(Provided by Michigan DNR)

The Michigan DNR strongly encourages bass tournament organizers to use its Michigan Fishing Tournament Information System (www.mcgi.state.mi.us/fishingtournaments), a web application designed to allow bass tournament directors to schedule events at DNR access sites and to report their catch results online.

The web application†will be†available beginning Jan. 1 for tournament directors to use for scheduling their 2015 tournaments. This application gives tournament directors the ability to view other bass tournaments scheduled on a selected waterbody, so they can plan appropriately.

In addition to alleviating scheduling concerns, this application will help directors voluntarily share their tournament catch data with the DNR's Fisheries Division, which can be valuable information in managing the stateís fisheries.

Tournament directors will have to set up a Michigan Single-Sign-On (www.sso.state.mi.us) account so they can log in†to voluntarily schedule their events at DNR-administered public access sites and to record their catch data. Members of the general public can use the Michigan Fishing Tournament Information System application to check tournament schedules on a given lake or access site, without creating a log-in. However, the public will not be able to view the catch results, and tournament directors will only be able to see the data from their own tournaments.

Tournament catch results will be downloaded monthly by Fisheries Division staff. The level of participation and quality of tournament catch records provided by directors will directly determine the use and applicability of the data for fisheries assessment and management purposes.

The Michigan Fishing Tournament Information System can be accessed at www.michigan.gov/fishing under the "Angler Alerts" section. Through this page visitors can also gain access to two instructional handouts on adding tournaments to the system and reporting tournament catch data.