Kicker vs trolling motor for pulling cranks

[bfish]

Kicker for me in my moderately deep v. I will eventually get a trolling motor to steer with (and lock the kicker in straight ahead position) and maybe use electric only on calmer days.

[ibcamn]

Having never used a kicker myself, I didn't know you could lock it into a straight ahead position. With that and the trolling motor up front to steer, man, I would think the boat would be rock solid in the wind.
Thank you guys, so much!!!! Great info.

[M R Dux]

. I lock my 8hp 4-stroke kicker going straight and use the a/p on the terrova to steer with the remote.

That is how I troll with my big motor when battery drain is an issue or on rough, windy days. I lock the steering wheel and let the Yamaha idle using a trolling plate. Steering with the Terrova gives me all the control I need.

[ibcamn]

I fish out of a deepV for the very reasons you mentioned. I got tired of basically sitting in the floor to move from spot to spot. Keep in mind, i'll fish 10 hours straight without giving it a second thought. With a deepV you are always sitting in a chair comfortably. I also drive and scout new areas while standing up looking for hidden cover, stumps, rebar etc.

To answer your question, I use both for pulling cranks. Often I will use the troller (only) first thing in the morning while I'm fishing higher in the water column in calm conditions. Mid morning I'll switch to a combination of the two. I lock my 8hp 4-stroke kicker going straight and use the a/p on the terrova to steer with the remote.



Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk 2

Can you tell me more about the auto pilot...do you it in conjunction with a FF to follow contours, or a predetermined course?

[skeetbum]

If it were me setting up a boat that I would keep a long time I would go with top notch electronics. The new MK Terrova link and the Humminbird Side image Depthfinder work in conjunction with each other and will follow a contour line. The Auto pilot works on a compass heading and is good but affected by wind. The Terrova with regular i-Pilot follows a GPS system and will navigate to given waypoints on a path, then with the touch of a button, turn around and go back through them. These aren't cheap but depending on what you want or need they are the good stuff.

[clfarms1]

The Auto pilot works on a compass heading and is good but affected by wind.

The Auto pilot works by picking out a point of reference that you want to go to and then it will correct for the wind or current if it is taking you off line and bring you back on course. Without it you would just go in a general straight direction but would be at the mercy of the wind blow you off line.

[M R Dux]

Word of advice on using a contour steer unit while pulling cranks; unless you have a lake with very slight changes in the contour of ledges, you will go crazy trying to pull cranks. Ky Lake has some great drop-off for cranks but should my boat be set up to auto-steer on those contour breaks, I would lose 100 Bandits per trip. Quick direction changes are not your friend when pulling cranks.

[ibcamn]

If it were me setting up a boat that I would keep a long time I would go with top notch electronics. The new MK Terrova link and the Humminbird Side image Depthfinder work in conjunction with each other and will follow a contour line. The Auto pilot works on a compass heading and is good but affected by wind. The Terrova with regular i-Pilot follows a GPS system and will navigate to given waypoints on a path, then with the touch of a button, turn around and go back through them. These aren't cheap but depending on what you want or need they are the good stuff.

If we do it up right, this will be the last fishing boat we'll buy. Having said that, we are planning on going top notch. We do want to go with the IPilot, and couple that with Humminbird side image on the console and the front of the boat, and a lesser Humminbird on the rear of the boat. We still need to figure out which Humminbirds to install.

[ibcamn]

Word of advice on using a contour steer unit while pulling cranks; unless you have a lake with very slight changes in the contour of ledges, you will go crazy trying to pull cranks. Ky Lake has some great drop-off for cranks but should my boat be set up to auto-steer on those contour breaks, I would lose 100 Bandits per trip. Quick direction changes are not your friend when pulling cranks.

There are some areas on Mark Twain Lake that we can utilize the contour follower, but I know what you're saying, there are areas we'd be making u-turns and 90 degree bends...tangling lines, snagging cranks, loosing cranks, followed by a lot of cussing!!!!

[satdoc1]

I do the same as Yikess. I have a glass boat with a 6hp kicker and a 80# Terrova with Ipilot. Push with kicker and steer with Terrova.