Hp Restricted Lakes

[Nice_Bass]

Illinois has many hp restricted lakes that max out a 9.9hp.  We are talking 1000 acre lakes here, so not big however decent fisheries.  Anyhow, my opinion is that the hp should change to idle only as this reduces shoreline erosion, is cleaner, etc. etc.  I do fish at some of these, but not all that often as it is incredibly dull to run across the lake with my foot on the trolling motor.  Opinions?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Wayne P.]

The issue is there are various applications of "idle speed" and "no wake". Just spend some time around a marina on a large lake and watch how that is obeyed.

 

Honesty also is lacking in some cases.

I fish some 10 HP max lakes and occasionally see some 50-250 HP outboards being operated. It seems some don't consider laws and rules apply to them.

 

I fish some electric-only waters too.

I have my boat set up for both.

[Trek]

   We had a lot of lakes like that here in Ohio. They are slowly making them idle only and or 10 HP limit lakes. It never made sense to me why I couldn't idle my big motor but a 14 foot flat bottom could scream down the lake. It's a stupid law and doesn't serve any purpose. I may be wrong but I believe it was our Ohio BASS Federation Nation that worked with the ODNR to get them to start changing that law. It took a few years but it is slowly being changed.

[Nice_Bass]

I agree with the opininons so far.  I mostly fish larger lakes/reservoirs however I also have all these nice little lakes around me that would be great for a quick trip after work.  There I am on my TM, and a guy with an old oil spitting tin boat flies past me creating a pretty big wake.  I just have to wonder...why?

I have a bass tracker with a 75hp and again my favorite fishing is on 10000 acre lakes or bigger- so I get being the proverbial low man on the totem pole- however if you want to keep watershed quality/standards up as well as promote use- why not let the regular boats idle only, and while we are at it...all the boats?

[K_Mac]

I consider Cedar Lake here in So. Illinois to be my home lake. It has a 10 hp limit. Because it is a city reservoir swimming is also not allowed. The smaller motors and minimal recreational boating make it much friendlier to fish than some of the other lakes around. That is the positive.

 

On the other hand, I have a 10 hp kicker motor on my boat that at WOT causes me to create a wake much bigger than if i was on plane with my bigger motor. I know many of the guys who fish there, and it very common to have 20 or more hp with a 10 hp sticker on the motor. I also know many who simply ignore the hp limits. I have never heard of anyone ticketed for this infraction, even though I have been told by a couple of DNR officers that they will check the motor /serial number plate if there is any question of hp. Cedar is far too big to effectively fish with a standard trolling motor, even though I have done it that way more than once.

 

I think restricted limits serve a purpose. I also think that if you exceed the hp limit running the big motor at an idle is a reasonable solution. I think speed limits is another solution. The real problem is enforcement. There are nowhere near enough DNR folks to enforce the existing laws, and there are far too many knot-heads who don't think any of the rules apply to them.

[Sam]

In Virginia we have a number of horse power restricted bodies of water.

 

What you have to realize that it is illegal to throw a wake within 50-feet of a boat house, boat dock and piers in Virginia, so we have to slow way down as we get close to the docks, piers and boat houses on rivers and lakes.

 

If you go about 4 MPH you should be legal.

 

And yes, we do use our trolling motor to get all around the lakes with the horse power restriction or prohibition.

 

That is just the way it is.

[flyfisher]

Living in the same area as Sam i agree with what he says.  There are more HP restricted or electric only lakes around than not and being a kayak angler, I like it that way

 

I have also seen people using motors larger than the 9.9hp restriction on more than one occasion.

[edfitzvb]

I have a little 14 foot Jonboat with a 9.9 Johnson outboard and a 50 lb trolling motor. In Tidewater there are numerous lakes that require HP limitations. I usually fish them for that very reason. If I had a nicer boat, perhaps I would fish elsewhere. Since I don't.... There are other bodies of water without restrictions for those who want to use a larger motor.

[hawghunters]

most of the lakes I fish are electric only. It can take over an hour to get to a spot on some of the lakes. It gets really annoying, but I figure it's better than not being able to fish it at all. There's one lake it's only open to rowing. The lake is pretty big, but is like a wildlife bird sanctuary or something. Regardless of the regulations, I am just glad they let us fish the lakes.

[00 mod]

Around here, the only HP restricted lake is a 10hp limit, and if you have anything bigger you must remove your prop.  $250 fine if you have a prop on 11hp+.  And I agree that the little jon with a 10HP creates more wake than a Z-9 with a 250 at idle.....aint that right?

 

The biggest problem is loading a boat with larger than 10hp with trolling motor only.  Or better yet, just a rope, in 40 degree water.  At least let you idle onto trailer and then hand winch it up.

 

Jeff

[Trek]

We have to remember one thing here too. We are talking public water here. That means everyone should have the right to fish them. If one guy can take an old 9.9 hp wide open then I should have the right to idle my big motor. The facts are I'm not hurting the water any more then they are. To be fair to all it should be a speed limit not a horse power limit.

[CDMeyer]

For me 1000 acres is a big lake..... but I can see where you are coming from, have they tried other more scientific approaches, like erosion fences

[travis23]

Living here in West Virginia I don't have a lot of options.  The closest lake to me (15 minutes) has a 9.9hp maximum on it. Although I don't own a boat, the people I fish with do, and we can't just grab our stuff and go fish for a couple of hours.  As mentioned we cannot idle either, which to me makes no sense.  I feel like it should a mph restriction so that some people are not left out and having to travel greater distances to enjoy a trouble free day!  

[Bluebasser86]

A lot of our local lakes are no wake or have speed limits on them, can't think of any with HP restrictions that aren't private lakes anyways. I don't have a problem with it as long as they allow boats with bigger motors to fish just without using their outboard. Making someone remove their prop is ridiculous, what happens if they have trolling motor problems or a storm comes up suddenly? They're just at the mercy of the waves and weather then. 

[tomustang]

I say neither of the choices. It really comes down to the location and traffic to deem what the speeds should be, I really think a lot of these mandated restrictions were lazy ways out for the real effort to correctly control speed.

Another thing that is brought up is the increasing use and availability of kayaks. They are more abundant now and many require more safety than others.

[RAMBLER]

I think a HP restriction is a good idea because it is hard to water ski behind a 9.9.  I don't know for sure but I would think that "jet skis" have larger motors, too.

You can argue that everyone has a right to use the water for their chosen recreation, but, we all know that fishing and speed boats of any kind don't mix, very well.

Are we going to get to the point that certain lakes will be restricted to the type of use?  Water skiers probably don't like to have to slow down for or dodge fishermen anchored in their normal line of travel.

I've fished on lakes that have a no wake zone within a certain number of feet of an anchored boat.  You could actually anchor a few boats, strategically across some small lakes and make the entire lake a no wake zone.

As already stated, you can have all the HP and speed restrictions and no wake zones you want, but they mean absolutely nothing without enforcement.

[flyfisher]

Enforcement isn't really the issue if people adhere to the rules but sadly in my experience it isn't the case.  Many of the lakes I fish that are restricted are either to small to have big boats in them or they are used for water supplies.  I know one of the lakes i fish regularly has an electric only policy and you are supposed to disconnect your fuel line but the majorty of people have an electric only set up for these types of lakes and some of them are pretty slick with full on electric outboards.

[papajoe222]

I fish one lake here in Illinois that has a 10hp limit. The limit was imposed before the lake was flooded as the sole intention was to develop it for fishing. On week-ends the limit is strictly enforced and just like any other lake, it gets heavily used.  Even so, it's a joy to fish this lake, especially on the week-ends as jet skiers, pleasure boaters, wind surfers, etc. don't interfere.  I'd rather make the sacrifice of using only my T/M than deal with those distractions.

One lake that I fish in southern Wisconsin has a no wake restriction from 8:00 PM until 10:00 AM.  Both recreational boaters and fishermen get to enjoy this heavily populated water. Yes, there are those that bend the rules, but there are also those of us that tactfully remind them that their infractions won't be tolerated.

[deadadrift89]

I believe in idle only or nothing at all. Never could understand getting waked all day my 14'rs and then not being allowed to crank mine and load trailer.

[Nice_Bass]

For me 1000 acres is a big lake..... but I can see where you are coming from, have they tried other more scientific approaches, like erosion fences

Yes- but as we all know sometimes- policy does not always follow science unfortunately.  In in the case of IL waters, that is what seems to be going on.  

[Nice_Bass]

Also, for those that do fish HP restricted lakes (I have 2 10 minutes from my house, so I go after work sometimes)  you can actually use your TM at the front and still steer sitting comfortably in the captains chair.  Just use a "troll perfect" and set it to the tightest setting and put your TM steering straight and turning your steering wheel will guide your boat along at a couple MPH's.  Before that, I just wedged a pair of pliers under the foot pedal to keep it straight. 

 

 

gives you a free couple minutes to sit back and drink a beer at the very least. 

[Munkin]

There are no 10hp restricted lakes in Maryland, all of ours are electric only if they are used as a water supply. I am fine with this for the most part but Black Hills Lake Seneca is a big windfest and will kill some TM batteries quick. What gets me is the exemptions that some people have? Rocky Gap has a pontoon boat they drive around and the dummy life guards about run into canoes or kayaks everytime I am there. Personally I would have no problem with those lakes being 6 mph zones like much of Mattawoman Creek on the lower Potomac.

 

Allen

[Dwight Hottle]

I don't have a problem with hp restrictions when they serve a legitimate purpose. What scalds my arse is when they tell you you must remove your prop from your big motor because they don't trust you. Or they won't allow you to simply trim your big motor out of the water. If I have a kicker motor under 10 horse restriction why can't they just allow us to fish with it without all the crap regarding the bigger motor hanging off the transom. 

We all know there are heavily used 10 horse restriction lakes where a number of locals who run 15-20 hp engines labeled as 10 horse. Wake limits or speed limits seem a much more equitable way of reducing speeds without restricting the size of the motor. The problem always arises that there are two many boats & not enough law enforcement.