# Highlandtown HP limit



## ProudPotter (Apr 2, 2011)

Was out for a ride yesterday and went by Highlandtown and noticed new signs with new limit of 10 hp. This is great news as this is my closest state lake and was always a pain trolling the whole lake with my electric. Guess it will be a little easier to get to the crappie! 

http://www2.ohiodnr.gov/news/post/o...ule-changes-for-perch-limits-bait-inspections


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## J23 (Mar 9, 2010)

I have fished Highlandtown for years, and though it is rather slow and inconvenient 'trolling' from one place to another, especially when the headwinds pick up, I think the gas motors are quickly going to become an annoyance. One of Highlandtown's greatest attributes is how quiet and relaxing it is, especially for people who enjoy Kayaking or fishing out of a 'yak. 

It only takes a few morons..


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## sparkman (Dec 18, 2004)

I have enjoyed the peace and quiet of Highlandtown for many years. Only get there 1-2 times per year and usually when the other lakes are overun with boats. Very sorry to see they are allowing gas motors. I am not against gas motors, I own two, but....


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## cumminsmoke (Aug 13, 2013)

I am happy that they made it a 10hp lake. The quiet of the trolling motor is nice until you get caught in the breeze and you are stuck in a corner or a battery dies. I went online to DNR and weighed in on the issues that went up this year and voted to make this lake 10hp. When I was out there last year DNR was cruising around for several weeks on the lake with a 20hp, I could hear it but it wasn't annoying. I think Guilford is about the same size lake and has 10hp, its quiet there. The vehicle noise at Guilford is more annoying than the boats. Being I only live a few miles from Highlandtown I fish it a ton in the summer, me and my daughter always get a mess of cats for the skillet in the summer evenings.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

Guilford is about 3 times the size of highlandtown.... the 10 HP limit will destroy that lake. They would have been better off making it an unlimited/ idle only restriction. It's gonna be a shame to see people limping their boats back to the ramp after they run over all those "reefs" the state has planted over the last 20 years...

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## cumminsmoke (Aug 13, 2013)

well I guess it is bigger, @ 396 acres VS 187 acres, not quite 3 times though. It would have been nice if it would have been idle only but everyone had a chance to vote on ODNR's site, I must not have been the only one. It didn't have a "idle only" area but did have a comments section, i did mention that I would like it to be a 10hp limit but would ask that they weigh in the kayak folks as many of them like to run that lake because of its quiet nature. I would imagine if enough folks emailed DNR that they may restrict it to idle only, that would be better than my trolling motor at least.


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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

cumminsmoke said:


> well I guess it is bigger, @ 396 acres VS 187 acres, not quite 3 times though. It would have been nice if it would have been idle only but everyone had a chance to vote on ODNR's site, I must not have been the only one. It didn't have a "idle only" area but did have a comments section, i did mention that I would like it to be a 10hp limit but would ask that they weigh in the kayak folks as many of them like to run that lake because of its quiet nature. I would imagine if enough folks emailed DNR that they may restrict it to idle only, that would be better than my trolling motor at least.


The ODNR has been put through the wringer over the issue of HP restrictions VS idle only restrictions, yet for whatever reason, they feel it's not a viable solution to have "unlimited HP- idle only" restrictions on all of the states smaller bodies of water that already permit the use of HP restricted engines. (Yes, the are trialling on a couple bodies of water, but not enough)
With exception to the "dead battery/safety factor", I would like to see all electric lakes stay electric. HP restrictions are outdated. The don't have HP restrictions on a highway or residential street. They use speed limits. And you don't need a speedometer to know if you're traveling above idle speed.

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## Bad Bub (Jan 17, 2006)

And the reason I say it will destroy that lake is not due to it bringing in more people, but because of the lakes terrain and bottom composition. Those big, flat, mud banks getting slammed by the wakes that an underpowered boat throws, will turn highlandtown into a complete mud hole. There's no shoreline vegetation to act as a buffer, and most of the bottom is soft, silty mud. It will be chocolate milk by July....

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