Electric motor only!!!!!!

[Gus]

I was fishing on Whitewater Lake on Sunday, 4/8/13. It was my fourth time there this year. Most of the bass boats I have seen there this year have been running their outboards. They are quite blatant about it. They simply launch the boat and start their way up the lake. They try to be sneaky about it but they are not fooling any one. Complaints have been made. Hopefully we will see results shortly.

[Moveon]

I was fishing on Whitewater Lake on Sunday, 4/8/13. It was my fourth time there this year. Most of the bass boats I have seen there this year have been running their outboards. They are quite blatant about it. They simply launch the boat and start their way up the lake. They try to be sneaky about it but they are not fooling any one. Complaints have been made. Hopefully we will see results shortly.

There is new leadership at IDNR and I think that they are changing their way of thinking about motor restrictions on some of the IDNR F&W property lakes. More lenient motor sizes are allowed on some of the pits down here by Evansville, IN. Bluegrass F&W have three big pits that have concrete launch ramps and they allow any size gas motor on the three largest pits. The other pits are restricted to electric trolling motor only. Although I've seen some trappers out there running gas motors during the winter months. If the CO caught them doing that it would be a hefty fine.

Any law or regulation is only as good as the enforcement of that law or regulation.

They use to say that they limited the motor size and speed of the boats because of erosion problems. IMHO it was much easier for a CO to monitor the rules if the rules restricted the motor size to 10 HP or under vs trying to determine if a big bass boat's speed of 2 mph or 4 mph is what's considered "Idle Speed". Where do you draw the line as a CO when trying to enforce the Idle speed only rule? And I really don't think that wake is a big problem with bank erosion at Bluegrass's pits. There are not houses or docks along the shoreline anyway.

Some guys I know complain about the gas and oil that's put into the water from gas engines. They are the "Purists" type fishermen and prefer to fish flies for trout in clean unpolluted mountain streams. Other's want to use their big bass boat and fish closer to home so as to save gas. Driving to KY Lake every week end can get expensive when gas is around $3.60/gallon. And I have noticed that a lot more fishermen are using Bluegrass since they lifted the trolling motor only restriction and put in the Idle speed restriction. Sure there are a few violators who speed but for the most part most guys abide by the idle speed only restriction. I'm sure that the CO's have busted a few violators in the past few years. I see the CO 's out there checking people a lot.

Hopefully they will enforce the rules up where you fish.

PS: do they have to life their gas motor out of the water when fishing those trolling motor only lakes? Just curious if they are even allowed on the lake with a Gas motor of any size?

[Gus]

There is no requirement to lift the motor and you can be on the lake with a gas motor. The problem with going to an idle only rule is that it greatly increases the fishing pressure on a lake.

[slipbobber]

There is no requirement to lift the motor and you can be on the lake with a gas motor. The problem with going to an idle only rule is that it greatly increases the fishing pressure on a lake.

Agree with you on that one . Just look at Dogwood . From 10 H.P. to any size motor. Many more boats out there

[Moveon]

I hear that. Down here at Bluegrass Fish and Wildlife area we have tree big strip pits 210 acres of water on the largest pit, Loon Pit. The boat traffic and amount of fishing pressure has increased ten fold.

We even have many people launching kayaks from the concrete launch ramp while big bass boats have to wait in line to launch on the ramp. Now we have people brining their dogs to the launch ramp to play fetch out in the water.

I remember back in 2003 when it was trolling motor only and the lake was much less used. You could fish all day without seeing more than two other boats on the water. And there was never a boat making any wakes.

These days you see bigger bass boats with huge motors on the back. Their idle speed is like 5 or 6 mph and to me that's not idle speed. Many of them ignore the idle speed strictly enforced sign at the front parking lot and fire it up. Now if there is a big storm coming up fast and you have to get back in before you get struck by lighting then I'll fire up my motor and head it fast but other wise I'm going 1.5 mph or 2 mph at the most. But that's the speed that I troll crank baits and I'm fishing from the minute I launch until I'm back at the ramp ready to recover my boat.

I got caught in a thunderstorm last night and then on the way home I found out that I have a broken wire on the boat trailer and my brake lights were off and on, on the way home. And it was pouring down rain all the way back home from the lake. I'm spending the morning trying to repair the light's wiring harness at the front of my boat trailer.

Agree with you on that one . Just look at Dogwood . From 10 H.P. to any size motor. Many more boats out there

[3ptbuck]

I got caught in a thunderstorm last night and then on the way home I found out that I have a broken wire on the boat trailer and my brake lights were off and on, on the way home. And it was pouring down rain all the way back home from the lake. I'm spending the morning trying to repair the light's wiring harness at the front of my boat trailer.

We almost got caught in that down pour yesterday. My daughter and I had just left Huntingburg and started home on I64 when it hit. Haven't seen a rain that hard in a long time, most people had pulled off on the shoulder.

I feel sorry for anyone that got caught on the water in that.