Section 830.30  Special Regulations

a)         Commercial fishing and musseling will not be permitted in any streams, ditches, or tributaries connected to the backwaters of the waters listed in Sections 830.10, 830.15 or 830.20.

b)         Any person harvesting mussels for commercial use may possess during the open season only those mussels identified in Section 830.60 of legal size as established by Section 830.70.  Mussels smaller than the legal size and all mussels not identified in Section 830.60 must be immediately returned to the mussel bed or location from which they were taken.

c)         It shall be illegal to possess commercially harvested mussel shells more than 15 days after the close of the season (October 15) without a mussel dealer license.

d)         Paddlefish may not be commercially harvested except in the Ohio River, the Illinois River below Route 89, and in the Mississippi River below Lock and Dam 19.

e)         Commercial fishing devices must be checked and emptied of catch at the following time intervals:

1)         Hoop nets and basket traps must be attended at least once every 72 hours during open water conditions.  During ice cover conditions, hoop nets and basket traps must be attended at least once every 20 days.

2)         Trammel and gill nets must be attended at least every 24 hours during open water conditions, except when operating under a commercial roe harvester permit.  When operating and taking or possessing roe-bearing species, nets must be attended from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.   During ice cover conditions, trammel and gill nets must be attended at least every 96 hours.

3)         Trotlines and other hook and line devices must be checked at least every 24 hours.

4)         Seines and trammel or gill nets fished by driving or drifting methods must be constantly attended.

5)         Commercial gear containing dead or moribund fish as a result of failure to check gear and empty catch shall be considered an illegal device.

f)         Department approved crayfish species listed in Section 830.60(c) may be taken by licensed commercial fishermen with legal seine only on waters open to the commercial harvest of crayfish.  Any species not listed in Section 830.60(c) shall not be imported or possessed alive without a letter of authorization from the Department to import or possess those species (see 17 Ill. Adm. Code 870.10).

g)         Department approved crayfish species listed  in Section 830.60(c) may be possessed and used as live bait by licensed commercial fishermen on the same body of water where legally taken.  Any species not listed in Section 830.60(c) shall not be imported or possessed alive without a letter of authorization from the Department to import or possess those species (see 17 Ill. Adm. Code 870.10).

h)         No aquatic life species listed as endangered or threatened by the federal government or the State are authorized to be taken under this Part.

(Source:  Amended at 50 Ill. Reg. 8079, effective June 1, 2026)