Illinois Statutes Chapter 515. Fish § 5/10-135. Sport fishing charter boats

§ 10-135. Sport fishing charter boats. A “charter boat” is defined as any boat used in the business of carrying sport fishermen for hire into the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan for the purpose of sport fishing.

It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a sport fishing charter boat in the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan without having first obtained a permit to do so from the Department. A permit is valid for a period of one year and expires each year on December 31. A charter boat permit shall be issued without fee to any Illinois resident and to any non-resident whose state of residence issues a charter boat permit without fee to Illinois residents. If, however, the state of residence of a non-resident charges a fee to Illinois residents for a charter boat permit, a fee shall be charged in Illinois for a permit to a non-resident in an amount equal to the fee charged to Illinois residents by the non-resident's state.

All persons operating sport fishing charter boats in the Illinois waters of Lake Michigan must submit daily catch reports to the Department on forms furnished and in the manner prescribed by the Department. All daily catch reports for a given month must be submitted to the Department on or before the 15th day of the following month. Charter boat operators who fail to comply with this Section shall be subject to penalties as provided in Section 20-35 of this Code and noncompliance with this Section may be grounds for denial of future charter boat permits.