I’m just curious if they still have the Slow wake Buoy’s out near the main landing there in Cold Spring. Its normally around this time that they remove them. Was thinking about hitting the lake but don’t want to do so if the slow wake is still in effect.
Thanks
I’m just curious if they still have the Slow wake Buoy’s out near the main landing there in Cold Spring. Its normally around this time that they remove them. Was thinking about hitting the lake but don’t want to do so if the slow wake is still in effect.
Thanks
Just because they remove them doesn’t mean you shouldn’t obey them. Being someone that has a home on the chain, I can’t stand when people fly under the 22 and 71 bridge.
Use the landing on 71 or 22 if you can’t wait out the 10 minutes of idle time.
Just because they remove them doesn’t mean you shouldn’t obey them. Being someone that has a home on the chain, I can’t stand when people fly under the 22 and 71 bridge.
Use the landing on 71 or 22 if you can’t wait out the 10 minutes of idle time.
If they are not there. There is nothing to Obey. My understanding is once the buoys are removed the no wake is no longer in effect. I think we are talking about a different part of the lake. The only bridges I cross under are 2 and 47. I always slow for the bridge area. Its a rather long no wake from the landing to get to Knaus lake. As a homeowner on the lake , If you don’t like the current DNR regulations you should do something to try and get them changed.
I have to agree with Tillrlife on this one. If the bouys are removed for the season the right thing to do is still obey the no wake zones after they’ve been removed. If it was a no wake zone due to water levels or something that would be a different situation.
How do you know where the buoys are if they have been removed though? If I went to this location next week and they weren’t there I would have no idea they had been there before I got there.
I’m not saying you shouldn’t slow down around a bridge or channel area, because obviously you should. But if the visual point of reference is gone, there’s nothing to mark it. Its like removing a stop sign on a road, kind of.
http://files.dnr.state.mn.us/rlp/regulations/boatwater/local_regs.pdf
Here are the regulations that show the no wake zones of stearns county.
They typically get installed just before the fishing opener and then pulled after Labor day, bouys on the Chain are meant for the high traffic/narrow areas as a safety precaution, a few also help alert drivers to shallow areas/rocks (so if they are pulled or not really shouldn’t matter, the reason for them still exists) When the water levels are high they help protect the shoreline owners (my parents have a cabin in one of those spots) in those narrow areas from wave erosion. As long as you’re smart about it, I don’t see any issues going a little above no wake speed when the bouys are removed in the fall when boating traffic slows down to mostly nothing…but eventually there will be a fall boating accident at the Koetter/Ceder Island intersection corner because you can’t see boats coming and there’s no space to avoid each other when you do (I’ve seen several bassboats come close over the years)…and driving fast under those bridges is just asking for trouble with all the debris that flows down that current channel…
I live in cold spring and don’t have a clue one way or the other if there in or out?? 
I never fish the chain open water!
To be honest, I have no idea of why the Buoys are there. They sometimes are in place and others times not. I simply obey the rules when in place and run like normal when not in place. For those who don’t know the area I’m talking about. Its a rather long no wake zone. We are not talking about a 100 Yards. It probably adds a extra hour or so getting to and from the area I want to fish. Like Gimruis said, Anyone who fishes the area for the 1st time would have no idea there was ever any buoys once they are removed. I’m not trying to be a A-hole. Just want to go go a little fishing and this time of year often limited with time. If the buoys are still in place, I’ll just go fish someplace else. Not a big deal to me either way !!!
When the water levels are high they help protect the shoreline owners (my parents have a cabin in one of those spots) in those narrow areas from wave erosion. As long as you’re smart about it, I don’t see any issues going a little above no wake speed when the bouys are removed in the fall when boating traffic slows down to mostly nothing
My boat and most Bass boats I know of make less Wake when running at full speed than a pleasure boat or pontoon makes at a slow speed.
What Chain of Lakes wakezone adds an hour to drive through? Highway 23 bridge access stretch in Cold Sping is probably the longest and it ain’t more than 5-10 minutes at the most? if you’re heading West on the water there are several launches alot closer…
I’ve fished the Chain for 30 years…
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>JoeMX1825 wrote:</div>
When the water levels are high they help protect the shoreline owners (my parents have a cabin in one of those spots) in those narrow areas from wave erosion. As long as you’re smart about it, I don’t see any issues going a little above no wake speed when the bouys are removed in the fall when boating traffic slows down to mostly nothingMy boat and most Bass boats I know of make less Wake when running at full speed than a pleasure boat or pontoon makes at a slow speed.
yes, but that’s pointless in a no wakezone…
I think it’s something they need to enforce more. So many people don’t understand what no wake even means. I see it all the time, going just fast enough to not get up on plane while making a huge wake. Like as long as they’re not on plane it’s ok? They should be called idle zones. Anything above idle and you get fined. There isn’t a boat in existence that makes less wake on plane than a a boat at idle.
Grubson and river rat are on the right page. I grew up on the chain and have fished it for over 40 years and although the change was new in 2019 buoys or not it is still implied no wake from Cold Spring to the 49 bridge.
“Stearns County Sauk River Slow-no wake speed between the MN Highway 23 Bridge to the County Road 49 Highway bridge. 6/2019”
A few thing on that stretch as on busy weekends it can get tricky to safely navigate with all the traffic and if you don’t know what you are doing you can take out a prop or lower unit with the sand bar or rocks on that stretch. The water level is still very low now also. Have I run that stretch on plane in the past, sure but there have been times when it wasn’t safe to do so either… Now it is listed as no wake so doesn’t matter if they are in or not.
What Chain of Lakes wakezone adds an hour to drive through? Highway 23 bridge access stretch in Cold Sping is probably the longest and it ain’t more than 5-10 minutes at the most? if you’re heading West on the water there are several launches alot closer…
I’ve fished the Chain for 30 years…
Exactly, that stretch takes about 10-15 minutes to get through. Trust me, I’ve ran that stretch more times in a month that many have in a few years. The stretch between the Landing in Cold Spring and the 2 Bridge is about 2500 feet, which is where the no wake ends. The buoys are removed right now, not so you can rip around at full speed but so they’re not damaged during the spring snow/ice melt.
Also, and I know this is not 100%, but the people that are using the lakes right now, typically use the lakes in the summer, and know pretty damn well where the buoys are placed during summer months. You obviously know there are buoys there in the summer.
Do as you wish, I guess.
Exactly, that stretch takes about 10-15 minutes to get through. Trust me, I’ve ran that stretch more times in a month that many have in a few years. The stretch between the Landing in Cold Spring and the 2 Bridge is about 2500 feet, which is where the no wake ends.
I thought in the past the no wake ran all the way to the 49 bridge. If its just to the 2 bridge that is a different situation . If you could make it to the 49 bridge in 10-15 minutes you would be doing way more than no wake speeds. my guess is that to the 49 bridge it would take close to a 1/2 hr. each way. Thus about 1 hr.
Good thing they remove the rock pile buoys on Mille Lacs each fall…. then you can run into the rock pile and it won’t do any damage… 
<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>TillrLife wrote:</div>
Exactly, that stretch takes about 10-15 minutes to get through. Trust me, I’ve ran that stretch more times in a month that many have in a few years. The stretch between the Landing in Cold Spring and the 2 Bridge is about 2500 feet, which is where the no wake ends.I thought in the past the no wake ran all the way to the 49 bridge. If its just to the 2 bridge that is a different situation . If you could make it to the 49 bridge in 10-15 minutes you would be doing way more than no wake speeds. my guess is that to the 49 bridge it would take close to a 1/2 hr. each way. Thus about 1 hr.
It runs just past the 2 bridge. There is another no wake at the 49 bridge. The one at the 49 bridge was added somewhat recently. There is also a new caution buoy at the narrows on Krays. This is not a no wake, just a caution, as there are guys fishing it pretty frequently.
Thumper, stay away from the Ash River Trail up on Kab. You would lose your mind if you had to no wake the river.
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