Illinois Spearfishing Rules Card

Legal status

Saltwater RestrictedFreshwater Permitted

Illinois has no ocean or saltwater; its only shoreline is freshwater Lake Michigan, so there is no marine spearfishing.

License

Required: Illinois Sport Fishing License

Resident: Resident annual sport fishing license $15.00; resident 24-hour $5.50; resident senior (ages 65-74) $7.75; resident super-senior (75+) $1.50. The 2026 license year runs March 1, 2026 through March 31, 2027.

Non-resident: Non-resident annual $31.50; non-resident 3-day $15.50; non-resident 24-hour $10.50.

Gear rules

• Spearguns: Legal. The rule expressly lists 'underwater spear gun' as a permitted device for taking the approved species.
• Pole spears: A hand-held 'spear' is expressly named as a legal method for taking the approved species, so pole spears fall within the permitted 'spear'.
• On scuba: The statewide fishing rules name 'underwater spear gun' as a legal device but do not set a statewide SCUBA or dive-flag standard for.
• Only the listed approved fish/reptile/amphibian species may be taken by these methods; taking any other aquatic life (e.g.
• It is unlawful to take or attempt to take aquatic life by these means along, upon, across or from any public right-of-way or highway (515.
• Aquatic life taken by these means may not be sold or bartered
• No live possession of the listed non-native (invasive) fish species except common carp and goldfish

Do not spear

• All game fish are off-limits to spear/gig/bow methods. Only species on the approved Bowfishing
• Largemouth, smallmouth, spotted, white, striped and hybrid striped bass
• Walleye and sauger
• White, black and hybrid crappie
• Bluegill and other sunfish
• Northern pike and muskellunge
• Yellow perch
• Trout
• Paddlefish and sturgeon
• Any of the 80+ species on the Illinois Endangered and Threatened Aquatic Life list

Area restrictions

• Waters posted '2 Pole and Line Fishing Only' prohibit spearing/bowfishing unless specifically authorized in that water's Site Specific Regulations
• Catfish species may be taken by spear/bow/gig ONLY in rivers and connected public (boat-accessible) backwaters, not in general lakes
• The rule enumerates specific rivers open to these methods (Mississippi, Illinois, Wabash, Embarras, Sangamon, Kaskaskia, Little Wabash, Big Muddy.
• Many individual waters set their own standoff distances (e.g., site rules barring bow/gig/spear take within a set distance of a boat ramp, dock.

Before you dive

• Never dive alone: one up, one down.
• Check current seasons and sizes the morning of the dive.
• Confirm with Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR), Division of Fisheries: https://dnr.illinois.gov