I live in Missouri but fish mostly in Illinois. Over here we can use our big motor as long as we don't make a wake. Is this allowed in Illinois ? Thanks.
Mac from Missouri
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I live in Missouri but fish mostly in Illinois. Over here we can use our big motor as long as we don't make a wake. Is this allowed in Illinois ? Thanks.
Mac from Missouri
have to check regs at lake you are fishing . there are some lakes here that have hp resistrictions, will not allow your main outboard in water must be trimed up .
Cant speak for all HP restricted lakes, but the two I'm most familiar with, Newton and Coffeen I wouldn't take a chance firing up your big motor.
Agree (mostly) with gwk - 'most' lakes will allow you to use your big motor at the ramp for loading or unloading. THe rest of the time - not at all. I've not heard of any that require it to be trimmed up, but have heard other things like removing the prop, taking out gas tank, etc. It's site specific so best to check on the lake you plan to visit. Wish there was one reg for all lakes, but sadly there's not.
I would believe you would be asking for trouble remember its ILLinois so it doesn't have to make any sense
Just imagine how crowded these small 25 h.p. limited lakes would be if you could idle any size motor. In the winter, there wouldn't be room on the water to do anything but idle.Quote:
Originally Posted by djcoop52
Attachment 259727
This is on a board at the main ramp for coffeen.
As others have said, check each lake for specifics. Says nothing about raising the engine.
Depends on the lake
Sanchris the same as Coffeen for motor use.
Most of the Illinois Lakes will allow you to load and unload with your big motor. They will also allow you to fire up the big motor and no-wake back to the ramp in an emergency situation and/or if your trolling motor died.
Some HP restricted lakes do allow the use of your big motor, no-wake only. I don't know of any Illinois lakes that control by speed limits. Generally it's controlled by two things, parking spaces at the ramp and hp restrictions on the water.
Then there are lakes that won't even allow gas motors on the boat while on the lake.
I live in Central Illinois (Peoria area) and know of at least one lake in each of those categories.
Unlimited hp: Clinton, Illinois River, Shelbyville and others.
40hp limit: Lake Bloomington
25 hp limit: Banner Marsh
10 hp limit: Evergreen Lake, Snake-Den Hollow
10 hp limit, unlimited hp (no-wake): Dawson Lake
Electric Only: Emiquaon Preserve, Eureka Lake- no gas on boat.
You need to know before you go. Around here- 10hp motor carry a premium price and a good used one can be extremely difficult to find.