(a) Scope. This section is limited to the establishment of rules and regulations for the recreational use of lower and upper Girard Lakes.
(b) Purpose. The purpose of this section is to protect the public health, safety and welfare, as well as the integrity and preservation of this City’s most treasured natural resource.
(c) Rules and Regulations. Council hereby adopts the following rules and regulations as promulgated by the manager of the Girard Lakes, as appointed by the Mayor, and provides for the enforcement of the same.
(1) Individuals must have either a daily fishing permit stamped for that day in your possession at all times while using the lakes or your season pass with you. Daily fishing permits will be on sale at the respective boathouses. Individual season passes will be on sale at the Girard City Building. An individual season pass allows the holder to fish all season long on the lake that is opened and also allows the holder’s children and grandchildren under age sixteen, and parents or grandparents age sixty-five or older to fish for free as long as they are accompanied by the season passholder. Proof of age for children or other adults will be required.
(2) Boat launching is permitted at the boathouse areas only. No boat launching from shore is allowed. Individuals are not permitted to launch a boat from Niles Vienna Road or the dam, or from any place on shore other than at boat ramps located at the respective boathouses.
(3) No wading or swimming permitted in the lakes. Fishermen in hip boots may venture into the shallow waters, but no chest waders are permitted except with the use of a bellyboat or float tube.
(4) No camping or fires are allowed anywhere on the lakes property.
(5) No alcohol or drugs of any kind are permitted on the premises.
(6) The boathouses will close promptly at dusk. An air horn will be sounded about one-half hour to twenty minutes before closing. All boats both private and rented must be docked, trailered and out the gate by 8:00 p.m. or they risk being locked in. All shore fishermen are allowed to fish until one-half hour after sunset. After this time, the lakes are closed. Anyone caught on the lakes property after closing will be subject to a criminal trespassing citation.
(7) Daily creel limits are as follows:
A. Fifty panfish per permit (all or any combination of Crappies, Bluegills and Perch).
B. Largemouth Bass under seventeen inches per permit. We urge “Catch and Release” of all largemouth. Please use good judgment. There is a slot limit on Largemouth Bass on both lakes. No bass over seventeen inches may be kept. They must be returned to the lake alive. In the event that someone would catch a trophy bass and wishes to have it mounted, he or she will have to reimburse the lake twenty-five dollars ($25.00) for replacement of that bass.
C. 5 Catfish per permit.
D. 2 Walleyes per permit.
E. 2 Rainbow Trout per permit.
F. 2 Northern Pike per permit.
G. No limit on Carp.
(8) Anyone caught littering on the premises will be subject to a two hundred fifty dollar ($250.00) fine as posted. Please follow the old outdoors rule of leaving your spot cleaner than the way you found it.
(9) Canoes and sailboats will be permitted on the lakes. Bellyboats and float tubes are also permitted. All watercraft mentioned above are permitted on the main lakes only. No watercraft except for bellyboats and float tubes, are allowed between the lakes off Anderson-Morris Road. Also, no watercraft including bellyboats and float tubes are allowed in the tunnel on Lower Girard Lake under Route 11. On all watercraft, electric motors only are allowed on the lake. Gas motors are to be in full upright position out of the water while on the lake.
(10) All people fishing, boating or sailing are required to sign in at the boathouse of the respective lake. This will help to keep a count of the number of people using the facilities and also for the citizens own safety and in the case of an emergency where they would need to be notified.
(d) Penalties. As stated earlier in this section, a daily or seasonal permit is required to engage in fishing on the lower and upper Girard Lakes. Therefore, any person caught fishing on said lakes without a permit for the first time by the lake manager or a member of his designated staff shall be issued a written warning and be required to purchase a daily permit at the price then in effect for such a permit. The permit price shall be paid within seven days of the violation or the citation will be turned over to the proper authorities for collection of the same. A second offense by an individual of fishing without a permit of any kind will be subject to a twenty-five dollar fine ($25.00) payable within fourteen days of the violation. If a third offense of this kind occurs or any individual(s) are found on the lakes when they are closed, they shall be guilty of criminal trespass, a misdemeanor of the fourth degree, and be subject to prosecution.
(e) Posting. A copy of this section and any other rules and general information shall be posted in a manner reasonably calculated to come to the attention of any potential users or intruders of the lakes and it’s surrounding lands. (Ord. 6921-98. Passed 3-22-98.)