IL VHS rule now permament

I just learned from DNR officer Steve Shults there is a permament VHS rule now. Here’s a link (see 875.50 “unlawful acts” ILDNR VHS Rules

I’ve had a few e mail exchanges with ILDNR…

Steve Shults reconfirmed the interpretation that:

Quote:

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Our current rules do state that any bait (including cut bait) must be used in the waters where captured. I’m going to stand by my original statement that this means no transportation beyond a dam, and that the bait must come from the same pool of the river to be considered same waters. This makes good biological sense for a couple of reasons: first, these dams make natural barriers against fish movements (and therefore the diseases that fish may carry with them). Second, it also prevents unintended or unidentified species (like Asian carp) from being transported with the bait. Bait species, especially gizzard shad and some minnows, ARE susceptible to VHS.

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Essentially, the IL rule prohibits transporting live fish since “local waters” must be emptied from all containers when leaving a body of water (for the day). In other words, it’s ok to catch some bait, launch the boat and fish as long as it’s the same body of water. I asked about multiple river pools separated by dams, this seemed to be less of a concern on some western IL rivers like the Rock.

In my exchange, I also asked about Wisconsin’s similar rule that allows anglers to save live purchased baits (shiners, suckers, goldfish) not kept in local waters.

Quote:

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We did consider rules similar to Wisconsin’s rules, and two primary reasons exist for not adopting a similar approach. Wisconsin has VHS in multiple localities and bait transfer is the primary suspect for the infection vector – so the efficacy of such a program is questionable. Second, Wisconsin does not have a current large-scale invasion of asian carp, which can be difficult to distinguish from other species during certain times of the year.

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I’m just passing along the information, it was very generous of him to provide such detailed and thoughtful responses to the questions. The VHS seems to be a big worry in areas near the Great Lakes, but these Asian carp are without a doubt public enemy #1 as far as invasive species in IL at this time.

Shawn

Interesting post. It was quite a scare when this popped up a couple years ago and the issue of bait transport and state lines in the WI and MN area. If you do a little digging on IDO you can find some previous discussion.
bummer on the cast nets…. Practice anyway… you never know when your in a place that allows and you’re able to round up some fresh bait.

What was that about “bummer on the cast nets”??? I read and read that link…was it in there? To whom does it apply?
Thanks

Larry will have to explain that.. i don’t think they can use in MN, but they are lawful in IL for certain species.

The official rule states legal sized cast nets (not larger than 8′, mesh not larger than 3/8) can be used to collect Shad, Minnows, Alewife, and Crayfish. Minnow is defined as members of the Cyprinidae fish family, which includes includes chubs, shiners, minnows, daces, and carp.
USGS guide to Cyprinidae

Here’s a link to our 2009 rules
2009 DNR Rules
Interesting, the bluegill as bait rule still refers to obeying laws both where they are used and where they are taken, implying they can still be transported.

Shawn