State Record Guidelines

The Division of Fisheries recognizes anglers who have legally taken the largest fish on record by either hook and line or bow and arrow. Below are the guidelines for each along with a checklist of what to do if you think you caught a record fish.

1. Fish must be:
   • legally caught by hook and line from Illinois waters to be eligible for the Hook and Line State Record Fish Award. Fish caught by trot line, jugs, bank poles, gigs, spears, bow and arrow, nets, seines, and snagging are not eligible, or
   • legally taken by bow and arrow from Illinois waters to be eligible for the Bow and Arrow State Record Fish Award. Fish caught by trot line, jugs, bank poles, gigs, spears, hook and line, nets, seines, and snagging are not eligible.
2. Fish caught from Licensed Daily Fee Fishing Areas are not eligible.
3. Fish must be weighed in front of two witnesses on a scale certified legal for trade in the State of Illinois.
4. Total length of fish is measured from the tip of the snout, with mouth closed to the tip of the tail to the nearest 1/8 inch. Girth is measured at the greatest distance around the fish (circumference). Length of Paddlefish is measured from the front of the eye to the fork of the tail. Length of Sturgeon is measured from the tip of the snout to the fork of the tail with fish laying on its side.
5. In addition to the State Record Fish award application, a clear, side-view image of the fish, preferably with the angler holding the fish, must be submitted either electronically or in photographic form to the Department. An IDNR Image Release Form should be submitted with the image.  The application and photograph become property of the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
6. A fish entered for State Record must be kept intact until it has been certified, and genetically confirmed when necessary, by an Illinois Department of Natural Resources Fishery Biologist.
7. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources reserves the right to reject an entry based upon its investigation of the identification, methods used in catching, or the accuracy of measurement and weighing.
8. The Illinois Department of Natural Resources reserves the right to reproduce, duplicate, or otherwise copy, via a body cast, any certified State Record Fish. Duplicate mounts will be used solely by the Department for display purposes and will acknowledge the record holder.

If you think you have caught a bow-and-arrow record fish, here is a list of things you should do:

• Contact your local District Fisheries Biologist to have the fish positively identified and find out if your fish is a record.
• Don’t clean or freeze the fish — keep the fish cool and on ice.
• Get the fish weighed as soon as possible on a certified scale (found in grocery stores, meat markets, some bait shops or your local District Fish Biologist) in front of two witnesses. 
• Fill out an official record fish application here.
• Complete an IDNR Image Release Form.
• Take lots of pictures!

An official record fish application and an IDNR Image Release form must be completed by the angler, verified and signed by your local District Fisheries Biologist, and mailed along with a photo of the fish to:

DNR Havana Field Headquarters
Attn: State Record Fish
700 S. 10th Street
Havana, IL 62644

State record fish holders will receive a commemorative plaque from the Illinois Department of Natural Resources – Division of Fisheries.