Fishing tournament organizers can begin applying for 2018 tournament permits on Nov. 1, 2017.

Applications can be submitted to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources through IDNR fishing tournament online accounts and through the I Fish Illinois website at https://www.ifishillinois.org/tournament/index.php.

Catch results from 2017 tournaments must be entered before fishing clubs and tournament trails will be allowed to request tournament dates for 2018. Applications are reviewed on a first-come, first-served basis.

“The Illinois DNR is grateful for the compliance that our tournament anglers have shown with this process of online tournament applications and reporting,” said Dan Stephenson, fisheries chief for the IDNR.  “We also salute the staff at the Illinois Natural History Survey, which oversees the tournament permit system.”

Tournament fishing is extremely popular in Illinois. For 2017, nearly 3,000 applications for fishing tournaments were received. The catch data submitted by tournament organizers is vital information needed for the management of the waters they fish.

SOURCE: IDNR news release