Minneapolis chain of lake

For you guys that fish these, is it legal if my big motor is just trimmed up? I’m not sure how it works for regulations

That is my understanding. Have yet to do it though.

Yes, I live near the lakes and I see that done all of the time. Plenty of big bass boats are out there in the summer doing that.

I haven’t ever seen regs on how a motor should be stowed. Have done quite a few jobs on the lakes and have seen plenty of boats that have the motor down.

Would assume they pull them out to not create drag when tooling around but if the wind is pushing ya around u shouldn’t have issue having it in the water from my observations.

No fish in them, don’t bother. If ya catch one don’t ever tell anybody about it. Dead seas, like fight club, that’s what I heard…..

No gas, you can have your motor down to steer. Good luck

Ryan Walker wrote:

No fish in them, don’t bother. If ya catch one don’t ever tell anybody about it. Dead seas, like fight club, that’s what I heard…..

No gas, you can have your motor down to steer. Good luck

Hah! I remember that thread.

Only issue in the summer on the chain of lakes is parking. Get there early.

Saw plenty of boats on Nokomis with motors up and down on busy weekends – they never got bothered. I did see a car get escorted off the ice. I think the reg essentially boils down to something like “no gas motors moving you around the lake” as they allow augers.

mahtofire14 wrote:

That is my understanding. Have yet to do it though.

That is my understanding of it too. You can have it, you just can’t use it.

There are some lakes that also have a max HP rating too. In that case, you cannot have an outboard above that rating, even if you aren’t using it.

As long as you don’t start the gas motor, you are good to go.

Now there always seems to be some lawyer at the boat ramp that says otherwise. Just ignore them. Getting into a debate is completely pointless.

-J.

gimruis wrote:

There are some lakes that also have a max HP rating too. In that case, you cannot have an outboard above that rating, even if you aren’t using it

While that may be true, specifically speaking to the chain this is irrelevant just for clarity

Deuces wrote:

While that may be true, specifically speaking to the chain this is irrelevant just for clarity

Yes, sorry if I wasn’t clear on that with my previous post.

The DNR has added Tiger Muskie to most city lakes in recent years. I believe that you need to check the slot, but I think it is over 45″ to keep it.

I would like to see a show with James out on Nokomis, either on the ice or open water. Might be an interesting viewing for those that have grown up in that area…

djshannon wrote:

The DNR has added Tiger Muskie to most city lakes in recent years. I believe that you need to check the slot, but I think it is over 45″ to keep it.

Not entirely accurate. As of 2020, there are only 12 lakes stocked with tiger muskies. Calhoun, Harriet, and Lake of the Isles do not have them, they have pure strains. While its possible to still catch a tiger where they are not stocked as a result of natural cross-breeding, it would be very rare. Here are the lakes stocked with tiger muskies.

Bryant (Hennepin)
Cedar (Scott)
Clear (Washington)
Crystal (Dakota)
Crystal (Hennepin)
Elmo (Washington)
Gervais (Ramsey)
Johanna (Ramsey)
Nokomis (Hennepin)
Orchard (Dakota)
Phalen (Ramsey)
Weaver (Hennepin)

Additionally, the minimum size to keep a tiger muskie is 40 inches, not 45. They don’t grow nearly as big as a pure strain. A 40 inch tiger muskie is a trophy caliber fish, comparable to a 50 inch pure strain. I spend a fair amount of time on a few of these lakes targeting tiger muskies.

Thanks for the correction, my interest is that I grew up near Nokomis and did some bridge fishing 60 years ago…

I would still like to see an episode with James out on Nokomis

djshannon wrote:

I would still like to see an episode with James out on Nokomis

Agreed, an episode there or on another “city” lake would be interesting.

I vaguely recall (many years ago) that your watercraft also needed a license for the afore mentioned MPLS lakes.

Still true?

Paul D wrote:

I vaguely recall (many years ago) that your watercraft also needed a license for the afore mentioned MPLS lakes.

Still true?

No it needs to be inspected for the evil AIS

Here’s some #’s if the folks ain’t there.

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Just don’t keep anything in your truck while it’s at the launch or you’ll have a broken window by the time you get back to load your boat. If you’re truck is still there….

Plenty of rural launches where you cannot see your rig that are more risky than city acceses. Most of the city stuff is well lit and has a DNR person at it-I have had my trailer lights cut twice, once in Washington Co. and the other time in Central Mn. I fish all over this state and I also fish Calhoun, Nokomis, Isles, Cedar, at these lakes I have never had a problem with vandalism or theft, this after over 25 years of fishing.

tim hurley wrote:

Plenty of rural launches where you cannot see your rig that are more risky than city acceses. Most of the city stuff is well lit and has a DNR person at it-I have had my trailer lights cut twice, once in Washington Co. and the other time in Central Mn. I fish all over this state and I also fish Calhoun, Nokomis, Isles, Cedar, at these lakes I have never had a problem with vandalism or theft, this after over 25 years of fishing.

Yup. It’s safe because there are so many people around. Not an easy target.

What a sad and uninformed comment. I guess better parking for the rest of us. Big cities have lots of people, hence more issues than places outside the 494/694 loop. But tossing lob shots on the internet at places hundreds of thousands visit every year is weak. But go on man if it makes ya laugh. I walk my dog, eat with my family, and fish around these lakes every week. Lock your doors and watch your own bobber.

Ryan Walker wrote:

What a sad and uninformed comment. I guess better parking for the rest of us. Big cities have lots of people, hence more issues than places outside the 494/694 loop. But tossing lob shots on the internet at places hundreds of thousands visit every year is weak. But go on man if it makes ya laugh. I walk my dog, eat with my family, and fish around these lakes every week. Lock your doors and watch your own bobber.

You’re taking offense to a comment that wasn’t meant to be offensive. Crime at all the city lakes and parks is an issue. Most in this thread live near and fish all of them. While not a city lake, I saw 14 catalytic converters cut off trucks at the 494 launch in broad daylight. I’ve seen rows of cars with windows smashed in at Nokomis.

Crime happens everywhere and the city lakes are an issue with crime.

I always put the DNR weed folk to work, I tell them I am fishing alone so when I go to park my car they watch my boat-when I load my boat I have them watch for pedestrians. Those DNR people have always been polite and helpful.