Tournament series details, rules and requirements.
Tournament location and dates:
See below the date and location for our upcoming events for 2025.
09/02/2025.
Hawkesbury River NSW
Round Sponsors:
-Atomic prize packs.
-Tonic polarised eyewear big bream.
-Fishin.com.au kilo for cash prize.
Event Location:
Rowland reserve.
Briefing time:
6:15am
Pre fish ban:
From midnight 02/02/2025
Pre fish day:
First light 08/02/2025
Boat Ramp location:
Rowland reserve
Session times:
7am-2pm
No go zones:
Sea ward side of Barrenjoey lighthouse and box head.
All NO fishing and NO vessel zones.
-Royal motor yacht club.
-Royal Prince Alfred yacht club.
-West of the wisemans Ferry Ferry.
-Akuna bay marina.
-Bobbin head marina.
09/03/2025.
Botany Bay NSW
Round Sponsors:
-Atomic prize packs.
-Tonic polarised eyewear big bream.
-Fishin.com.au kilo for cash prize.
Event location:
Depena Reserve.
Briefing time:
6:15am
Pre fish ban:
From midnight 02/03/2025.
Pre fish day:
First light 8/03/2025
Boat ramp locations:
Sylvania waters.
Tom uglys bridge.
Session Times:
7am-2pm
No go zones:
-Towra point sanctuary zone.
-Seaward side bare island fort and the steps Kurnell
-All NO fishing and NO vessel zones.
-All no vessel zones around airport run ways.
-Sydney south fisheries marina.
-North of the A36 bridge.
-Alexandria Canal.
12-13/04/2025
Sussex Inlet and St Georges Basin NSW.
Round Sponsors:
-Atomic prize packs.
-Zip Baits monster mover.
-Tonic Polarised eyewear big bream.
-Fishin.com.au Kilo for cash prize.
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Event location:
Lions Park Sussex Inlet.
Briefing time:
6:15am
Pre fish ban:
From Midnight 06/04/2025.
Pre fish day:
First light 11/04/2025
Boat Ramp Locations:
Lions Park Sussex inlet
Nielsons Road Sussex inlet
Basin View
Sanctuary Point
Session times:
7am-2pm
No go zones:
-Seaward side of Sussex inlet bar.
-All no fishing and no Vessel zones.
15/06/202.
Lake Macquarie NSW.
Round Sponsors.
-Atomic prize packs.
-Tonic polarised eyewear big bream.
-Fishin.com.au kilo for cash prize.
Event Location:
Dobell Park/Kent Road reserve Wangi Wangi.
Briefing time:
6:15am
Pre fish ban:
From Midnight 08/06/2025.
Pre fish day:
First light 14/06/2025
Boat ramp locations:
Wangi Point
Dobell Park
Kent road
Session times:
7am-2pm.
No go zones:
-All no vessel and no fishing zones.
-Swansea bridge.
-Seaward side of fields reserve and heads beach rock bar.
-Lake Macquarie yacht club
-Marks point arena
-Power station water outlets.
Samurai Rods Round.
Forster NSW.
12-13/07/2025.
Round Sponsors:
-Samurai rods.
-Zip baits monster mover.
-Tonic polarised eyewear big bream.
-Fishin.com.au kilo for cash prize.
Event Location:
Forster Boat harbour.
Briefing time:
6:15am
Pre fish ban:
From midnight 06/07/2025.
Pre Fish day:
first light 11/07/2025.
Boat ramp locations:
Forster Boat Harbour
Session times:
7am-2pm
No go zones:
-All no fishing and no vessel zones.
-Seaward side of the Forster Breakwall.
14/09/2025.
Sydney Harbour NSW.
Round Sponsors:
-Atomic prize packs.
-Tonic Polarised eyewear- Big bream.
-Fishin.com.au kilo for cash prize.
Event Location:
Bayview Park hen and Chicken Bay
Briefing time:
6:15am
Pre fish ban:
From midnight 07/09/2025
Pre fish day:
13/09/2025
Boat ramp locations:
Bay View Park.
Taplin Park.
Kissing Point.
Session times:
7am-2pm.
No go zones:
-Roseville marina.
-Castlecrag marina
-Northbridge marina
-Spit bridge marinas.
-Exclusion zones around HMAS penguin
-North harbour marina.
-Manly wharf
-Seaward side of quarantine head and hornby lighthouse.
-Ripples chowder bay marina.
-Sydney Harbour surf club marina.
-South of the opera house and Hickson road reserve
-Potts point naval waters.
-Cruising yacht club of Australia
-South of Barangaroo wharf and Pyrmont bay boardwalk.
-White bay.
-HMAS Waterhen.
-South of peninsula park and mill park.
-Silverwater bridge.
-Cabarita point Marina.
-Hen and Chicken Bay marina
-Gladesville Marina.
-Spectacle Island exclusion zones
-Pulpit marina
25-26/10/2025.
Grand Final.
Day 1&2.
Botany bay.
Event location:
Depena Reserve.
Briefing time:
6:15am
Pre fish ban:
From midnight 17/10/2025.
Pre fish day:
First light 24/10/2025
Boat ramp locations:
Sylvania waters.
Tom Uglys bridge.
Session Times:
7am-2pm
No go zones:
-Towra point sanctuary zone.
-All no fishing zones and no vessel zones.
-Seaward side bare island fort and the steps Kurnell
-All no fishing and no vessel zones.
-All no vessel zones around airport run ways.
-Sydney south Fisheries marina.
-North of the A36 Highway bridge.
-Alexandria Canal.
NSW Tournament Series rules and entry requirements.
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Event Entry Requirements: All competitors must complete and sign an event entry form, which includes a Liability Waiver that must be read, understood, and acknowledged as part of the entry submission process.
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Entry Order: Entries into the bream tournaments will be processed in the order of payment received into the NSW Tournament Series bank account. When transferring funds, a reference with your team name must be included.
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Team Entries: When submitting a team entry, a third angler must be nominated in case your co-angler is unable to participate. The third angler can replace the co-angler if necessary. If both anglers are unavailable you can fish by yourself.
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Submission Deadline: All entry forms must be emailed by midnight on the Tuesday prior to the event. Failure to meet this deadline will result in a “start last” penalty.
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Entry Cancellations: Cancellations made 24 hours or more before the tournament will either receive a refund or the option to transfer the entry to the next round. A new entry form must be submitted within the specified time frame. Cancellations on the pre-fish day will result in the forfeiture of the entry fee, regardless of the reason.
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Minimum Age: Competitors must be at least 16 years of age at the time of the tournament, unless accompanied by a parent or guardian.
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Pre-Fish Ban: A pre-fish ban will be enforced for all competitors on the competition waterways, starting at midnight on the Sunday one weeks prior to the event. For example, if the competition is on Saturday, the 16th and Sunday, the 17th, the pre-fish ban will begin at midnight on Sunday, the 10th.
Bream Event details.
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Bream Event Format: Bream events are contested by teams consisting of an Angler and a Co-Angler.
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Prizes: Anglers and Co-Anglers will compete for cash prizes and awards. All competitors will also be in the running for the Big Bream prize.
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Boat Requirements: Boats must be at least 3.7 meters in length and equipped with a minimum of 30 horsepower. Boats must be capable of reaching planing speed with a full live well, two anglers, and their gear.
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Outboard Horsepower Limits: The horsepower of all outboard engines must not exceed the maximum rating specified on the boat's compliance plate.
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Safety Requirements for Boat Drivers: Boat drivers are required to wear the engine’s safety lanyard strap, which connects to the kill switch, at all times while the engine is running. The lanyard strap must be checked prior to the tournament's start. Additionally, all competitors must wear a Level 100 PFD while the boat is planing. All life jackets must comply with the standards set by the relevant waterway authority.
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Live Well Requirements: All competitor boats must have a live well with a minimum capacity of 60 liters, featuring an aerator and/or recirculating pump that are in proper working order. The live well must have a lid and be deemed suitable upon inspection by an NTS tournament director. NTS reserves the right to disqualify competitors if the live well does not meet these standards.
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Insurance and Licensing: Boat owners must ensure that an NTS tournament director has received a copy of their current boat insurance policy and boat driver's license before competing. This information can be submitted via email or text message.
Sportsmanship.
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Sportsmanship and Conduct: All contestants are expected to uphold high standards of sportsmanship. Failure to comply with these standards may result in the following:
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Rule Violations: Failure to adhere to any of the rules set for NTS events.
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Suspensions or Bans: Suspension or ban from any tournament or fishing organisation.
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Unacceptable Behaviour: Any conduct, whether in person or through social media, that reflects negatively on the New South Wales Tournament Series or undermines its efforts to promote safety, sportsmanship, and fair competition.
Briefing.
• Inspection and Briefing: Every day, starting at 6 am, all competitors must report to the pre-arranged location for boat inspections by an NTS official. The inspection will include checks of life jackets, safety lanyards, and live wells. Key tags will be provided to teams as the inspection process is completed. A briefing will follow, covering session times, exclusion zones, fish length requirements, and bag limits.
Day 1 & Day 2 fishing requirements.
•Boats will leave one at a time with a 5 second interval between each boat until all boats have left. Competitors numbers will be called and your boat will idle past the start line and a further 100 metres in either direction before planing the boat.
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•Boats will leave one at a time with a 5 second interval between each boat until all boats have left. Competitors numbers will be called and your boat will idle past the start line and a further 100 metres in either direction before planing the boat.
•For the events that are Two day tournaments your start number is your placing after day one weights have been measured and verified. For E.g. the highest weight after day one starts first and second highest weight starts second and so on and so on.
Fishing rules to follow.
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Right to Compete: NTS reserves the right to prevent anglers from competing until all required permits and licenses have been obtained.
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Fishing Tackle: Competitors are allowed to use any legal fishing line class with any legal lure or fly-fishing tackle.
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Trolling: Trolling is strictly prohibited. Competitors must rely on a wind/retrieve method with lures or flies to produce action.
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Cheating Penalties: NTS reserves the right to disqualify competitors or impose a penalty of up to 1000 grams if they are found cheating in any form, including trolling, fishing in restricted areas, exceeding speed limits in speed-restricted zones, or using multiple rods at once.
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Eligible Fish: Only live bream (Yellowfin Bream or Black Bream) may be weighed.
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Competition Times: Fish must be caught during the designated competition times.
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Fish Handling and Penalties: Fish must be kept alive in live wells and released in good health. If a fish does not swim away upon release, a penalty will be applied. The penalty is calculated by multiplying the average weight of the 5 fish by two. For example, if the average weight of a 5-fish bag is 3.5 kg (700g per fish), the penalty would be 700g × 2 = 1.4 kg deducted from the total weight.
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Boat Rules: Anglers are not permitted to leave the boat to fight or land fish. If this rule is violated, the angler’s weight will be disqualified.
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Emergencies: In the event of a medical or vessel emergency, NTS reserves the right to decide whether early or late weighing in is permitted.
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Complaints Procedure: Any complaints regarding rule violations by other anglers must be reported to an NTS official on-site, before the presentation following the weigh-in. If an angler is found to be in violation of the rules, disqualification or weight penalties may apply.
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Rule Clarifications: Competitors seeking clarification of the rules should speak to an NTS official prior to the start of the tournament.
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Final Decisions: The decisions of the NTS tournament directors are final and binding regarding all rulings and matters.
Weigh-in procedure.
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Session Completion and Penalties: Anglers must return the key to its designated spot on the board before the scheduled end of the session. If you arrive after the session time has ended, a penalty of 50 grams per minute will be applied. If you are 20 minutes or more late, a 1000-gram penalty will be imposed, and all fish will be disqualified from being weighed.
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Session Time Information: Session times will be posted online, sent via text message, and displayed on the notice board at the weigh-in station.
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Bag Limit and Fish Size: The bag limit is 5 fish, all measuring over 26 cm in tip length for fish caught in NSW. For fish caught in Victoria, the minimum length is 29 cm in tip length.
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Weighing of Fish: The NTS weigh master has the right to inspect and remove any undersized fish from the angler’s catch before the fish are weighed.
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Big Bream Notification: If you catch a particularly large bream, you must inform the NTS weigh master so that this fish can be weighed separately.
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Returning Early: You are allowed to return to the event site early, but you cannot weigh in any fish until the official session time has concluded.
Code of Conduct.
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Communication During Fishing: During fishing hours, mobile phones and other communication devices must not be used to contact fellow anglers, except in emergencies or to communicate with NTS tournament directors.
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Personal Flotation Devices (PFD): All boaters and co-anglers are required to bring their own PFD to the tournament. The PFD must be regularly serviced and in good condition. Anglers are responsible for ensuring that their life jackets meet safety standards and are compliant with regulations.
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Boat Distancing: Boats must maintain a distance of at least 50 meters from each other. If a boater is fishing near a wall and another boater wishes to fish the same area, the second boater must fish at least 50 meters behind the first. If they prefer to fish in front, they must maintain a 500-meter gap. Failure to follow this rule will result in time or weight penalties.
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Assisting Fellow Anglers: If another competitor is in distress, you are expected to offer assistance, provided it does not put you in immediate danger.
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Substance Use: The use of alcohol, non-prescribed mind-altering drugs, or recreational drugs is prohibited before and during fishing hours. If NTS tournament directors suspect you are under the influence, they have the authority to disqualify you or impose time penalties on your team.