Scoring & measurement

FishTourney's scoring system is built around two things: what you measure and which species count. Get those two decisions right and the leaderboard runs itself.

Measurement methods

Each division uses one measurement type — length (inches) or weight (lbs). You choose the method when building divisions in Step 4 of the wizard. The measurement type determines what unit anglers enter when logging a catch and what the leaderboard ranks.

• Length (inches) — the default. Length is measured from the tip of the closed mouth to the end of the pinched tail. Use length when:
  • You want a catch-and-release format where fish are not held out of water long enough to weigh.
  • You are running a virtual or multi-day challenge where anglers fish alone.
  • Your target species is commonly measured by length in your region (e.g. walleye, pike).
• Weight (lbs) — use weight when:
  • You have a weigh-in station and anglers bring fish to the dock.
  • Your target species is conventionally scored by weight in your region (e.g. largemouth bass tournaments).
  • Precise differentiation between close catches matters, since weight is more granular than length at the upper end.

Mixing methods across divisions is supported. For example, you can run a Bass division scored by weight and a Pike division scored by length in the same tournament.

Species filtering

When you create a division, you select exactly which species belong to it. Only those species appear as options when anglers log catches in that division. This keeps the leaderboard honest: an angler cannot accidentally (or intentionally) submit a catfish in a bass-only division.

The species library is sourced from a curated list covering common freshwater and inshore saltwater game fish. Use the search box in the Division Builder to filter by name.

Custom rules

The Rules field in Step 4 accepts rich text up to 10,000 characters. Use it to document anything specific to your event: minimum size limits, weigh-in procedures, gear restrictions, tie-breaking rules, or Code of Conduct expectations. The rendered rules appear on the public tournament page, visible to all participants before they register.

Write rules that are self-contained. Anglers may read them on a phone on the water without access to any other documents.

Points multipliers

Each division supports an optional points multiplier. A multiplier of 2 means every point from a catch in that division is doubled. You can also set a citation threshold — a minimum measurement — below which the multiplier does not apply. This is useful for rewarding citation-class fish without inflating the scores of small ones. For example: a 1.5× multiplier with a 5 lb threshold in a Bass division means a 6 lb bass earns 9 pts while a 3 lb bass earns its normal 3 pts.