Why is pa so against letting atv's and snowmobiles on the ice

[Longgunner2002]

never knew why Pa is so against using powered transportation on the Ice I have fished Mi. and Ny. with our atv? why are we in the dark ages

[Stickhick86]

Have wondered that for a long time.

[quickco]

i think its contaminates gas,oil, antifreeze they want to keep at a minimum.

[builder]

our ice across the state usually isn't safe enough for wheelers and snowmobiles. they go through the ice all the time up new York. northern pa would probably be good.

[deer george]

They could put a minimum ice thickness like 6" or maybe from Rt 80 and north, and large fines if you don't follow the law (Pa. likes big fines ) but I don't see this coming anytime soon??

[Stickhick86]

Sounds like big dreams there deer george.

[builder]

the fish commission would agree to large fines but no wheelers or snowmobiles. up new York it is really neat seeing all those guys heading out on wheelers instead of walking. especially on a long walk. i'd love to be able to use a wheeler on sayers. you could hit a bunch of good spots far apart in one day.

[Lawrence88]

Because Pennsylvania likes bad laws - and Pennsylvanians are too proud to admit that they are bad laws.  It's the same with having to wear licenses on your jacket.  Or not being able to carry an expired license on your person. Or needing an FBI background check to volunteer at your church youth group.  I could go on 

[deer george]

They could put a minimum ice thickness like 6" or maybe from Rt 80 and north, and large fines if you don't follow the law (Pa. likes big fines ) but I don't see this coming anytime soon??

[deer george]

That's another bad law ,having to ware your licence on the outside. You go out and spend a few hundred bucks on a good garment and they want you to put a hole in it , WHO makes these laws anyway???

[captain54]

Only place is Presque isle from the town side,you can't get within 500" feet of the park side.

[butcher]

I think this is a very good rule in PA.  New York and Wisconsin have much colder and longer ice seasons than PA (in general) and make enough ice to support motorized vehicles for extended periods of time.  Lakes in the northern part of Pennsylvania and the Pocono region may be OK but the rest of the state doesn't get enough ice to support the weight of an ATV or snowmobile for any meaningful amount of time.  I'd venture to guess that most of the lakes in PA see no more than 8 inches of ice during a good year in the winter months and that ice rarely lasts more than a few weeks (if at all).  If PA allowed ATVs and snow machines on the ice, they'd almost certainly be pulling vehicles and bodies from our waterways far too often.   

[Fishslime]

it only takes a few knuckleheads to ruin it for everyone

[richinpa]

Yea and then every idiot with a four wheeler will go and buy a fishing license and a pole just to have a new place to do donuts! (I’m thinking like a twenty year old here) I’m for it but only for the disabled and elderly when Ice is thick enough.

[Icemole]

 Buy a couple of Huskies and hitch them up ... you can feed them your 3 deer(or go to SRA and shoot 10)... 

[OntarioRider]

... Or needing an FBI background check to volunteer at your church youth group.  I could go on 

Sorry .. I don't see this as being a bad law. Proper criminal records checks for anyone volunteering or providing services in a vulnerable sector should be required to withstand a rigorous background check. The same is true in Canada. It may not be popular but it protects our youth and our elders.

[StonecoldCat]

I think this is a very good rule in PA.  New York and Wisconsin have much colder and longer ice seasons than PA (in general) and make enough ice to support motorized vehicles for extended periods of time.  Lakes in the northern part of Pennsylvania and the Pocono region may be OK but the rest of the state doesn't get enough ice to support the weight of an ATV or snowmobile for any meaningful amount of time.  I'd venture to guess that most of the lakes in PA see no more than 8 inches of ice during a good year in the winter months and that ice rarely lasts more than a few weeks (if at all).  If PA allowed ATVs and snow machines on the ice, they'd almost certainly be pulling vehicles and bodies from our waterways far too often.

Agree,the last thing I want when Im on the ice-a pack of idiots racing their sleds down the lake! Most lakes here are not really that big and the ones that are [Army Corp lakes] seldom freeze evenly enough to be safe for machines.

[Jiggerdoodle]

There was a guy on Pymatuning back in the early 80's  who use to use a flat bottom boat that he attached a air boat fan to it.  It wasn't fast only 10 hp motor.   It was noisey as all get out.   He did get stopped a couple of times for running it on the lake but he had the boat registered and the motor was a 10.  There was nothing they could do about it.  He even made sure to have a life jacket on board.  Wasn't very fast but when the snow was the powder typ you could a big white cloud coming down the lake.

A nice 14 foot flat bottom with a 20 hp motor should get you down the lake and you wouldn't have to worry about bad ice. 

[King of Pymatuning !]

That would have been a sight to see ! A frien :tipup:d of mine always wanted to try using a 10hp lawn tractor to pull his shed out onto the ice because if would be within the hp ratings ! Lol I've seen people run ice sleds on Pyme years ago . Kind of liked like a catamaran . They were really moving too !

[PymyProwler]

You're allowed atv's on Conneaut, Canadohta and Presque Isle Bay.... Unless something has changed in the past few years.

I fished Timberland baits ice fishing derby about 3 years ago on Conneaut and we actually got pizza delivered to us on a side by side atv. Talk about service 

[Kov619]

I drove to my spot in NY ON 38 ins of ice 3 years ago....they had races on the lake with trucks...up in the adarondaks

[addictedangler]

 You are not legally bound to wear your fishing license on a outer garment in Pa. You can carry it in your wallet or even have it on a app. I work as a licensed guide and called HBg about it 2 years ago. A client had it on his cell phone and yes it was legal. Also I agree with no motorized vehicles on Pa fish and boat lakes. Many years ago it was permitted or perhaps just not enforced and it was a zoo. However some of the larger lakes could possible be a exception made.  Sometimes it is bad enough when a half dozen guys start there power augers up and decide to drill 20 plus holes with in 100 yrds of you. Not complaining but a little common sense goes a long way.

[pabassman]

You are not legally bound to wear your fishing license on a outer garment in Pa. You can carry it in your wallet or even have it on a app. I work as a licensed guide and called HBg about it 2 years ago. A client had it on his cell phone and yes it was legal. Also I agree with no motorized vehicles on Pa fish and boat lakes. Many years ago it was permitted or perhaps just not enforced and it was a zoo. However some of the larger lakes could possible be a exception made.  Sometimes it is bad enough when a half dozen guys start there power augers up and decide to drill 20 plus holes with in 100 yrds of you. Not complaining but a little common sense goes a long way.

Pa is behind in everything. Still no Sunday hunting. The below is copied from the fish commish site regarding license display. Its a shame with 2018 days away and all the tech we use you still need to poke a hole in your clothes.
2018 FISHING LICENSES
Annual licenses are valid from December 1, 2017, through December 31, 2018. WHILE FISHING, your license must be signed in ink and must be displayed on an outer garment. In addition, anglers must be prepared to furnish positive proof of identification.

[Icemole]

 Having your license displayed saves the PFBC employee from having to check every person they see !  Of course he can still check you even with your license displayed but 9 out of 10 times he won't unless he sees a violation occur.

 We no longer have to display our hunting licenses in Pa. which in my opinion was a STUPID move by the PGC as now they have to check everybody !

[addictedangler]

 Yes Pa Bass that is what it says. But the Pa fish and boat permits you to have a phone app. So call HBG and ask them how to display the app. They continue to print it but that is not true. Please call Hbg and ask for law enforcement and be direct. Question should be can I have a app. on my phone and do I need to have it exposed on my outer garment to be legal in Pa.  Also it has been at least 10 years that they discontinued the law of if it is not displayed you are fined on the spot. It was changed and you have x amount of days to show proof of having you valid Pa fishing license.  I read the full regulation law book every year. As a licensed guide I can not afford to make a mistake. There are many things that are written such as you can only tie your horse up at certain places in town and so on. That does not mean it holds water.
  Trappers have the same problem of setting body gripper traps in a water course. so what is a water course? These are only a few examples of why we need to call the top dogs and verify what is the law and not what we think or what we read.

[esoxnepa]

Around 5:15 in this video, the head of the Fish and Boat testifies license display is no longer required.  It is "for the convenience of the angler."

https://www.facebook.com/reppeifer/videos/1687659368199205/

I always display, out of habit, but I don't worry anymore if my license get's covered by a life jacket or some other piece of clothing.  I wish I had the exact copy of the law saying display isn't required, but I've never found it.

[pabassman]

Around 5:15 in this video, the head of the Fish and Boat testifies license display is no longer required.  It is "for the convenience of the angler."

https://www.facebook.com/reppeifer/videos/1687659368199205/

I always display, out of habit, but I don't worry anymore if my license get's covered by a life jacket or some other piece of clothing.  I wish I had the exact copy of the law saying display isn't required, but I've never found it.

Nice find! Good to have. I agree I still display. While it might be "ok" to not there are still a few COs that may give you a hassle because its written in the regs book about displaying it. If its really a convenience of the angler why dont they just make the change.

[Ice Scratcher]

Maybe?



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[pabassman]

 This is how you do it LOL.

[Ice Scratcher]

This is how you do it LOL.

No, this is how I do it lol...

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