trolling with electric

[smokepoles]

Just curious, how many do their trolling for kokes with an electric? I have always done it on boats with a kicker, but got my electric rigged up end of last summer. That 24V will pull the boat at 1.4 (by gps) at halt thrust setting when things are quiet, though not yet sure how long as only used it a few hours at a time last Sept.

 

[RalphL]

I use a 55 pound thrust (12-volt) on my 14 ft tinny and it will push it at 1.5mph for about 6 or 8 hrs if things are calm. Fighting a wind or current, that diminishes. On bigger boats like your 20, you present a lot more resistance to the wind, so you might consider stepping up to a 24-volt 80 thrust.

There are some that are really slick, in that they mount right on your main motor's cavitation plate so you can control them with your original boat steering (by the way, there's one on E-bay right now that's a real steal at $500). I can't use it because I don't have any way to recharge a battery at my marina or I'd buy it. They retail about 800 and this is a new one for 500.

Anyway, whatever you choose, you'll need to go more than a 12-volt to get a full day's fishing out of it. I really do love mine on the tinny, it's super quiet but it won't work on my 20-footer. The next best is a 9.9 gas kicker. That's what I use on my 20-footer.

 

[Targa165]

I have a Minn Kota 55 PowerDrive V2 Bow Mount with the i-pilot and I love it. I'm only pulling a 16.5 foot aluminum WTW powered by a Merc 90hp Opti-Max. I have two batteries hooked in parallel and with a full charge will pull 1.9mph to 2.2mph when calm or with the wind, of course you can lower the power to slow it down if your going to fast. If it is windy but not to windy to fish it will still pull 1.4mph against the wind. If it is too hard to control the boat I just call it a day because it just isn't fun to fish under those curcumstances. As the batteries pull down of course the speed keeps dropping. I'm usually good for at least 6 hours of steady trolling on one set of batteries. I plan on getting one more set to carry with me next year (probably on the bow) so I can make a quick hookup when the others get to low. We try to camp where we have power but if not I use my Honda 2000 to charge batteries after we get back in. I really like the GPS controlled i-pilot system for holding course. Makes it really easy to handle the boat while reeling in fish or setting downriggers. It also has the hand held control and we like it way better than a foot control. You can steer it from anywhere on the boat. The boat handles so much nicer being pulled instead of being pushed at the lower speeds, JMHO.

 

[lowe1648mt]

I have a 55lb. bow mount trolling motor. It is remote controled w/ foot control or hand held unit. I use a bow mount because pushing a boat in wind is like trying to push a rope. You can't make it go straight.
For batteries, I went with 2 golf cart batteries ( 6 volt). By hooking them in series, you end up with 12 volts and more amps ( both cranking and reserve) than with two 12 volt deep cycles.
Drawback? They are heavier. They are hard to find in a maint. free style. Cost? They cost similarly to two deep cycles.

 

[kokaguy1]

Oh my gosh....Electric motors are the only way to go as far as I am concerned. I have a 17' Alumaweld Super Vee with a 55 power drive V2 with auto pilot. Been using it for 3 years now and absouletly love it! Quiet, remote control ......anyone want to buy my 2008 8HP merc 4 stroke I hardly ever use it has maybe 20 hours on it make me an offer.......this electric is wonderful the bow mount is excellent for heading into a wind too so much eaiser to stay the course, much better to be pulled than pushed when going into a wind!!!!

 

[ctkid]

thats all i use, i've never had a gas motor. i have a 55lb thrust. most of the lakes i hit have some kind of regulation for motors, the electric covers them all.