AUSTRALIA’S REEL GAUNTLET

How does the ARG Season work?

The Australia’s Real Gauntlet (ARG) Season consists of a 7-round regular season, which runs 1 December to 30 June.

The most successful team at this time awarded the “minor premiership”, whilst the one with the least points after the regular season is eliminated.

The top six teams then play off in a five-round finals series, culminating in the Reel Gauntlet Grand Final. The grand final winners are termed the “champions” and are awarded the virtual championship cup, which is “housed” on the team page on the official ARG website. Championship “pins” (team favicons with championship year) are made available to all competitors who scored for the winning state in that year

The ARG season is fished all over Australia, wherever fishing is permitted. There are no regulations are fishing times beyond the minutes and seconds of the month in play. 

The winning team is officially announced at the end of the Championship season, typically in the first week of December (by which time the next season is already in play).

Regulars 

In these rounds, all participating teams compete in head-to-head month-long matches to win Championship points, and the top six teams make their place in the finals.  

Each team fishes six matches in the regular rounds. As the season fixture publishes before the start of the ARG season, each team knows who they will be fishing against on any month.

Byes

Due to the odd number of state teams participating in the ARG season, are all assigned a “bye” month, receiving an automatic “win” and scoring an automatic two (2) Championship points. During this month, individual team members still fish to accumulate point towards their personal “Best & Fairest” tally.

Finals

In the Elimination Finals, the top six qualifying states fish against each other for the Reel Gauntlet Championship in a series of matches that see winning states move through to the next round, losing states drop spots, and the lowest place team eliminated. 

AUSTRALIA’S REEL GAUNTLET

How do points work in ARG?

In Australia’s Reel Gauntlet, there are two scoring systems at play: the individual “measured fish score” and the team “match score”.

So, how do you score points in ARG:

• You must be one of the fifty registered team members for your state at the time you catch your scoring fish and have your official “kit” with you. Your “kit” consists of your team guernsey (which you must be wearing in your scoring photos) and an official Australia’s Reel Gauntlet Measuring Mat. Once you’re “kitted up”, you can purchase your team slot on either an annual basis or a casual (monthly) basis (provided all fifty spots have not been taken by Annual Pass holders). Annual Pass holders have priority over casual competitors.
• Each time you catch a fish that is on your state’s official species list, you can score points towards your individual “measured fish score”. This score then adds to your team’s overall score. Fish are scored on the ARG app, which calculates the value of the fish according to a predetermined algorithm, based on the general sizing of the species in your state.
• To score your fish, you simply need to upload two photographs to the ARG scoring app: one of the fish on the ARG Brag Mat, positioned with the dorsal fin facing the top of the mat and the mouth touching the upright bar at the zero mark (mouth must be closed); and one shot featuring you and the fish, showing your shirt. This can be a beaming “grip & grin” or a release shot. You then select the species in the dropdown menu on your app, enter the size as you read it on the mat, and upload your photos. IMPORTANT: Fish must be unmutilated to score. Fish who have been gilled or gutted cannot be entered, as this alters their length.
• You can enter as many fish as you can catch, and you can fish on any water at any time, as long as you are fishing within the rules and regulations of your state.

How does your state score points?

Your state team can field up to fifty competing anglers in any month. This is decided purely on a first-to-register basis. Each state is allocated fifty Annual Passes. Fishers who purchase an Annual Pass are guaranteed a spot on their State Team for every month of the season (remaining from the date they purchase). Whilst there are still Annual Passes available, anglers can choose to purchase Casual Competitor Passes. These allow you to fish for a single month.

The scores achieved by the (up to) fifty individual competitors from each state are combined at the end of each month to create the State Team’s “match” score. This score is compared to that round’s opposing state’s match score, with the highest scoring team “taking the points”. The winner of the round scores two (2) Championship points, while the losing team scores zero (0). In the event of a tied score, both teams receive one (1) point.

These Championship points determine the ladder placings of the state teams. The team with the most Championship points at the end of June becomes the Minor Premier, while the team with the least is eliminated.

Note: Individual anglers from eliminated team should continue to fish to collect their individual points. The “Best & Fairest” award for each state is determined by the most points collected across the full season.

AUSTRALIA’S REEL GAUNTLET

Can you fish in other states?

Yes, but you can only score species that are on your home state’s species list, and your score will be based on the algorithm of your state, not the state the fish was caught in.

This means that a NSW team member cannot register a barramundi from the Northern Territory, but a Queenslander or a West Australian can. Similarly, a Territorian cannot register a pink snapper caught in NSW, whereas every other state can.