Trolling plate advice

[RealDcoy]

Howdy all. I have a BassTracker pro 175 with a 60 merc oil inject on it. I like the boat for what I paid. I can put it in small lakes with sand launches and can yank it out easy. It's not the best on big water, but I have had it on Mullet lake in some pretty good chop.

My question though is since I can't afford to trade to a comparable 4 stroke at this point, what would you suggest to slow this boat down at idle? I already have a lower pitch prop. I think I am interested in a trolling plate. ( I have seen people pull drift socks, but I prefer not to.)

Does anybody have experience with different plates / manufacturers? Thanks in advance for your response.


RealDcoy

[badhabit]

Originally posted by RealDcoy:
Howdy all. I have a BassTracker pro 175 with a 60 merc oil inject on it. I like the boat for what I paid. I can put it in small lakes with sand launches and can yank it out easy. It's not the best on big water, but I have had it on Mullet lake in some pretty good chop.

My question though is since I can't afford to trade to a comparable 4 stroke at this point, what would you suggest to slow this boat down at idle? I already have a lower pitch prop. I think I am interested in a trolling plate. ( I have seen people pull drift socks, but I prefer not to.)

Does anybody have experience with different plates / manufacturers? Thanks in advance for your response.


RealDcoy

[birddog]

Trolling plates do work but i have had to replace it 4 times in 2 summers. I thought i might have purchaced the wrong one but they said it would handle up to 60 and it was on 40 evinrude. The last one they gave me they cut holes in it and it works fine.Its brand name is happy troller.

[badhabit]

Sorry about the post above. Looks like I'm living up to my Novice rating.

I wouldn't give up on bags if you do mostly open water trolling. I have used plates, kickers,and bags in the past. Really like bags because they are easy to stow, slow my boat to a crawl and I deploy them only when I need them. A trolling plate requires drilling mounting holes in your cavitation plate. Most everyone I know using manually deployed plates has,at least once,forgotten to raise before throttling up (not good). Automatic or spring loaded plates will, despite manufacturer's claims, inhibit engine performance. The bags I use are made from dacron sail cloth. They are lightweight and dry quickly even on cool spring and fall days. They store in a bundle smaller than a loaf of bread. I rig a pair off the bow cleat,one on each side of the boat,set to ride just aft of the flare of the bow w/ a trip line attatched about amidship. Ihave no problem turning upwind on breezy days. Can't say the same for kickers. They are never in the way. I run the same set of bags on a 17 Mako and 24 Sea Ray. My father runs a set of very large bags off a 31' SeaRay and can slow down enough to troll harnesses on St. Clair. Best of all they are cheap. I think I paid less than $45 for the pair. Good luck in your search T.

[Captain Wayne]

DITO on what bad habit says

[RealDcoy]

Thanks for the responses. I think that the bags might be a pain in the butt on a bass boat. I also often go out alone and I think it would be hard to deploy them by myself. (Maybe not ???) Obviously there is not a boat that does everything. I just like to troll for pike, in addition to fish for bass and walleye.

I am thinking that maybe I will upgrade my bow mount trolling motor and add a battery. There is NO room for a kicker on this rig, other than maybe a "piggy back" mount. I don't want to do that. A stronger trolling motor with a power drive system may do the trick. ( So that I can control direction from farther back in the boat.)

Thanks again for your help.