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STEVENSVILLE, Mich. — Michigan fishermen are themselves being caught up in a new community net which is carefully crafted to reel them in hook, line and sinker. Recently spawned Michigan Fish Fanatic (www.MichiganFishFanatic.com), a service of ADCO FLYCAST, is inviting fishermen to cast their wisdom on the waters and let others know about where, when and how to catch their favorite denizens of the deep. According to the Web site, the goal of MFF is to offer fishermen across the state opportunities to share local knowledge and to give the virtual community the information it needs to increase fishing success and encourage fishermen to try places they have never tried before.

One fully-convinced member says, “Michigan Fish Fanatic is a fisherman’s candy store. Where else can you interact with other fanatics and find the exact information you need on a given day to catch your limit?”

A dedicated gathering place for resident anglers, Michigan Fish Fanatic offers maps of more than 8,000 lakes, 550 rivers, and 90 harbors, including depth readings. Once inside the portal, visitors to the site are encouraged to enter their own personal knowledge of each of the thousands of locations, including access points, fishing reports, hot spots and tips, and other helpful information.

In addition to the maps, the Web site hosts community pages. Social networking similar to Facebook is part of the online environment, so visitors to the community can create profiles, share photo albums and keep running blogs of fishing trips and tips which can be made public or kept private depending on personal preferences.

MFF members are invited to submit articles, recipes, and fly-tying tips and tricks with step-by-step instructions. There are even classified ads of interest to the fishing and recreational communities. And there are forums galore.

In order to reel in additional fishermen who are willing to share their knowledge of the state’s waterways and the fish that inhabit them, the Web site is sponsoring a contest to year’s end and will give away four springtime guided steelhead fishing trips on the Manistee River to the MFF members who contribute to the Web site in significant ways for the rest of the year.

For more information about Michigan Fish Fanatic or the current contest visit www.MichiganFishFanatic.com .