFD (Level 100) while the boat is planing. All jackets worn must comply with the required standards as dictated by the relevant waterway authority.
  

Practice Fishing

• There is a practice ban for the Monday to Thursday directly before the event. This means that competitors can’t be out on the water (even if not fishing) on these four days.
  

Event Briefing and Registration

• See the Shimano Flathead Australian Open Event Info Sheet for times and locations.
• At least one member from each team will be required to attend the event registration within the listed registration window. Failure to do so will result in the team starting last on the first session of the event.
• At least one member from each team is required to have completed the online briefing and quick prior to attending registration. Completion of the online briefing and quiz is required to receive the team kit including event brag mat required for the tournament.
  

Boat Checkout

• Before the session begins, boats will be checked for a functioning safety switch, PFDs and empty livewells. At this time, teams are issues their key-tag.
• ABT reserves the right to disallow unsafe boats to compete.
• Start order is in order of draw (Day 1) and a chasing start (Day 2) where the leading team leaves first.
  

Start Process

• The start boat will release boats, one at a time, in numerical order of the key tags.  When a team’s start number is called, the boat driver must demonstrate the kill switch is attached and working.  
• Once released, boats are to proceed safely to their chosen start location abiding by waterway rules and with due care and attention to other competitors and other waterway users.
• Any speed restrictions, non-boating and non-fishing areas must be recognised. Failure to do so will result in disqualification from the session, disqualification from the event or a weight penalty as deemed appropriate by the Tournament Director.
  

Fishing Process

• Anglers must fish within the existing NSW Fisheries guidelines and be in possession of a current Recreational Fishing Fee receipt or licence where required.
• Anglers may fish any line class.
• Lure and fly casting only is permitted.
• Trolling is not permitted. Trolling is using the powered momentum of the boat to give the lure action. Casting along a stretch of bank using an electric motor is fine, as is using your electric motor to keep position; don’t, however, keep your lines in the water when changing positions. ABT reserves the right to disqualify anglers deemed to be purposely trolling in defiance of the spirit of ABT events.
• Only one rod per angler is to be used at any time. This includes when one rod is snagged and the angler picks up another rod to fish with. The angler will be considered to be using two rods and may face disqualification. Go get it off, bust it off and get the snagged lure out of the water.
• Fishing is not permitted in any defined non-boating or non-fishing areas. ABT will attempt to outline all of these in the briefing, however, failure to outline at a briefing is not a reason to fish any no-fishing areas.
• The lure and line is considered an extension of the boat, so there is to be no casting into no fishing or no boating areas.
• Only knotless nets are to be used for landing fish – preferably Environet-style. Maximum mesh size allowable is 15mm.
• All pairs of anglers are to stay together at all times.
• Fishing is to be conducted from within the boat. Anglers must remain in contact with the boat at all times while fishing – including while fighting and landing the fish.
• In the case of physical or medical emergencies, teams must call the Tournament Director as soon as possible and ABT officials will judge the acceptability of catches.  Please note Emergency Protocols in the next section. 
• Any complaints about behaviour or rule breaches must be addressed with the Tournament Director within 30 minutes of the end of the session. 
• Penalties for rule and conduct violations may include the following:
  • Disqualification of fish from your limit, starting at the largest.
  • Disqualification of entire catch for the day
  • Disqualification from the tournament
  • Disqualification from future ABT events
• Any concerns regarding clarification of rules can be discussed with ABT officials BEFORE the start of the tournament.

Rule enquiries to ABT during business hours on 0427 326 464.

Emergency Response Protocol for Anglers

• Non threatening minor medical (eg Hook in Hand) – Anglers make their way to phone service / boat ramp to contact the Tournament Director.
• Non-life threatening serious medical (eg Broken Bone) – Where possible anglers to make their way to phone service / boat ramp to contact the Tournament Director .  If your unable to move your boat, flag down a fellow competitor / boat who can make contact with the Tournament Director on your behalf.
• Life threatening medical (eg Heart Attack/Not Breathing) – Emergency services to be called ASAP either by anglers or Tournament Director.  An alert raised either by the angler’s team mate or another team as first responders.  One person to stay with the patient if phone service is not available where the boat is positioned.  If unable to get the patient to the ramp, a boat will be waiting to take emergency services to the patient on the water.
  

ABT Tournament Series App

• At the briefing, teams will be given a folder to record a backup of their results, but all results will be submitted by the ABT Tournament Series App.
• Anglers should download or update their app from the Apple App Store or from Google Play and go through the registration process.
• You need to make sure that you set-up and “Enter” the event (in-app) before the briefing.
• When you land a flathead, take one photo on the supplied Shimano Brag Mat.
• Take a photo from directly above the flathead on the ruler. The nose must be level with the end of the mat and the pic must be in focus. Re-take the photo if it doesn’t meet these criteria. This is the photo that we will use to validate your length recorded. If we can’t see both ends of the fish on the ruler, we can only award length that we can see.
• If you are unable to produce a photo of each individual fish you wish to register as part of your bag we are unable to record the individual fish.
• Take an interesting glory-photo. It is mandatory for teams to submit glory photos of the catches in their final bag. This may be with the lure the fish was caught on, a grip-and-grin or anything else that helps you express the fun of flathead fishing. This will be used in the event reporting and social media feed. Penalties will apply for not supplying any glory pics.
• You may take smartphone pics and then import them into the app, however we strongly suggest that you immediately enter the data into the app after release – even in “Offline” mode. Anglers  find it difficult to enter the data en-masse at the end of the session.
• Note that lengths are to be entered in millimetres (eg: 86cm flathead = 860mm) and lengths are to be rounded up to the nearest centimetre.
  

Scoring Process

• Weights will be allocated with the ABT Flathead Length/Weight Curve. The Table is available on a tab on the website page.
• The heaviest 5 flathead per team will be added to make the total team weight for the session.
• Ties will be settled by biggest fish and subsequent biggest fish. In the case of a tie for a limit or biggest flathead, ties will be settled by the time of capture. The earlier fish wins.
  

Finish Process

• At the end of the session, anglers are to return their key-tag to the tag board at the starting location. This is to be done BEFORE the allotted finish time. Teams will be penalised at the rate of 2kg per minute that they are late. After 15 minutes, the Team catch is disqualified and a -10kg penalty is applied.
• Anglers are to return their daily scoresheets to the crate provided adjacent to the tag board.
• Anglers will have 60 minutes from the conclusion of the session to check in with the designated tournament official and confirm all catches are reflected accurately on the scoreboard.
  

Boat Break Down During a Session

• A boat break down (eg. flat battery/running out of fuel/damaged propeller/engine not starting) during a session is not usually not considered an emergency situation and late penalties will apply. 
• Assisting a broken down boat during a tournament session does not absolve the assisting boat from late penalties.   Assisting boats may ensure the broken down boat is not in any danger, conclude the session by getting their key tag in on time and then return to the broken down boat to tow/assist them back to the ramp.
• Teams experiencing a boat break down should contact the Tournament Director to advise of the situation.
  

Code of Conduct

• During fishing sessions, no mobile phones or marine radios should be used, except in the case of emergency or to communicate with ABT staff and to use the ABT app.
• ABT sportsmanship would dictate that care of fellow competitors is of utmost importance. If any team or boat is in real distress it is expected that other competitors will assist. Remember that safety is more important than your session’s catch.  
• ABT will encourage Waterways/Fisheries Officers to attend all ABT tournaments to police safety regulations, registration, relevant boating legislation as well as alcohol and drug laws.
• Anglers are not to be under the influence of alcohol or drugs during tournament briefings and competition hours. ABT reserves the right to request a breath alcohol test prior to the start, or at the completion of a fishing session.
• It is expected that teams shall, at all times, conduct themselves in a manner becoming a professional sportsperson. Behaviour that will reflect unfavourably on ABT, its members, representatives and sponsors will subject the angler’s catch to penalty or disqualification.