Horsepower Limits Small Lakes - Meetings

[SLP]

When I first read about this possibility my first reaction was "great I would be able to take my boat out at a small closer lake". However now that I have had time to think about it I am against it. In theory it is wonderful and makes sense. In reality it counts on people following the rules in small lakes where there likely won't be regular enforcement present. Sadly I don't have confidence in everyone follow the rules and really it would only take one person not doing so to be an issue in some of these lakes. Like many things the majority will follow the law but there will also be that percentage that never does and ignores laws and safety. There are plenty of large bodies of water available in the state that anyone with a boat can easily find a place to go. However there are limited small bodies where both canoeists, kayakers and people in small boats can go to and not have to worry about the intrusion from larger boats. Places where a parent might be comfortable allowing a teenager to go fishing in a small boat or kayak safely without fear of being swamped by someone. I believe the law even in large lakes is that a boat is not to create a wake if a boat is still and someone is fishing from it, or something to that effect. I can say for certain that many don't follow that law, as I assume similar results would occur in the small lakes if the larger boats were allowed on it.

Leave the few smaller lakes to the people that have bought small boat to enjoy them. And if someone really wants to save on gas and fish in small lakes closer to home then they should simply buy themselves a kayak or something similar to enjoy those as well as the larger ones.

[Drew1233]

Completely agree with you SLP

[DJD]

I think Cedar Creek Lake should be idle speed at least a part of it to allow the small boats/kayaks to fish without being swamped.

[MagikSmallie]

When I first read about this possibility my first reaction was "great I would be able to take my boat out at a small closer lake". However now that I have had time to think about it I am against it. In theory it is wonderful and makes sense. In reality it counts on people following the rules in small lakes where there likely won't be regular enforcement present. Sadly I don't have confidence in everyone follow the rules and really it would only take one person not doing so to be an issue in some of these lakes. Like many things the majority will follow the law but there will also be that percentage that never does and ignores laws and safety. There are plenty of large bodies of water available in the state that anyone with a boat can easily find a place to go. However there are limited small bodies where both canoeists, kayakers and people in small boats can go to and not have to worry about the intrusion from larger boats. Places where a parent might be comfortable allowing a teenager to go fishing in a small boat or kayak safely without fear of being swamped by someone. I believe the law even in large lakes is that a boat is not to create a wake if a boat is still and someone is fishing from it, or something to that effect. I can say for certain that many don't follow that law, as I assume similar results would occur in the small lakes if the larger boats were allowed on it.

Leave the few smaller lakes to the people that have bought small boat to enjoy them. And if someone really wants to save on gas and fish in small lakes closer to home then they should simply buy themselves a kayak or something similar to enjoy those as well as the larger ones.

So if you are against this because you are worried people won't follow the rules, then what is keeping those same people from running their +10HP motors right now? If the rule is currently that you can launch but can't run your motor as opposed to you can launch and idle only I don't see what is stopping those "rule breakers" from just launching and running as they please. However, I don't see any of that going on when I go to these restricted lakes. The current rules still count on people obeying them, a change in the rule doesn't alleviate that same requirement, there are still rules that are supposed to be followed just as before.

[SLP]

So if you are against this because you are worried people won't follow the rules, then what is keeping those same people from running their +10HP motors right now? If the rule is currently that you can launch but can't run your motor as opposed to you can launch and idle only I don't see what is stopping those "rule breakers" from just launching and running as they please. However, I don't see any of that going on when I go to these restricted lakes. The current rules still count on people obeying them, a change in the rule doesn't alleviate that same requirement, there are still rules that are supposed to be followed just as before.

For the most part I don't think people with larger boats go now since they would only be allowed to use their eclectic trolling motor. Even if they were inclined to occasionally go if any law enforcement even heard their engine running at any point they would be easily proven guilty and it would be a much greater risk of them getting caught. So with the risk reward I don't think people even try it although I am sure at some point some have. However allowing those larger engines to run and expecting to not have more people occasionally hit the power now an again is another thing entirely from not allowing them to even start the engine.

I have a boat that I could use on these lakes but the thought of going through the hassle and limitation of only using the trolling motor all day and then loading without the help of the outboard doesn't make it sound appealing so I have never done it. If however I was able to use my motor even at only idle and I would have taken it to smaller lakes many times already instead of trailering it an hour away as I usually do.

IMO the entire "spirit" if you will of these smaller lakes would change dramatically if they are allowed and it wouldn't be for the better.

The KY Fishing and Boating manual states people need to use only idle speed when passing anyone actively engaged in fishing. Every time I go fishing I usually will see people ignoring that. People might be cautious when first introduced, but give it a little time for it to become just another rule and I think people will end up not following the law.

[Wormin]

It hasn't hurt Wilgreen and it 's a smaller lake. I'm all for it all to be idle speed and not just big motors.

[fishincreek]

Thanks for the info Peter.

[restornator]

Big boat owners don't get it. They never will. A 70mph boat can cover an entire 10,000 acre lake, whereas a 10hp rig is restricted to about 500 acres. Fishing on a big lake ***** in a small boat, no matter how busy it is.

[dabassking]

Big boat owners don't get it. They never will. A 70mph boat can cover an entire 10,000 acre lake, whereas a 10hp rig is restricted to about 500 acres. Fishing on a big lake ***** in a small boat, no matter how busy it is.

On the majority of the "big lakes" there are multiple boat ramps all around them that smaller boats could trailer to in order be very close to where ever they want to fish. I understand that it could be an inconvenience to trailer to different ramps depending on where you want to fish, but it is still an option. On the majority of the smaller lakes, there is only one or two ramps and the "70mph boats" are restricted to trolling at half the speed that smaller crafts with 9.9's are allowed.

[dmase]

When I first read about this possibility my first reaction was "great I would be able to take my boat out at a small closer lake". However now that I have had time to think about it I am against it. In theory it is wonderful and makes sense. In reality it counts on people following the rules in small lakes where there likely won't be regular enforcement present. Sadly I don't have confidence in everyone follow the rules and really it would only take one person not doing so to be an issue in some of these lakes. Like many things the majority will follow the law but there will also be that percentage that never does and ignores laws and safety. There are plenty of large bodies of water available in the state that anyone with a boat can easily find a place to go. However there are limited small bodies where both canoeists, kayakers and people in small boats can go to and not have to worry about the intrusion from larger boats. Places where a parent might be comfortable allowing a teenager to go fishing in a small boat or kayak safely without fear of being swamped by someone. I believe the law even in large lakes is that a boat is not to create a wake if a boat is still and someone is fishing from it, or something to that effect. I can say for certain that many don't follow that law, as I assume similar results would occur in the small lakes if the larger boats were allowed on it.

Leave the few smaller lakes to the people that have bought small boat to enjoy them. And if someone really wants to save on gas and fish in small lakes closer to home then they should simply buy themselves a kayak or something similar to enjoy those as well as the larger ones.

Those same folks who you are talking about can still break the the rules and probably have been all along. Rules and laws are for the honest people. Large boats are allowed on these lakes they just can't run an engine over 10 hp.Idle speed is SLOW. As defined Idle speed is as low an rpm as to keep the engine running. a Canoe with 2 people will be faster than a idle speed bass boat.We can all enjoy the states waterways we just have to be respectful of each other.

[SLP]

Those same folks who you are talking about can still break the the rules and probably have been all along. Rules and laws are for the honest people. Large boats are allowed on these lakes they just can't run an engine over 10 hp.Idle speed is SLOW. As defined Idle speed is as low an rpm as to keep the engine running. a Canoe with 2 people will be faster than a idle speed bass boat.We can all enjoy the states waterways we just have to be respectful of each other.

That is my point, most of the larger fishing boats have larger than 10 hp motors on them, so the majority of people that own them don't now go to these lakes with their boats. This revision would change that. As far as idle speed I understand that and even said in my post that in theory it would be wonderful, my point however is with time I think some people would ignore it. Just my opinion but I think it is a bit naïve to think every boater running larger engines would follow the idle speed guidelines to the letter each time out.

Also I have a boat with a larger engine so I would benefit from this. I just think it will be abused and likely not the best way to go long term, but to each his own, no big deal.

[Moveon]

You will find that people with those big boats don't know what Idle Sped is. Some will go 10 mph and call that idle speed while others may go 15 mph and be ok with a that unless the see a DNR boat nearby.

I fish a small 200 acre stripper pit in Warrick County, IN. The last few years the IDNR changed the rule from electric trolling motor only to any size engine going at Idle Speed. I have U tube videos that I took and posted on U tube showing guys speeding around on this lake.

When they realize that the rules of idle speed only it not being enforced then they will all start going faster and faster. I've seen guys on our lake going over 30 mph at times on this small body of water.

There is a part of the lake at the North End that's privately owned. The State owns the majority of the land that the lake is on to the South but at the very north end there is about a 1/4 mile of lake that's owned by a private party. He or the state put out two bouys that mark the boundary line. But people still go across the boundary and fish on the private part of the water. One guy told me that there was nothing anyone could do about that. So I asked one of my game wardens about this. The game warden said that if the owner of the property complained about someone trespassing on his part of the water that the game warden would give them a ticket or arrest them for trespassing. So the guy at the ramp didn't know what the H he was talking about. He said he routinely goes into the private part of the lake. He just has not been caught by the owner or CO's yet. But he will eventually get his due when they finally catch him trespassing.

Funny thing is when the CO's are out on the water in their boat everyone of the guys in the bigger boats are going about 2 mph or less . Funny how that works. People are in too much of a hurry and will go as fast as they want when there are no CO's around.

And how do you enforce this rule of Idle speed only? What exactly is idle speed? Is it 1 mph, 1.5 mph or 3 mph? Does it depend on the boat and motor? Do the CO's need to check your speed with a radar gun or laser gun? What will the local Judge say?

It's much easier to enforce the motor size limit IMHO. But then again I'm glad that they changed the rule as now I can run my 35 HP motor to recover my boat at the end of the day. And I know that if my trolling motor stops working I can fire up the gas engine and get back to the launch ramp. It would be great if everyone followed the rules but they don't all do that. And that's the problem. We have little enforcement of the rules (Idle speed rule) that I have seen. Now the CO's do enforce other rules. They give tickets to people fishing without a fishing license and they make people wear their life jackets when they are in small boats like canoes and kayaks. Or at least they have to have the life jacket in the boat with them when they are out on the water. Which is a good thing.

When I first read about this possibility my first reaction was "great I would be able to take my boat out at a small closer lake". However now that I have had time to think about it I am against it. In theory it is wonderful and makes sense. In reality it counts on people following the rules in small lakes where there likely won't be regular enforcement present. Sadly I don't have confidence in everyone follow the rules and really it would only take one person not doing so to be an issue in some of these lakes. Like many things the majority will follow the law but there will also be that percentage that never does and ignores laws and safety. There are plenty of large bodies of water available in the state that anyone with a boat can easily find a place to go. However there are limited small bodies where both canoeists, kayakers and people in small boats can go to and not have to worry about the intrusion from larger boats. Places where a parent might be comfortable allowing a teenager to go fishing in a small boat or kayak safely without fear of being swamped by someone. I believe the law even in large lakes is that a boat is not to create a wake if a boat is still and someone is fishing from it, or something to that effect. I can say for certain that many don't follow that law, as I assume similar results would occur in the small lakes if the larger boats were allowed on it.

Leave the few smaller lakes to the people that have bought small boat to enjoy them. And if someone really wants to save on gas and fish in small lakes closer to home then they should simply buy themselves a kayak or something similar to enjoy those as well as the larger ones.