Trolling or Pushing Crankbaits?

[shockley32]

I'm interested in learning to troll crankbaits. I've read several great articles, even the one on this website. However I have a 200 hp Mercury, I've heard it's hard on a big motor to troll. Is that true? Can a big motor even troll slow enough? How about pulling the cranbaits with my trolling motor?

Appreciate any info.

Brad

[longliner]

I have a buddy who has trolled with his 200hp, but he trims the motor down all the way to slow it down, but I don't think it can be very good on the motor of that size. However, I think they make attachments to help troll with larger motors.

[jh_blount]

Never trolled crankbaits, so dont know about the speed. I do know that its not good for ANY 2-stroke outboard to be run at idle for lengthy periods of time. Theyre designed to take a beating, and thats when they run best. My 2 cents, anyway.

[SteveJ]

I have an old 115 HP which I know is no good for slow trolling so I use my trolling motor to pull CB's.

[badbrad]

I have trolled using my main motor it's a 150...the speed however is a little to fast for Crappie. I have slowed my boat down using two driftsocks tied to the front cleats of the boat. You can also try dropping your trolling motor to slow you down.

I just came back from Kentucky Lake trolling crankbaits and used my 24volt trolling motor. My speed ranged from 1.2 to 1.5 mph. Caught several fish, so it must have been a good speed for them.

I still trying to figure out the best way to troll multiple rods while having 100 ft of line out. I believe next time out I'm going to try planer boards.

[Glowgood Jigster]

I have an 8hp 4 stroke and it's too fast at idle to troll very well, but we did catch a few fish anyways. I'm thinking about getting a troll plate to hook up. It hooks to your outboard and goes behind the prop, which slows down how fast the motor pushes the boat. You can pull it up or let it down with a cable attached to it. I haven't researched it at all yet, just know a few people who have them on their outboards. If you have a really big outboard, that might be a good option.

[Speck]

I use a trolling plate on my 90 Yamaha. It works reat. I can troll 1.2 to 2.0 all day long.

[kygorski]

Those big motors, unless they are four stroke, are not that good for slow trolling.I use a 5 hp 4 stroke. You can easily fish four rods, using planer boards, the hard part comes when something other than a crappie decides to have lunch. I fish alone, and thats why I only troll three rigs. A few years ago, trolling for stripers, I trolled into a school, both downriggers had hits, and one of my long lines also. Landed two fish, the one on the long line eventually spooled me. Total time from leaving the house to returning home with my legal limit? two and a half hours. That happened a lot on the great lakes, but usually with smaller fish in the 5 to 6 pound range, but two stripes over 20 was a dream come through.

[crappie&shrooms]

I have a 150 hp Merc XR6 on my bass boat and have trolled all day with it. Purrs like a kitten. It will idle down to 2.2-2.6mph. Thats according to my GPS. I haven't tried the drift socks yet but I am getting ready to. I would like to get down to 1.8mph

[BANDIT]

I have a 150 hp Merc XR6 on my bass boat and have trolled all day with it. Purrs like a kitten. It will idle down to 2.2-2.6mph. Thats according to my GPS. I haven't tried the drift socks yet but I am getting ready to. I would like to get down to 1.8mph

I troll with my 115 4 stroke. With no wind it runs about 2.5 so I use 1 drift sock out the back and run about 1.6 to 1.9