Kicker with a four stroke

[Tracker55]

I'm thinking about a new boat and have decided to outfit it with a four stroke. I have had people tell me that a four stroke will idle down low enough that a kicker is not needed and I've had others tell me to get the kicker. What does everyone else think?

[WaveWacker]

What size is the boat/main motor??

[Tracker55]

18 foot walk through with a 115 Merc

[goose89]

Depends on what your parameters for "idle down" are. If you're talking 2mph range for crankbaits, you should be fine. If you're talking 1 mph range for spinners or slow cranks, probably not.

Gotta take speed CONTROL into account as well. Going into or running with wave will change speed significantly. A kicker with a Trollmaster works well in those situations. It can be very frustrating trying to make slight adjustments in RPMs / speed with a main motor.

That said, I think that 115 would take care of you in most instances / casual fishing trolling cranks. Hardcore, fishing in wind, wanting fine control, go with a kicker / trollmaster.

You could also explore tolling bags / drift socks or a "double bag system" that attaches to front cleets for more control. A bit of monkeying around, but will definately slow you down and give steady control with main or with kicker.

good luck....

[Nick Kuhn]

Our 75 HP 4 stroke will do about 0.8 MPH going into a little wind. I think glass calm it idles at about 1.2 MPH, however it needs to be warmed up to idle that slowly.

[gfishin]

Hi,

I have a Lund Pro V 1775 with 115 Yami 4 and Yami 4 kicker.

From my perspective the 115 trolls down pretty nice to 2mph but under that a drift sock is needed to slow further.

I actually use the kicker very little and instead use my Terrova which can control speed.

The one thing I would never do again is tie the kicker and main motor together for steering.

[Kyhl]

My first thought was you need a kicker but hearing other's experiences I'm not sure.

Wow, there must be something wrong with my set-up. I have a 115 Merc 4S on an Alumacraft 175 (that measures 17' 11" so nearly 18') and I idle at 3.3mph. I know my rpms are high but mathematically I can't see it getting to 2.5.

I'd be happy as punch if I could get down to 2.5.

[solbes]

My 75 4S gets down to 2.3 reliably, sometimes maybe touches 2.0 into wind. I'm impressed that Nick can get sub 1.0. Must be mounted on a 24 foot boat!

[Nick Kuhn]

My 75 4S gets down to 2.3 reliably, sometimes maybe touches 2.0 into wind. I'm impressed that Nick can get sub 1.0. Must be mounted on a 24 foot boat!

Well, between our gear and having 4-5 people in the boat often our 16.5 footer is probably several hundred pounds heavier than than most of them on the lake. The motor is weird though. It will not idle that slow at first, but after 5 minutes of trolling at minimum speed, it's very audible that the motor will start idling at a lower speed without making any throttle adjustments.

[Farley]

Is there an electric trolling motor in the equation?

[PerchJerker]

The guys I know who are "serious" trollers with 115s also have kicker motors. From what I have seen, a 115 just does not troll slow enough most of the time. Hope that helps and good luck.

[lindy rig]

Get the kicker

[FM_Mike]

The guys I know who are "serious" trollers with 115s also have kicker motors. From what I have seen, a 115 just does not troll slow enough most of the time. Hope that helps and good luck.

I have to agree. All I do is troll and when I got my new boat this spring the kicker was a must.

I have a Mercury 115 4 stroke and a 9.9 pro kicker tied to the main motor with flush mount controls. It worked will this spring but on a 17.8' boat the steering is more difficult when turning than I thought. The big mercury will run at 2.8 to 3.5 on gps depending on the wind. Also never really ran at idle very long as motor was not broke in and still is not.

This brings me to another plus of having a kicker. If you troll ALOT like me, you will put very very few hours on your main motor. Even though with drift socks and other items you can troll at low speeds I believe that is what they created the kicker motors for. The value of your rig when you sell may be more appealing since the main will have little hours.

With the electric start and trim, it is much easier to deal with for me than an electric trolling motor for trolling. Sit at the console and start, lower, raise and all without leaving my seat.

The main complaint was the weight on the transom, but the most new boats are set up for or can be to use a kicker.

So far I love my set-up, probably more after the breaking period is over. The 9.9 kicker can be a little finicky and needs to be warmed up before use.

Mike

[Northlander]

I run a 17' Lund Explorer with a 115 Yamaha 4 stroke and it will troll down to about 2.2 mph. It worked great for trolling sticks/cranks but not slow eneough for spinners and slower stick/crank trolling. Also I troll a lot and didnt like all the hours I put on my 115. Therefore I got a 9.9 Yamaha 4 stroke and Im really glad I did. If you troll a lot I would put a kicker on. Plus its nice to have should your main (115) ever go down when your 15 plus miles from the landing. The way I troll I would love the kicker hooked up to the main. I have it manual with a extension on the handle wich is nice but I dont want to stand/sit in back all day when I could be steering and controlling my speed from the comfort of the wheel. You can always disconect the bar that ties you to the main and go back to manual. I know guys who will do that.

Right now I set my speed on the kicker and then use my bowmount with co-pilot to steer. Works nicely.

[Tracker55]

Thanks for all the input. I think my mind is made up. Kicker it is. It might not be solid thinking, but I would rather buy the kicker on the front end and not use it much than not put it on and wish I had. Seems it's harder to justify things like that after you've made the initial purchase. Thanks

[lindy rig]

Good call

[snowfighter]

I have a 1725 Lund Rebel XL with 60 Mercury EFI 4 stroke has big tiller handle with rpm limiter adjustment can back troll into lite wind .5 mph. I was told that with EFI you get what you get for idle speed no adjusting and that some can vary on idle speeds is this true?

[FM_Mike]

The EFI's are computer controlled so the computer has to be reset. I know you can purchase for Mercury, smartcraft add ons to control speed more precisely. I do not know what others offer but I'm sure each company has it's own way of controlling trolling speed.

Mike

[snowfighter]

The EFI's are computer controlled so the computer has to be reset. I know you can purchase for Mercury, smartcraft add ons to control speed more precisely. I do not know what others offer but I'm sure each company has it's own way of controlling trolling speed.

Mike

The - + buttons on my tiller handle for rpm ajustment must be the only extra control for speed or are you saying there is other add ons also?

[Fowlmouth]

Go with a yamaha t8, you won't be let down. I love mine!!

[goose89]

T8 if you can find one....still a few unused around, used are out there, but sorta hard to come by....Yamaha replaced them with the T9.9.

[311Hemi]

The guys I know who are "serious" trollers with 115s also have kicker motors. From what I have seen, a 115 just does not troll slow enough most of the time. Hope that helps and good luck.

+1

Yami F115 on my CRL 1850 Sportfish and would really wish I could afford a kicker! I can't troll below 2.2-2.5 mph on calm water with the 115. A kicker would make things so much easier.