Question; Pros/Cons of using a trolling plate?

[Todd in NY]

I've never used one before, but now I have Bayliner Trophy 2160 that came with a trolling plate installed. The boat has a 5.0L I/O stern drive. Just wondering if it causes any issues with the motor or outdrive. Could it cause any other performance problems? How well do they really work?

Just looking for pros and cons from anyone with personal experience with trolling plates. Thanks in advance!

[TileMan Dan]

I have one installed on my 24' Grady. Gets my speed down to 1.7. Some claim that they have manuverabilty issues but I haven't had that experience. Just need to remember to lift it when done trolling or it can bend depending on type you have.

[thumbburn]

I didn't like one on my islander.... It just wouldn't turn sometimes and it does weaken the part that it attaches too also..... Mine ended up breaking..... I would rather use the buckets to slow me down.... Only time I need them is walleye speeds... Jmo

Sent from my iPhone using Lake Ontario United

[Buckmaster7600]

Can't say anything on issues to outdrive, but I will say I installed one and hated it! It does slow down a boat but at the cost of handling. My recommendation is trolling bags.

[Firechief48]

I had one on my previous boat and never had a problem with handling and it did slow the boat down. The only thing I did was put stiffener braces on the back so it didn't bend. No issues with the outdrive and the boat is still in use. My current boat I have a kicker so no need for the plate.

Edited June 6, 2016 by Firechief48

[fishmaster13184]

I have one on my islander and use it when my kicker can't keep up with the wind or waves, works good for me when I need it

[Todd in NY]

Thanks for the replies. Since the boat came with the plate, it gives me another option to use. I'll try it out, but I use buckets in my other boat, so I'll have them as another option as well.

[jlogger]

I have heard guys recommend drilling some holes in the plate to prevent excessive exhaust back pressure issues. I don't personally have any experience with them just something I heard.

[Sk8man]

I had one on my previous  13 ft Whaler with a 35 Johnson motor and it was the spring loaded type that doesn't have a release cord to flip it up. After a while the place on the aluminum plate of the trolling plate where the steel springs attached gave out and back then it was tough to find anyone to weld aluminum so I ended up scrapping it. A lot of guys back then on Lake O were using the other type that you had to pull the lanyard (cord) to release the plate when you were done trolling and about to take off and they would come out of the hole at full tilt and the plate would get bent all to heck because the plate was still down. I think the bags are a better solution and especially for someone considering the trolling plate who hasn't drilled holes yet in their cavitation plate to install one

Edited June 10, 2016 by Sk8man

[Xxx]

I had one on my other boat 18ft Sea Ray with a I/O with 3.0L the plate got me down to under 1.5mph used it for years. Then one spring I was getting her ready to head north when I noticed oil coming out the prop seal, no problem I'll just replace the seal, probably old and it's just time. While taking the prop off I noticed a lot of play in the out put shaft. I asked the Merc. Dealer we use and the first thing he asked was I using a troll plate:::"uuh ya" well now you need to replace the thrust washers and the seal, you got to be F#¥€~ kidding me. He said with the troll plate pushes back on the prop causing back pressure and that causes the washers to wear and over time this is the out come. Lesson learned, now I do a lot of trolling and had that boat for years. I now have a kicker on my 22fter. I would think with a 5.7 and a bigger prop the force on the washers would be even greater. Last year I blew my lower unit, due to someone rebuilt the original outdrive on my boat and they forgot to shim the gears on the top shaft and it ate the gears up, so I rebuilt the whole unit buy the book, it took me muchoo hrs and a lot of $$ in the special tooling you need, I didn't have the $1,800.00 for a new one, I have about $900.00 in it and it cost me the rest of the season.

[Todd in NY]

Thanks for the new replies! Those back pressure issues are what I keep hearing about. I prefer bags(1st choice) or buckets, so I will probably remove the trolling plate. It has the lanyard to raise and lower the plate, but with my 2 year old motor, I don't know if any work was done on the out drive when they replaced the motor. I'd rather play it safe and stay away from the what-ifs and unknowns.

[TyeeTanic]

Pros - they get your speed down. If it's a well designed unit it is easy to deploy and retract.

 

Cons - you lose manouverability/steering as you are kiling thrust. Also if you forget it down and take off, you can damage things.

[spoonfed-1]

I ran 3 different trolling plates on an aluminum boat with a 90 hp Merc.

Two of them sucked and one was great.

The good one was an aluminum Happy Troller that was hinged and spring loaded in the middle of the plate itself. That prevented any damage if i forgot to put it up before I took off  and it allowed me to kick up the rpms when I needed to straighten out the boat because of wind drift.\

It was deployed and raised via a pull cord.

 

Biggest advantage was it allowed me to get my speed where I wanted even trolling with a strong wind. Prior to that I was always fishing into the wind to get my speed down and that really sucked.

 

Biggest disadvantage was a significant increase in fuel consumption when I had to use it but as far as I am concerned it was worth it. I just raised it when docking or running so lack of control was not an issue.

 

Good luck

[Todd in NY]

Thanks for the additional feedback. I guess the only way to know is to try it out before I make a decision. It's been on there for several years, which makes me think that if it didn't work, a previous owner might have already removed it long ago.

[Firechief48]

X2 on what spoonfed said. Mine was also the Happy Troller on a 21' cuddy with a Merc outdrive. As I said earlier I used it for years and is still on the boat when I sold it. Never had any trouble from reverse pressure from prop or where/how it was mounted.

Edited June 11, 2016 by Firechief48

[Todd in NY]

I'll take a look at the brand tomorrow, but Happy Troller sounds familiar. I'm hoping to do a more detailed shake-down of the boat this sunday.

[Todd in NY]

Yes, mine is made by Happy Troller. Thanks again for all the feedback.

[fishaddict]

Amish trolling bags is way to go. Very tough. It makes you boat to track better. I fish 50/50 by myself and it is easy to do solo. Set it up the way you like and make knots on front lines so you know how far back to let them go.

[Todd in NY]

Amish trolling bags is way to go. Very tough. It makes you boat to track better. I fish 50/50 by myself and it is easy to do solo. Set it up the way you like and make knots on front lines so you know how far back to let them go.

 

Thanks for the reply! I do like those Amish bags.

[Todd in NY]

I haven't used the trolling plate yet because the lanyard needs to be replaced, it is frayed about 75% through at the release lever. It is also real "sticky" when pulling on the release lever by hand. I ordered a parts kit for it from the Happy Troller web site so I can replace the lanyard and the springs, and $10 for the kit is reasonable IMO. The plate is supposed to be stored in the down position when not it use, and I the PO didn't know this because he's not a fisherman, and he admitted that he didn't know anything about the trolling plate. I also downloaded the owners manual for the plate and I found out that the plate is also supposed to be lubed before each fishing trip. I'm guess WD40 will work, or would a spray type lithium grease work better (like PB blaster brand)?

 

I also ended up buying a pair of 28" Amish buggy bags because my 2 buckets weren't getting my speed down below 2.5 mph, and that was at bare minimum RPM's. With these 28" bags I am able to get my GPS speed down to 1 mph. I didn't know if I would need the 22" bags or the 28" bags, but with everything that I researched, my trolling speed at idle (800 to 1,000 RPM) was over 3.5 to 4 mph according to both FF GPS units. Maybe the 22" bags would have been ok, but I was also comparing it with my friend's boat. He has a 26ft Penn Yan with a 5.7L, his boat weighs 6500 pounds and he uses 22" buggy bags to get his speed down to 1.2 or 1.4 mph. Comparatively, my boat weighs 3500 pounds and has a 5.0L, so I figured I couldn't get my speed down far enough with 22" bags, especially if I were going with the current.

 

Best of luck to all who are fishing this weekend. I'm doing yard work and replacing the power steering and alternator belts on my boat. I'll hit the lake next week when it's less crowded at the boat launches.

[Xxx]

When you replace your release cord if you have enough length, what I did was put an I hook on top the transom, put the cord through the the hole in the I hook. I bought a handle like on a pull start lawn mower and tied it to the handle so there was no slack in the line, and you could pull on the cord hard to make sure it disengage the flap release. Plus it looked a little more presentable. I would lube it with a good grade of grease, those others will wash off pretty fast, where the grease will stay longer, plus it's a better lube for that type of thing. Happy trolling LOL.

[Todd in NY]

Thanks for the tip with the handle, Pap! Does your boat have a swim platform? Mine does, and it seems to not allow the lanyard a straight enough pull from the transom to the plate. Just wondering if my swim platform might be getting in the way.

[TileMan Dan]

When you replace the lanyard you might want to consider using a coated wire cable with crimps you can get at hardware store.

[Xxx]

Thanks for the tip with the handle, Pap! Does your boat have a swim platform? Mine does, and it seems to not allow the lanyard a straight enough pull from the transom to the plate. Just wondering if my swim platform might be getting in the way.

Yea I have a swim platform and the reason I didn't go with the cable is mine has a nice Crome with the color of the boat plastic piece in the middle trim piece and the cable would eventually kind of saw threw it, but Dan made has a good idea coated cable, I didn't see that when I was deciding which I was going to use.

[Todd in NY]

Thanks Dan and Pap, I was wondering if the coated cable would work better, it seems like it would hold up a lot longer than the lanyard.