Trolling without a kicker

[Wickerdave]

Just orered my first new boat, a 20' Alumaweld Stryker with 115 Honda 4 stroke, should be here 1st week of May, and want to be ready for the fall run. My question is, I won't be able to purchase a kicker motor for about another year so what can I do in the mean time to get my trolling speed down to the 2.5 range. I did order the variable speed trolling control on the big Honda but Doubt that will slow me down enough. In the Midwest we would use wind socks when trolling for Walleyes to get down to 1 mph, but I don't hear of anyone using them here.

Thanks
Dave

 

[Astonleo]

Kicker is by far and away your best bet. Keeps hours off the big motor and your trolling speed will be much more in your control. Very slight variations in speed can be a real deal maker/breaker for finicky fishies.
If you forget to lift the trolling plate and throttle up serious damage could occurr.

 

[rogerdodger]

Kicker is by far and away your best bet. Keeps hours off the big motor and your trolling speed will be much more in your control. Very slight variations in speed can be a real deal maker/breaker for finicky fishies.
If you forget to lift the trolling plate and throttle up serious damage could occurr.

I agree, through water trolling speed is critical and can be tricky, with the wind, tide, and river current coming into play. I think you will want to be able to control your speed within the 1.5 to 2mph range (we hooked most our fall kings at about 1.7-1.8mph..)...cheers, roger

 

[Irishrover]

You can get by with the 115hp to troll but it's a lot more work. I had twin 115 mercurys on my 22' Larson. I ran depending on the situation one , or two sea anchors, or none at all. When fishing in the ocean I could slow a motor down to 500 rpms and fish all day with no problem. That worked wel because there were few boats close to my loction and there was a lot of room to move around. When I fished the tidewater buoy 10 up to Rice Island it became a different ball game. As Roger mentioned wind, tide, and river current all come into play. The seep and direction of the other boats also has an effect on the fishing situation. I was never able to match the trolling speed of the other boats and it became a problem for the other boats and myself. If you are in a pack of boats going 1.5 mph and your slowest speed is 2 mph it creates a conflict. To deal with it I would have to put the boat in nuetral, always shifting in and out of gear. That action creats wear and tear on the motor and takes the fun out of fishing. To get around that I would try to stay outside of any group of boats. Doing that can take you right out of the bite. When you do hook a fish when you have sea anchors in the water, it's one more thing that you need to get out of the water and back into the boat or risk fouling a line in them. I'm a slow learner I fished the boat that way for 24 years. My new boat has twin 150 Yamahas but more importantly it has a 9.9 high thrust kicker.

 

[DrTheopolis]

In the Midwest we would use wind socks when trolling for Walleyes to get down to 1 mph, but I don't hear of anyone using them here.

As mentioned by others, they're quite common, called "sea anchors" around here, which seems like a silly name, but whatever.

A trolling plate is a low-cost solution (and as mentioned, don't slam the throttle with it down).

Maybe another low-cost stopgap might be to try and find a cheap used electric. Not sure how well a 12V electric would perform on your sled, due to the conditions mentioned (wind, current, whatnot), but maybe others here have better insight on this. They make ones that can mount on the outboard lower unit, which allows you to steer from the console (it's not a tiller, right?). Then again, a little better electric, like an 80# 24V might be a good alternative to the gas kicker, for a boatload less money. Although having a gas kicker also provides emergency power should the main fail (which a brand new Honda sure shouldn't, but stuff happens).

Just throwing out suggestions. I understand that we can't always buy what we want exactly when we want it, so make do with what you can.

 

[eugene1]

Are you paying for the new boat with payments? If so, maybe you can add a kicker to the package?

Not sure how your boat will troll with the main, but it could be OK.

I'd wait and test it out before purchasing anything.

Best,

 

[seekanddestory]

I use two buckets to slow me down

 

[Wickerdave]

I see the wisdom in the replys, I'll just have to start saving and see if I can find a deal on a good used kicker, is 6hp too small? should I just hold out for a 9.9? The New Honda 9.9 would be about another $2400 on the boat and payments, don't think the wife would look too favorable on that. Thanks for the great info and opinions.


Dave

 

[eugene1]

Most 6 hp are single cylinders (4 strokes anyway). I'd look for an 8 hp 4 stroke or above, they'll have two cylinders which makes for a smoother running engine.

Best,