Trolling with gas outboard motor question

[jake8484]

Will a 40 or 50 HP outboard 4 stroke troll down and maintain a consistent 1.8 mph speed? Will it even troll down to 1.5mph?

If so will this be ok for long (8 hour) days of trolling? Will it damage the motor or shorten it's life?

Will a 60HP troll down that slow?

 

I don't want to use a trolling plate but if I did .....does it hurt the motor in anyway?

 

Thank you for any input you can give.... hoping to hear from several people who have experience with this.

Recently retired and looking to buy a boat and want to get off to a good start. Thanks in advance.

 

[Kevin J Legg]

My 60 hp Mercury would troll down to 1.5 with no issue so you should be fine. Could always toss a bag if needed.

[trickworm33]

Generally speaking yes. You will definitely need the assistance of a trolling sock/ driftsock to dial in those speeds. Most great lakes trollers do not want to put the extra hours on their main motor so most opt for a small kicker. You didn't mention what type/size boat you have. There could be other options such as electric trolling motor bow mount.

[jake8484]

1 hour ago, trickworm33 said:

Generally speaking yes. You will definitely need the assistance of a trolling sock/ driftsock to dial in those speeds. Most great lakes trollers do not want to put the extra hours on their main motor so most opt for a small kicker. You didn't mention what type/size boat you have. There could be other options such as electric trolling motor bow mount.

Thank you for the response.  Don't have the boat yet but I am looking at a 17'  that has an option of a 40 hp up to 60.  I am going to use it on Cayuga for trout and then Oneida for walleye. I haven't seriously considered an electric as I don't expect the batteries would old up 8 plus hours would they?

[rolmops]

22 minutes ago, jake8484 said:

Thank you for the response.  Don't have the boat yet but I am looking at a 17'  that has an option of a 40 hp up to 60.  I am going to use it on Cayuga for trout and then Oneida for walleye. I haven't seriously considered an electric as I don't expect the batteries would old up 8 plus hours would they?

Looks like you want a 6 or 9.9 horse kicker to make this come together. Besides, it is always good to have a spare power source on your boat

[Kevin J Legg]

I have a 18 foot Lund Alaskan with a 60 hp Mercury. I have a 9.9 kicker on it for back up but never use it as the 60 hp worked just fine. I  ran it for 17 years and over 3000 hours!  I actually just repowered with a 90 hp Yamaha and plan on trolling with it as well. Perhaps if you plan on going 1-1.2 mph you will need a trolling sock but I can troll 1.5- 2.8 all day long.

[spoonfed-1]

Take any boat your interested in out for a sea trial. If it doesn't do what you want it to look elsewhere. Good luck.

[Prof T]

Jake,

I've done it both ways and can offer my experiences.

 

First 30 years was with a 90 2 stroke on a 19.5 footer and a 9.9 kicker. Self explanatory as I got 30 years out of the main motor.

 

Went to a 90 four stroke Merc in 2016. Added a Smartcraft Troll Control to engine which allowed motor to slow down below the natural idle of 700 rpm to 550RPM. Took off the kicker due to weight concern. Could get down to 2 SOG, but not much slower in a non current situation. Loved it, worked flawlessly, but managed over 650 hrs in 5 seasons. THAT was a concern for me.

 

New boat is set up with a 90 four stroke Merc / 9.9 Merc Pro Kicker. In my opinion, it is the perfect setup. You can install an electronic throttle control on the kicker to dial in speed (and get back to it quickly after landing a fish). Hours go on the kicker, not the primary engine. Security of having a backup. Absolutely sips gas. Electric start models will recharge batteries as well.

 

If you look at most of the bigwater, trailerable boats, that's the factory setup. If you do think you are going to going with a kicker, think about where the pilot will be controlling the motor from. Old setup I had to be able to get to the tiller handle to adjust speed. Doable, but not very handy. New boat has a traditional control at the helm. Also be aware of transom height at kicker location on the boat and buy accordingly.

 

Glad to answer any other questions you may have.

[trickworm33]

15 hours ago, jake8484 said:

Thank you for the response.  Don't have the boat yet but I am looking at a 17'  that has an option of a 40 hp up to 60.  I am going to use it on Cayuga for trout and then Oneida for walleye. I haven't seriously considered an electric as I don't expect the batteries would old up 8 plus hours would they?

Bow mount trolling motor for trolling is definitely an option. Battery supply power wether agm lead acid or lifepo the systems will definitely supply enough power for a days use. Dedicated lifepo systems could last multiple days theoretically depending on the batteries ah ratings. Higher ah rating means more available power. Bow mount trolling offers wireless remote operation and also contour trolling and goto spot trolling. 

 

[sherman brown]

those HP four stroke motors will do just what you want. you can manually lower your RPMs by screwing out the idle screw on the card. another option if you don't need to slow down a lot is to drop the pitch on your prop. a 9p prop is supposed to move the boat 9" for every rotation whereas a 7p is only 7" therefore slowing your boat down and running the same RPM.

 

just FYI using a bag for me is much better than using a plate. just make sure you get a trolling bag and not a drift sock. a trolling bag can be used for a drift sock but a drift sock isn't made right to work good trolling.

 

if you do try using a plate get the Easy Troller short plate. if you try a bag try going to amishoutfitters.com and they can help you with the size you need. and so you know using either of these will not hurt a four stroke in the least. running the motor at lower RPMs than factory settings won't hurt it either as long as the motor is running smoothly. I have been using my 5.7 Mercruiser for trolling but it was going a little faster than I wanted and I idled it down to 500 RPMs and that took care of my speed problem. I was going to idle it back up but that was a few years ago and it's still set on 500.

 

I like to troll with the wind for better boat control. and when I do I go way too fast so then I use my bags to slow me down. and I use bags just a little bigger than I need so then I can get very slow and just bump the throttle up a little if I want to run faster, I used a happy troller plate for many years. then I went to the easy troller that I liked better. then I tried using bags and have never looked back.

[FISHIN' ADDICTION]

my boat is just under 17 foot and has a 50hp Yamaha 4 stroke.  I was able to install an electronic throttle button to lower my rpms even more a just in gear.  I also put a 24v 80lb minn kota terrova on the front.  If I'm trolling 1.5 or under I just use the minn kota and get several hours from it and especially on oneida walleye or perch fishing having spot lock is awesome plus with that I can set my speed and heading and don't have to worry about boat control while setting up my spread. If I'm over 2mph I use the big motor for speed plus use the minn kota for steering.

[LongLine]

Motors are spec'd to run at certain RPMs by manufacturer.  A four stroke may not get the oil it needs if you go below what's spec'd.  Bags & plates are much cheaper than new motors. 

[sherman brown]

all the old 2-stroke motors were made to run at higher RPMs for optimum performance. and the newer 4 strokes are probably made to run higher for optimum performance but I don't think using a small HP motor for trolling would ever hurt the motor.

 

even a car at idle will have less oil pressure than it does at higher RPMs. but when running at low RPMs it also has so much less strain on the motor and the lower oil pressure is still high enough to oil the motor.

 

the companies that make these lower HP motors have a pretty good notion they will be used as a kicker. and a lot of them are used at idle for many many years. i have an old 2000 model year 9.9 HP Merc for my kicker  on my boat so it is already 23 years old and still running sweet and strong. i did have to have the carb rebuilt a couple of years ago.

 

I used an old 79 Merc tower of power inline-six 115 HP for trolling for many years and then while it was still running great the boat was in bad shape. I bought another boat that had a 115 HP Johnson so I sold the old Merc.

 

police cars are idled for so many hours then they will still get 2 or 3 hundred thousand miles on them. i have seen lots of them for sale with well over 200,000 miles on them. and the hours idling couldn't have hurt the motor at all.

[LongLine]

Sorry, but I'm leery of lowering rpms. Police cars aren't necessarily normal stock cars. If my Ranger idles too long, the engine will automatically increase rpms.  I'm guessing some kind of heat control.  Lord knows what newer electronics will do.  (Make sure you're pumping sufficient water at lower rpm.)

 

I used to have a merc 9.8 that would go as soon as it started.  I'd swear that the 2022 9.9 that I have now is cold blooded.  It has to run choked for 3-4 minutes to warm up before it'll run. (even with throttle control depressed, doesn't seem to significantly change warm up time). However, when warmed up it'll troll my 18 ft'r down to where I can troll X4 flatfish. (0.8 mph on GPS.)

[jake8484]

23 hours ago, sherman brown said:

......

 

I like to troll with the wind for better boat control. and when I do I go way too fast so then I use my bags to slow me down. and I use bags just a little bigger than I need so then I can get very slow and just bump the throttle up a little if I want to run faster, I used a happy troller plate for many years. then I went to the easy troller that I liked better. then I tried using bags and have never looked back.

 Wow .  Thank you all for the great information. It looks to me like the way to go is to have a kicker motor.

 I have a question ....  Do the trolling bags ever get in the way of the trolling lines or the landing of the fish? Seems like it is very possible.

[Sk8man]

I think you should be able to troll down to 1.8 with a 40-60 hp motor. I can troll down to 1.8 with my 135 Optimax 2 stroke (although if I were to do it for really long periods it would probable load up the plugs). If you do decide to get a 4 stroke kicker look carefully at the weight issue. Ones that have power tilt etc. are quite a bit heavier (e.g. 9.8 may vary from 85 or 90 without to 120 something with) and may upset the way your boat runs in the water if too extreme. The other thing is make sure the mounting bracket  you use will support a 4 stroke engine. Most of the older two stroke brackets won't support the full HP requirements of the 4 stroke motors.

[Prof T]

pm sent

 

[guffins fisherman]

FWIW, I fish frequently on a 21' aluminum G3 with a 150 Yamaha 4 stroke, no kicker.  We put a bag out on each side and troll along at whatever speed we want for hours.  Been doing it for years.  The Yamaha is serviced by the dealer yearly, and is showing no signs of excess wear and tear.  We have talked about putting a kicker on that boat a few times, and the owner can't justify the cost of it and doesn't like the idea of trying to net a fish around another motor on the back of the boat.  

[Sk8man]

I'll bet the owner hasn't tried paddling that 21 ft boat in to shore with the wind picking up and lightning in the sky when his motor quit either

Edited February 29 by Sk8man

[fishing fireman]

if you use your trolling motor run dual batteries. should last the day. red to red, black to black and hook up your trolling motor to one batteries. I use it all the time

[Prof T]

Proper wiring for a 12V on two batteries, NOT for a 24V like a Terrova. Be careful

[AnglingAddict]

bags don't get in the way - rig them to run off side and the end of the bag just forward of your transom.

[fishing fireman]

I run big papa bags

[Pair of Jacks]

I have a a 16’ tracker Laker Guide DLX I use for walleye and land locked striper… my Minn Kota Terrova is my exclusive trolling motor and it’s powered by a West Marine deep cycle lead acid battery and it last for about a day and a half of continuous trolling.  When we go to northern Ontario walleye fishing I take a spare battery so we can swap and charge the depleted battery while fishing.  My Mercury 25Hp 4-stroke trolls down to 1.4 mph easily without a trolling plate or bags.  The only reason I prefer the Terrova is less wear and tear on the outboard and the Terrova has an autopilot function and can record tracks which make it really nice to fish.

Edited March 25 by Pair of Jacks

[greenhornet73]

I definitely don’t recommend trolling with a 2 stroke as I did for a couple years and constantly had to replace the spark plugs. With your smaller 4 stroke you will be absolutely fine but may want to throw a small bag over each side if you aren’t slowing down enough  since 1 bag will pull the boat to that side pretty hard.  I have an electric trolling motor with auto pilot to stay on course that I run at low power (3 out of 10) to conserve battery charge and usually can get about 5 hours out of it and I have a pretty large gel battery just for that motor.