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Outboard Trolling Plates

5K views 22 replies 10 participants last post by  Drake 
#1 ·
Trying to outfit the boat a little better, And thinking about trolling plates.
Do any of you guys use them?
Which one you have?
How well do like it?
And was it worth the money?
One more -
Have you made any adjustments to it for better operation?
Thanks , Dave
 
#3 ·
I had both the trollomatic and the happy troller. The trollomatic was a lot easier because it's automatic but stays down in reverse so you loose some reverse control. The Happy troller works good but you have to manually pick it up every time. If you go with a happy troller, get the on that's spring loaded in the middle, it saves you from destroying the plate if you forget to lift it before you leave under power. And it will happen. Good luck on your choice.

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#5 ·
I fought with a happy troller for several years, including making modifications for multiple positions before getting rid of it. I would recommend borrowing someone’s trolling bags (take a couple people fishing for a day to try their bags) to dial in the size you need to get down to your target speed. With fixed position trolling plates, once down even if you bump the throttle you don’t get much more thrust. The spring loaded ones are better, but if you are trying to do say 2mph and at idle the plate gets you to 1mph, you are going to run the motor faster to push the plate partially open and burn a ton of fuel doing so.
 
#10 ·
I've got the troll-o-matic on a 115 Merc 4s and have been pleased. It came with the boat and allows me to troll down around 1mph. Agree with boat in reverse raised above. On thing to add is that the springs cause a pulsing effect and you can hear a rhythmic propulsion (hard to describe the sound and effect) as the water flow causes the plate to raise with thrust and returns to the down position and repeat while trolling above 2mph. I am not saying this is a bad thing, but you can hear/notice it. Also, It claims to plane the bow faster as you increase speed...like a hydroslide or stingray. I can't say yes or no to that since its been ever since I've had it.

Had mine for 3+years and am happy with it.

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#11 ·
I've used a Beaver-trol, Happy Troller, Troll-o-matic, and bags. The Beaver-trol was for an I/O application and the ultimate in trolling plates. They are just now going back into production. The Happy Troller was OK but I cut an additional notch for it to run half deployed and you do have to remember to lock it up before taking off. The Troll-o-matic was good except as mentioned reverse control is compromised (think docking). Bags work very well and would be my choice for an outboard and NO they are not the same as drift bags. Go with Big Papa Sports or Amish Buggy Bags. I used Big Papa (Michigan company) and gave him my boat and performance and he in turn recommended the proper bag size. If I remember correctly, they will exchange bags if your performance isn't as expected with what they recommend.
 
#12 ·
I have used both plates and bags. I will choose bags over plates every day of the week. I don't like the loss of control when using plates. When the plate is down it blocks the thrust from the motor, and it makes it difficult to maneuver, especially in winds or when fighting fish. Trolling bags and drift bags are not the same, drift bags will not hold up to the pressure of trolling.
 
#16 ·
https://amishoutfitters.com/catalog...Path=1&zenid=3b2b0503f6631af1f7beb2f267aba963

Do not use drift bags for trolling. They are not intended for the abuse that trolling bags will see. Go to link above and buy two based on their size recommendations. With a 3/8" - 1/2" rope, tie the front mid ship, with a second section of rope, make a leader for the tail to lift bag out of the water, adjust both line lengths so that they cannot go into prop or under the boat and enjoy. Pretty simple. I use bags and a plate to slow that darn Bravo III down to trolling speeds.
 
#18 ·
Correct, trolling bags are made from a heavier material to withstand the forces the are put under. I use the amish outfitters bags, great company to deal with. Have also heard good things about the big papas bags. Whats nice about a bag is that u can sometimes get the boat even slower by lifting up on tail rope closing off back side of bag
 
#21 ·
When running my 16' Sylvan "Backtroller" 40hp Merc could I use
only one bag directly behind motor or would two small bags be
better?
You want to avoid the possibility of getting the bag or lines in (a) your prop and (b) your fishing lines. Right behind the motor is just asking for trouble if you have to put the motor in reverse or you are feeling in a fish that’s coming up right behind the boat. Usually try to get them as forward as you can. If you want to just try one bag, you could hand it off the bow eye and see if it opens correctly under the boat.
 
#22 ·
When running my 16' Sylvan "Backtroller" 40hp Merc could I use
only one bag directly behind motor or would two small bags be
better?
For a boat like that, a bucket might work well enough. My son uses one on his 16' Smokercraft with success and I used one when trolling with my inflatable dinghy. To make the bucket, I attached some of that foam pipe wrap around half the bucket rim for flotation and to prevent the bucket from rotating. Also replaced the wire handle with a rope and attach with a ski rope bridle. That said, I'd prefer two properly sized bags as the best option. The photo shows the bucket (small 1 lb. bucket) I used on the inflatable.
 

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