haven,t noticed the speedboaters ,n, pwc,ers show too much interest in the welfare of the fishermen on shenango or conneat so far. in fact, quite the opposite. so i don,t think they can be counted on to help in the improvement of the fisherie, tho i,d bet they,ll help get the h.p. restrictions removed. JMHO.

+1 I don't see removing HP restrictions helping the fishing at all. It may generate more interest but I'd bet for every fisherman newly interested there'd be 3 jet skis or pleasure boaters wanting to use it as a drag strip. "The fishing sucks anyway, right"

+2

If a lake allows gas motors you should be able to use any Hp,  just idle/no wake if over 20hp.  I would fish Wilhelm and a few other lakes a lot more often.  I like having some lakes reserved just for fishing and no power sports.  Just think I should be able to use my boat and keep the trottle back.

abear: please convince us that you wouldn,t "drop the hammer" on your roarsrite 500 hp speed boat , ever, if given the chance on wilhelm. boro: wonder if anyone ever thought to have an amish write a book on fishing, these guys are apparently "fishin machines." i,ve fished around them at wilhelm, shenango, kahle, mahoning, tamarac ,n, elsewhere ,n, they catch about same as anyone else. tho i will say they play pretty loose with the regs.

Well Bingsbaits ......well said, covers everything that needs to be covered. Hell I'm running around with a little 9.9 hp on a 16'  enough for me might break down for a 20 hp someday ...lol ... As far as the tourny go, I try to stay away, also had a amish crew ( 2 boats ) dift right down through the middle of 4  boats last May at Pymy after they knew we had found some crappies...thought it was rather rude myself... yes they keep almost everything they catch.

Shenango Lake is totally out of control with High Horsepower boats. I've seen that lake actually mud up brown from all the wakes crashing the shores. Even Shenango is a joke as far as size running wide open. It only takes minutes to run East and West before you hit a no wake zone at one of the R.R bridges. Most have no respect for fishing boats especially if your drifting or anchored. I personally watched a skier tangle in fishing lines from a boat trolling! Believe me their fishing lines were not way back either.

I do like boro's theory of a speed limit. But I feel enforcement would be non existent. Especially with my experience on other unlimited lakes, with skiers and jet skis, and yes, bass boats, regularly ignoring posted no wake zones and rules for distance to boats not under way.

BoroMusky
Can we all agree though that the argument of "you would ruin your prop" is the most pointless of all arguments in this convo.  If I were to run aground, hit a stump, or go too shallow... it is my* fault. not the lake's fault, not my boat's fault, not the fish commissioner's fault.  Take responsibility to your own actions and don't try to blame someone or something else.  If it's too shallow, slow down... if you don't know how deep the lake is, find a map.

First off, that wasn't even a main argument, more rather a concern of adding UHP to a smaller lake. Jet Skiers and Pleasure boaters are often inconsiderate to the environment around them which would be a safety issue on a shallow lake.  But if you want to bring it up again sure it is personal responsibility regardless of what size motor you have on your boat. The issue with Wilhelm is it is very narrow and shallow in parts, most are marked areas and some areas are not. IMO there is just simply not enough room to have UHP. UHP allowance with a speed limit in effect would never be enforced, I probably seen a commission officer on that lake once in the past 7-8 years.

I personally believe that removing the horsepower limit is a RETARDED idea.
 However my 2 cents to help the problem is to reduce the limit and numbers of large bass that are taken through the ice.
 With all of the ice fisherman taking large bass reduces the numbers of bass in the lake, Crappies as well.
 Also with leaving some of the larger fish in the lake, they may just be able to eat up more of the shad.
 I am a firm believer that if more guys would release fish our fisheries would be much better than they are.
 If you take a good look at the GOOD YEARS that we all talk about, you will find that there were much less fishermen back then. This means less fish were being taken.
Don't get me wrong, I do keep some fish. BUT, I ONLY KEEP WHAT WILL BE EATEN THAT DAY OR THE NEXT. And I never keep bass. That is just me.
Also The blue army does not help our cause, They know how to kill any fisherie or good hunting areas. These guys keep and kill anything in sight.

I have been going to Wilhelm since I was real young, and it really is a shame to see how far downhill it has gotten. I remember when the marina used to be busy, and there were a good amount of boats on the water. It is almost like no one really goes to Wilhelm at all anymore. There is so much potential with that lake for fishing given the structure and amount of coves throughout the lake. Somehow these shad numbers need to decrease within the next few years, or the problem may get even worse.

WITH PREDETORS!

FF,
I'd say mostly from winter die offs. Then the predators help to a better balance,  At least the lake closest near I.
 
crappy

I would love to see more lakes become unlimited horsepower and have a speed limit or "no wake" area pr areas.  I too have the money to buy a kicker motor, but I only have a 40hp as my main motor!  Having a 20hp kicker motor next to a 40hp main motor would be ridiculous in my opinion.  My 40hp would then be even more underpowered.