# Piedmont horsepower



## turkeyt

Never saw anything more but, has there been any talk or changes on the horsepower limit on Piedmont lake?


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## Fishinaddict

Last I heard it was 9.9. Wanted to go there for years but I got a whopping 25hp! on the Alumacraft.


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## bustedrod

check the rules for each lake on motors, some i think allow bigger motors use but cant go above idle. do ya have an elect bow motor ? just a thought


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## Hatchetman

turkeyt said:


> Never saw anything more but, has there been any talk or changes on the horsepower limit on Piedmont lake?



Piedmont is 10 HP limit. You can fish with a boat with a bigger motor on it, just can't run it. They tried a few years ago to increase the HP limit but it failed. Clendenning and Leesville are also 10 HP


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## Specwar

And, there is a 10mph speed limit on this lake too. I just discovered this about a month ago! Several years ago I had a 15 with. 9.9 cover and would run wide open at 22 mph from Egypt Valley back to the marina almost every time I was on this lake. Guess I should count my lucky stars that the Ranger never stopped me. Not that you see them there very often.


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## PromiseKeeper

For years I've said that speed limits instead of horsepower would be great except there would be the enforcement problem. I for one would be willing to go slow if I could use my bigger motor.


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## Ronny

Specwar said:


> And, there is a 10mph speed limit on this lake too. I just discovered this about a month ago! Several years ago I had a 15 with. 9.9 cover and would run wide open at 22 mph from Egypt Valley back to the marina almost every time I was on this lake. Guess I should count my lucky stars that the Ranger never stopped me. Not that you see them there very often.


Not sure where you heard that, but it's not true. You may be thinking of Hoover which is Columbus property.
Nice to know there are so many rule breakers though, altering decals just to go a little faster.


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## Specwar

It’s clearly posted on the sign beside the ramp at the marina.


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## Ronny

After dark?


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## Specwar

Never looked at the sign after dark.
Motor was on the boat when I bought it. Don’t understand your concerns.


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## SaugI

You can go to Piedmont on nearly any given day and see motors in use well in excess of 9.9hp.
It’s a 9.9hp lake but i have never seen or heard of the law being enforced. As long as you run a big motor at idle you’re fine.


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## DHower08

SaugI said:


> You can go to Piedmont on nearly any given day and see motors in use well in excess of 9.9hp.
> It’s a 9.9hp lake but i have never seen or heard of the law being enforced. As long as you run a big motor at idle you’re fine.


Do not listen to this info


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## Specwar

Houseboats are permitted to use up to I believe a 25 or 35 depending on the vessel’s size, but all others are limited to 10HP.


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## Jim white

Specwar said:


> Houseboats are permitted to use up to I believe a 25 or 35 depending on the vessel’s size, but all others are limited to 10HP.


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## RH1

SaugI said:


> You can go to Piedmont on nearly any given day and see motors in use well in excess of 9.9hp.
> It’s a 9.9hp lake but i have never seen or heard of the law being enforced. As long as you run a big motor at idle you’re fine.


Not even close to accurate. 
Piedmont is 10hp maximum


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## SaugI

I didn’t say that Piedmont isn’t officially a 9.9hp lake. What I am saying is that there are boats on Piedmont on a regular basis with motors in excess of 9.9hp. They are being run at idle speed but nevertheless they are in use.


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## Jim white

It would be nice if they would put a lot of them 10 horsepower Lakes on the same deal as you can use a bigger motor just at idle speed


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## Lewzer

MCWD lakes. They go by their own rules and not the states or USACE.


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## Hatchetman

SaugI said:


> You can go to Piedmont on nearly any given day and see motors in use well in excess of 9.9hp.
> It’s a 9.9hp lake but i have never seen or heard of the law being enforced. As long as you run a big motor at idle you’re fine.


That is SO wrong....don't do it....


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## Hatchetman

SaugI said:


> I didn’t say that Piedmont isn’t officially a 9.9hp lake. What I am saying is that there are boats on Piedmont on a regular basis with motors in excess of 9.9hp. They are being run at idle speed but nevertheless they are in use.


I have fished Piedmont for over 50 years and since it has been a 10HP lake I have never seen a big motor run except for the ODNR net people and the Ranger. Until the last few years since the 4 strokes came out, probably 95% of the 9.9's had 15 carbs and that doesn't bother me at all....


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## Hatchetman

Specwar said:


> Houseboats are permitted to use up to I believe a 25 or 35 depending on the vessel’s size, but all others are limited to 10HP.


This is true....


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## Jim white

Hatchetman said:


> This is true....


I'm not saying this isn't true but we're on the ODNR website do you find this information


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## Ronny

Jim white said:


> It would be nice if they would put a lot of them 10 horsepower Lakes on the same deal as you can use a bigger motor just at idle speed


Probably would not work on lakes that big. It's not realistic to think people would idle when they can't even obey the 10hp limit. It is already abused on smaller lakes, (idle plus 500-1000 rpm) and the no wake zones on Alum and other lakes.

For some reason people do think it is ok to idle around with 150-250hp outboards. Especially early in the season. See it on a regular basis at both Piedmont and Clendening, but if rangers aren't going to do their job then you'll have that. Not my job to harass violators.
On a side note. We all knew the hp restrictions when we purchased our boats. If you had a desire to fish these lakes you should have purchased accordingly. It's not the state or mwcd's responsibility to change the rules to accommodate you.


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## Hatchetman

Jim white said:


> I'm not saying this isn't true but we're on the ODNR website do you find this information



It has nothing to do with the ODNR, these are MWCD lakes, not ODNR lakes. All the rules are set by the MWCD board of directors, except for the fishing and boating laws. Call the Marina or the MWCD in New Philly or just look at some of the large pontoon boats and see how big a motor is on them. The ODNR enters into agreements with the MWCD in order to stock the lakes and have the right to enforce Ohio fishing and boating laws. The only thing we have to remember is that the MWCD does whatever it wants to on these lakes....


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## Jim white

Okay I understand that ODNR enforces the laws on these Lakes so on the ODNR website when it tells you about the horsepower for a certain Lake it should say something about a houseboat being able to have larger motor than a 10 horsepower. Imho thanks for the info


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## Hatchetman

Jim white said:


> Okay I understand that ODNR enforces the laws on these Lakes so on the ODNR website when it tells you about the horsepower for a certain Lake it should say something about a houseboat being able to have larger motor than a 10 horsepower. Imho thanks for the info



You are probably right with that statement. The reasoning, from what I understand, is that these X feet long houseboats are hard to control with a 9.9 and need a 25-35HP motor. My question is why the hell did you buy it for a 9.9 HP lake if it's not enough power? If I buy a 622 Ranger and tell them a 9.9 isn't enough power for it, guess what they tell me?


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## Carver

I agree, buy a smaller pontoon one that fits the lake. I fish in a 17 foot bass boat with a 155HP on it but I have a bracket on it for a 10 when I fish Piedmont and Clendenning. It is never permissible to run the big motor on either lake.


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## Bullet Bob

Hatchetman said:


> Piedmont is 10 HP limit. You can fish with a boat with a bigger motor on it, just can't run it. They tried a few years ago to increase the HP limit but it failed. Clendenning and Leesville are also 10 HP


Yes I haven’t heard any changes either


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## Ronny

Specwar said:


> It’s clearly posted on the sign beside the ramp at the marina.










This sign?
6mph after dark.


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## Bullet Bob

The rules are the rules I totally agree with Hatchet mans assessment. Plus Muskingum Watershed could give a flying roll In a donut about what we want, they have received millions on their oil and gas leases, so for sure they no longer need the average fisherman.


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## Jim white

They sure like assessing your property to. Rebuilding the dams right they're throwing money out the window redoing campgrounds that don't need nothing done. let alone touch a boat ramp that need something done with it maybe a dock for more than two boats to tie up at one time for the General Public


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## Jim white




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## Jim white

185 million right there nothing even done to a dam. And yes that is from the gas and oil money. They are assessing Property Owners with in the Muskingum Watershed for fixing dams that are in dire need. well then why isn't that 185 million dollars going to improve the dams of the Lakes within the Muskingum Watershed


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## Bullet Bob

Well case in point and they really don’t need our patronage to stay afloat even if it’s only run by a 9.9


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## Ronny

I can live with it the way it is. Been hitting it since I could drive solo. Fished it yesterday. Managed 2 ski fishing for eyes. No pic, solo release boatside. Did see two guys with bass trackers following each other that were definitely modified or mismarked. Went by me at 15+ mph and I heard them both throttle back before they passed me. Been on that lake over 35 years. I know how fast 9.9's are.
Do have pic of the morels I found today on my last day.


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## bountyhunter

sandyvalley school s just spend 3/4 a million on grass turf . could have put that money towards future bldg repairs . they,ll just raise your taxes when they need money.no problem.


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