Ive lived all over the great USA and some of these laws you guys have up here in the north are just stupid. They run all kinds of horsepower everywhere else and it doesnt effect anything. And it also doesnt effect your fishing. Its just another way to have control over hard working people who pay alot of unwanted taxes. HA HA! We have to stand up to these people someway or somehow.

ORIGINAL: Timachro

When i was at the sportsman show in Feb., I ask a wco about this very subject. He said that if they raised the hp then most people would then have 20 hp stickers on 40 or 50 hp motors. And that most jetskis have 40 hp motors. Thats just what he told me.

 
That WCO is fairly uninformed even from the info that comes from his superiors.  Where was he from?

Sorry I don't know her name. I was told that the "former" legislator was a member of one of the Pymatuning sailboat clubs and he was totally against a horsepower increase which stalled the whole deal.
 
I'm just being optimistic that the new legislator will listen and be more open to change.
 
Here's to hoping!

I agree with Ready to Fish on his prediction. Maybe the fact that the PFBC is "cracking down" on some motors will compel more people to contact their legislators and get Pymy out of the 19th century. One can only hope. While I agree PA has done what they needed to do and Ohio is holding it all up, for those of us in PA it can't hurt to call our legislators as well. Maybe it will compel PA and Ohio to at least sit down at the table again. I hope the new legislator from Ohio doesn't have the same bias as the old one. This whole debate is getting really old. Those resisting change at Pymy should spend some time at Wilhelm and Arthur and see that the HP increase has not changed utilization of the lake, has not increased the risk of accidents, and has not resulted in shoreline erosion. The fact that Pymy remains 10 HP limited is a joke. Can you imagine if the speed limit on the turnpike was the same as when it was first constructed??

Link to Deborah Newcomb's site:
 
 
 
http://www.house.state.oh.us/jsps/MemberDetails.jsp?DISTRICT=99

yea and hang a fine mesh net from the buouys to the bottom, leave it 5 years and see who stocks more fish.....

She said she only likes electric. Preferably D cell.

i'll do it over the weekend and will let you know what transpires.

I guess it’s my turn to write in…I was one of the fisherman the WCO stopped on the boat ramp at Linesville ( end of the road ) in mid April. I was tying down my rig when he pulled up and engaged in friendly conversation about my day’s fishing and after 3 minutes or so he got out of his truck and walked around the drivers side of my motor looking for some indicator that it was above 10HP, well he found it on my very small emissions sticker.
He returned to his truck obviously delighted of the fact he “got” me but he did not immediately inform me of his find. He again engaged in conversation about the weather and I commented I would be returning later in the week after the water warms a bit. At that point the sprung his discovery on me and warned me in an almost personally irritated manner that my motor was a 20HP and in violation and if I returned he would fine me. Well, I never denied to him I was in violation but tried to explain that in my opinion most motors are in violation on this lake but was under the impression unless you do something stupid on the water like speeding around disturbing other boaters, creating an unnecessary wake etc. that I would not be bothered. I asked him “ just what did I do out there for him to be so concerned about my motor size?” ( I run my motor very slow on shallow water tilt to avoid the stumps ) His reply was “ I did not even see you on the water or I could fine you right now, but I know you were on the lake because of the water dripping off your boat”. I guess I was especially unhappy about this because he did not check me for a license, PFD’s, or any fish, etc. just the motor size. After talking with his supervisor at the PFBC I was informed that over the winter this WCO went to various dealerships and found indicators on the motors that would not be on 10HP’s and after my experience at the ramp he is in pursuit of violators.
Well I guess I understand his position as he was hired to enforce the regardless how little sense the law makes but my question is.. Why the upbeat enforcement this year? With little internet research one can find out the reason Pymy hasn’t been raised to 20HP ( Pymatuning compact).
The reason I and many others bought the 4- Stroke 20 HP Honda is because they are very clean burning and much less polluting than the older 10HP 2-strokes.
In my opinion a 20HP limit would attract larger safer boats and fewer of the little aluminum shells I read about when someone drowns, after all isn’t the bottom line about being on the water safely.
Oh. And by the way, I saw him again two weeks ago at Espyville marina and he informed me there is no change and he will still fine me and any others that test his warning. He also said there are 2 big tournaments coming up and he will be checking. Good grief…

Trout About,
When he said if I "returned" I think he implied that if I return and RUN my motor on the lake. I have used my boat and 20HP motor for 3 years with no problems and have had encounters with the WCO's with never a mention of my motor size...Well.. this year is a whole new ballgame. Oh by the way a different WCO suggested I could use my electric motor on the lake and my reply was it would get me out there but maybe not back without my battery running dead. I guess I have the option of using my 5000 watt gas generator on the bow of my boat to recharge..LOL..Oh thats right it's 12 HP. I'll just fish elswhere untill this all works out. The positive side of all this is it motivates me to try other lakes I often overlook and I will save a weeks camping fees for the last week of April that my wife and I have done for the past three years. I am not a musky fisherman and the walleye are doing very poorly on Pymy so I really am only missing out on crappie and we all know with little effort we can catch them elswhere too.  Have a great day people.

Hey folks now is the time to contact your representatives. There is a meeting this Friday between PA and Ohio representatives and Pymy officials. It is well documented that Ohio is holding up the increase to 20 HP but it can't hurt for all of us to be contacting both the PA and Ohio representatives involved. Let's not let a small group of organized voices (ie. landowners/sail boaters) keep Pymy from entering the 21st century. If no change occurs this year and the enforcement continues, I can almost guarantee my bass club will vote not to fish Pymy next year. I expect other bass clubs and the various bass/walleye/crappie tournament trails to do the same. While some on this board may welcome that idea, let's be clear that utilization of the lake will go down and the local economy will be negatively impacted. A lot of people are going to respond like "just keep a few" is above and simply go somewhere else to fish. With the declining walleye population one would think that governmental officials would be looking at ways to enhance utilization of the lake, not decrease it by enforcing outdated HP restrictions.  Having two motors for limited HP lakes is pretty ridiculous and difficult in today's economy.  

Tha chage would be good, as long as it is for ALL boats....not just pontoons over 16'.
 
I was surveyed, on the water, by an Ohio DNR officer a few years ago.  He asked me what it would take to encourage me to use the lake more.  I told him: "let me run a 25 like you got on your boat".  He gave me a dirty look and sped off.

Same - E-mails sent

i'm an ohio guy and i care, but we have some really uncaring legilators in the buckeye state, when it comes to the outdoors.   i sent my e-mail, hopefully she will get back to me.

I also have come full circle on this issue,I wish hey would up it to 20 hp to be consistent with the other pas state park lakes like wilhelm and arthur! my lund barely goes 4mph with my true 9.9 pro kicker merc on pyma.does raise safety issues when a storm comes up. id fire the 90 in a heartbeat they can fine me when i get in!! on the other hand i only go to pyma maybe twice a year because of the regulation too big a lake to go that slow for that long!!!so pa loses a lot of my money since i go to Mosquito instaed also i catch fish  at mosquito not only crappie but just tis past sunday i kept 5 nice walleyes let some smaller ones go,
 Im not crying the blues i do love pymatuning used to spend the entire month of may at linesville campground.but b/c of the regs and the fishing i go elsewhere!!! Do hope they change for all concerned .
 
                                                             ICENUT