Boats on Jacobson Park Lake

Hey guys,

It's my understanding that motorised boats are not allowed on the lake at Jacobson Park in Lexington. Is this an "unwritten" rule or is it posted somewhere?

Reason I ask is because two guys were on the waters this afternoon in a boat. This is the first time I had seen one on the lake in my twelve years of using the park.

They only hung around about an hour and I think some other bank fishermen gave them some verbals to "scare" them off the water.

I'm just interested to know the "official" situation.

DAVE

You can fish from a non-gasoline operated boat. See below from the Lexington Government website, [URL]http://www.lexingtonky.gov/index.aspx?page=2078[/URL]


[B]Jacobson Park Marina
[/B]The Jacobson Park Marina has a launch area for non-gasoline powered boats which cost $3 per boat.Patrons may also rent pedal boats which hold two people. The rental cost is $3 for one-half hour. The Jacobson Boat dock typically opens for weekends in late April and opens on a daily basis in late May. All boat riders must wear a US Coast Guard approved personal floatation device. Vending machines and restrooms are available at the Marina. The age requirement for pedal boat rental is 16 & over. Those under the required age must be accompanied by a chaperone 16 or older. Fishing docks are located in several areas throughout the park and are accessible to wheelchairs. You must have a valid Kentucky fishing license if you are 16 or older. There is no charge to fish at this park.

Yeah, these guys certainly weren't wearing flotation devices and the marina was closed so they wouldn't have paid to launch. I don't own or have access to a boat so I don't know how it was powered but it was definitely motorised somehow.

I guess it just surprised me to see one on the water and I thought I'd read somewhere that they weren't allowed.

DAVE

You can put a boat in there with a trolling motor. Talked to several people who have done it and caught nice cats around the stumps around the golf course and very nice bass. Lake is very shallow and muddy from what i hear and you can about touch the bottom in most places of the lake with a 7 foot rod.

We used to slide our jon boat in there and catch some really nice bass of the golf course side.

I have fished it with a trolling motor too. Recently, the local government website said simply that non-motorized boats were allowed. That was new wording. I wrote an email request for a clarification since trolling motors had always been permitted. I received a reply that the wording was unfortunate and that the website would be updated to reflect that only gasoline powered motors are prohibited. So, long answer to a short question, yes, trolling motors are permitted.

Now, having said that, I've never done any good fishing Jacobson. It's no deeper than 6 feet except along Richmond Road. Most fishermen congregate near the culvert that runs under Richmond Road from Lake Ellerslie and it is certainly deeper there.