Rules & Regulations | OL WalleyeFest Derby

2025 WALLEYEFEST ONEIDA LAKE DERBY OFFICIAL RULES & REGULATIONS

Eligibility:
1. EVERYONE in your boat, fishing party, group or otherwise, must be entered into the DERBY.
  - Having a person with you during the 36 hour duration who is not entered will result in immediate disqualification from the event.
  - Anglers entered in individual leaderboards may share a boat with multiple Anglers as long as all occupants are entered in the event.
  - Anglers fishing in individual leaderboards may fish from shore or boat.
2. RULES are for individual Leaderboards
3. All competitors must download and onboard in the derby.fish app prior to entering any event.
4. All competitors under age 18 must be supervised at all times during competition by either a parent or guardian, or an adult designee.
5. By registering for this event, you agree that you have read, understand, and agree to abide by the terms, conditions, and provisions set forth by WalleyeFest Oneida Lake Fishing Derby and event specific rules on this rules page. WalleyeFest Oneida Lake Fishing Derby terms and conditions are authoritative, taking precedence over all information presented in social media, oral presentations, and other information sources.
6. Any Angler under the age of 18 IS NOT eligible to compete in Adult leaderboards. Anyone under 18 years of age may ONLY compete in the youth divisions.
7. Cash prize winners are solely responsible for all applicable Federal, State, and Local taxes.
8. Winning a prize constitutes permission for WalleyeFest LLC. and it's sponsors to use the prize winner’s Name, address (city & state only) voice, and/or likeness for purposes of advertising, promotion, and publicity for this WalleyeFest Oneida Lake fishing derby without further compensation, unless prohibited by law.
RULES:
1. Entry ticket – Each participant may only purchase 1 adult ticket under their account. Adults may purchase youth tickets for persons 17 years and younger. Tickets must be purchased before 11:59 PM the day before the derby starts in the DERBY.FISH app.
2. All prize winners are subject to a truth verification test. If any discrepancy is found, it will be an immediate disqualification from the current derby, and lifetime ban from all future Walleyefest Derby’s. Failure to comply with taking a truth verification test will result in forfeiture of award and entrant will be disqualified and banned from all future WalleyeFest derbies.
3. All walleyes must be caught after 12:01 AM the day the derby starts in Oneida Lake or its tributaries/estuaries with boundaries as follows:
  - Oneida River upstream from Caughdenoy Dam
  - Oneida River cut to Lock 23
  - Chittenango Creek 1 mile upstream from Route 31 bridge
  - Fish Creek downstream from East and West branch conversion
  - East barge canal 1 mile east of Fish Creek
  - Scriba Creek upstream from State Route 49 bridge to the Dam
  - All other creeks or streams within 1 mile upstream from Oneida Lake
  - The derby officially closes exactly at 11:59 on Sunday.
4. All walleyes must be ALIVE at time of submission into the derby.fish app. The release video must clearly show the fish swimming away after being released. FAILURE TO DO SO WILL RESULT IN DISQUALIFICATION OF THE FISH.
5. All fish are measured virtually in the APP on a commercially made bump board with QUARTER INCH (.25) declination ONLY (a bump board has a right angle on the ZERO end that the fish's nose must BUMP against visibly in the picture)(nothing homemade may be used). All fish are measured to the NEAREST quarter of an inch (.25). If the tail breaks a (.25) Quarter inch line but doesn’t make it to the next quarter inch line, then the fish's length is rounded up to the next longest quarter inch increment.
  - BUMP BOARD must be horizontal on a flat surface.
  - BUMP BOARD must be orientated left to right. with the nose of the fish touching the bump board, mouth closed, and the left side of the body facing up.
  - Tail pinched together, and length at the longest part of tail clearly visible in photo submission.
  - There can be one (1) hand on fish at the wrist of the tail to pinch it together.
6. Size contest: Prize money for the main leader board #1 is $20,000 in cash & prizes paying 25 places guaranteed based on 1000 participating anglers. All optional leader boards payout 80% of ticket sales in CASH & PRIZES for each individual Optional Leader Board (OLB). The number of places is based on number of entrants into each individual optional leader board. The payout chart is on the leader board menu on the home page of the website.
  - The official derby leader board will be maintained on the app until 11:00 am, at 11:59 am Sunday, the leader boards will be locked and no other entries will be accepted.
  - All walleyes will be measured until the derby main leader board has 25 entries. Optional Leader boards for Walleye, and Yellow Perch will all be measured until each optional leader board has the number of places each optional leader board will payout filled in. Walleyes must be the minimum NYS angling length of 15” or longer to enter. Yellow Perch must be a minimum of 9” to be entered.
  - The official cutoff size for the main leader board #1 is determined by the 25th position on the main leader board. All optional leader boards cutoff size is determined by the last place fish that the individual leader board pays out.
  - Entrants can check the official leader board on the app until 11:00 am Sunday to ensure their qualified walleye is listed. Report any errors to headquarters officials prior to 12:00 pm Sunday. No changes to the official derby leader board will be accepted after 12:00 PM Sunday, unless by disqualification.
  - An entrant may enter a larger walleye than previously entered at any time during the derby. The Anglers largest walleye will automatically populate the main leader board and any Optional Leader Boards that Angler is entered in if it qualifies. Anglers can win in multiple leader boards that they are entered in.
  - Winners are determined by LENGTH to the NEAREST quarter (.25) of an inch. In the event of a tie, the tie breaker is the time the fish was entered in the App. Contest results are not final until 12:30 PM Sunday.
7. Tagged fish: The 2025 Oneida Lake Walleyefest Derby has tagged and released 20 walleyes into Oneida Lake. The tag numbers will be disclosed on Saturday morning at 12:00 in the App. Claimants must present a valid fish submission in the app clearly showing the tag in the bump shot. The Angler will then remove the tag as part of the release video and present to a derby official at the Derby HQ at Brewerton Speedway.
8. Entrants will have the ability to win a prize from any leader board they have entered. Entrants can only win one prize per leader board. Entrants can win prizes from the Main Leader Board (MLB), any Optional Leader Board (OLB) they enter, and the tagged fish prize.
9. Walleyefest Derby Officials will review all photographic entries in the App, and accept or decline each fish. ALL prize winners are SUBJECT to a random truth verification test. Failure to consent will result in immediate disqualification and forfeiture of all prizes and a lifetime ban from any further WalleyeFest sanctioned derbies.
10. Decisions of the Oneida Lake Walleyefest Derby Officials will be final. Official protest must be registered with a WalleyeFest official no later than 12:00 pm on Sunday. Cost of filing the protest is $100. If your protest is upheld the money will be returned to you along with a $250 reward from WalleyeFest LLC. If the protest is without merit the fee is non-refundable. This rule is in place to eliminate unfounded accusations, and to encourage Anglers to speak up if they know and can prove cheating has or is taking place.
11. WalleyeFest Oneida Lake fishing derby may prohibit an entrant from participating in the WalleyeFest Oneida lake fishing derby, or winning a prize if, in its sole discretion, it determines that said entrant is attempting to undermine the legitimate operation of the WalleyeFest Oneida Lake fishing derby by cheating, deception, or other unfair Angling practices, (including fish not caught during the 36 hour derby, or fish caught outside the stated derby boundaries), or intending to annoy, abuse, threaten, or harass any other entrant or derby employees or officials.
CAUTION:
1. Any attempt by a person to deliberately damage or undermine the legitimate operation of the WalleyeFest Oneida Lake fishing derby may be in violation of criminal or civil laws and should such an attempt be made, WalleyeFest LLC. reserves the right to seek remedies and damages (including Attorney fees) from any such person to the fullest extent of the law, including criminal prosecution. WalleyeFest LLC's failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of these provisions.
NO LIABILITY"
1. By participating, each entrant and the prize winner agrees to release, discharge, indemnify, and hold harmless WalleyeFest LLC and WalleyeFest Oneida Lake fishing derby entities, and sponsors, and each of their respective officers, directors, employees, representatives and agents (collectively the "released parties") from and against any claims made by an entrant, prize winner, or any third parties, related in any way to the operation of the WalleyeFest Oneida Lake fishing derby as well as other claims, damages, or liability due to any injuries, damages or losses to any person (including death) or property of any kind resulting in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from receipt, acceptance, possession, misuse or use of the prize or participation in this WalleyeFest Oneida Lake fishing derby.