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Collecting in Illinois

Started by Guest_sweetpickles_* , Feb 08 2009 05:29 PM

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9 replies to this topic

#1 Guest_sweetpickles_*

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Posted 08 February 2009 - 05:29 PM

What are the laws on collecting fish in illinois? What species can i and cant i collect? Thank you

#2 Guest_Drew_*

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Posted 08 February 2009 - 05:34 PM

http://forum.nanfa.o...?showtopic=5187

#3 Guest_fundulus_*

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Posted 08 February 2009 - 06:17 PM

Drew posted the official law, but what it says is that Illinois is a restricted collecting state. You have to be very careful.

#4 Guest_sweetpickles_*

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Posted 08 February 2009 - 06:34 PM

So after reading that, it appears to me that i can collect longear sunfish correct?

#5 Guest_Drew_*

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Posted 08 February 2009 - 07:02 PM

It appears that is the case, but Uland should chime in here soon.

#6 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 09 February 2009 - 05:48 PM

Essentially you may not transport any fish within the state due to emergency VHS order. Due to the same order, you cannot transport fish from other states known to have VHS (or more specifically Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York). It would appear you can have fish tested for VHS or you can travel to a state not on the previous list. If I see any change in the Illinois VHS emergency order, I'll be sure and post it in the Illinois section.

http://forum.nanfa.o...?showtopic=5187

#7 Guest_sweetpickles_*

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Posted 09 February 2009 - 08:19 PM

So i cant collect any fish? that sucks. I take it that people just order them from Zimmerman or something like that for what they want then?

#8 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 09 February 2009 - 08:57 PM

You can collect fish, just not in Illinois (or transport from Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New York and take them back to Illinois).
There are several ways to obtain the fish you want and buying from the native fish vendors here and elsewhere is a great way to go, but keep in mind that some of them come from the above mentioned list of prohibited states.
You might want to consider traveling to other states that have friendly laws or you could consider joining NANFA to meet people and go on collecting trips along with them. If you don't want to drive to another state, maybe once you get to know some of the other NANFA members, they'll ship you the fish you're looking for.

#9 Guest_Uland_*

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Posted 09 February 2009 - 09:51 PM

A good buddy of mine quizzed me about the emergency VHS rule offline. I will admit to a grey area in the above rule but I don't wish to exploit it in public. Instead of turning you completely off collecting your own fish, I would recommend you carefully read Illinois law regarding fishing and bait collecting etc. I would then encourage you to think about exactly how you want to collect the fishes you intend to keep and contact your local DNR and see what they think. If you accurately describe what you intend to do, they might support the grey area and allow the collection. Please be careful though...many instances of people contacting various DNR agencies only to receive an answer that would put them in hot water if an officer encountered them in the field.