Would a 50-90hp motor work well for trolling?

[Mr. Twister]

I am thinking about buying a different boat. Something a bit bigger than what I have now that would fit my growing family with probably a 50 to 90hp motor. About 50% of my fishing is trolling and currently the boat I am running has a 25hp Merc and trolls down very good. Would a 50 to 90 hp motor work well for trolling. I am looking at boats in the 1999 to 2005 range. Does anybody have any good or bad experiences with 2 or 4 stroke motors in this year and size class?

[chad austin]

I fish with my neighbor from time to time in the summer and he runs a 75 hp merc and we troll all day with it. He plans to buy a kicker for his boat just to keep hours off of the bigger motor. I believe his merc is a 2001.

[Mr. Twister]

Do you know is his Merc a 4 stroke or 2 stroke and is it fuel injected or carburated?

[Tom7227]

I have a four stroke Merc 90 on the 23 foot pontoon that I won a few years ago. It seems to me that it doesn't troll well at very low speeds. Of course trying to keep a pontoon going at slow speed if there's any wind is a pretty good trick no matter what you have.

[suncruiser234]

Look for a Suzuki in the 50 - 90 hp. They troll down very nice.

[chad austin]

Do you know is his Merc a 4 stroke or 2 stroke and is it fuel injected or carburated?

2 stroke, fuel injected.

[FM_Mike]

Had a 50hp Mercury 4 stroke on my boat for 9 years and all I did was troll. Never had an issue and could troll all week on a tank of gas "18 gallons". Changed the plugs every two years, Some times they were still clean but changed them. Trolled down to 1.5 on a calm day with no issues.

If you plan to troll a 4 stroke IMO is the only way to go. I am a Mercury fan but any of the new motors should serve you well.

Mike

[SkunkedAgain]

I've got a 2009 Suzuki 90hp on a 16.5ft boat. I troll with it all of the time. Do I wish that it could go a little slower? Sure. Then again, in those times I just switch over to the trolling motor. I honestly don't see the point of buying a third motor when the main and trolling motor work just fine together. A trolling motor isn't just for bass fishing IMO. It's for trolling at slower speeds with precision.

[BoxMN]

I've got a 2009 Suzuki 90hp on a 16.5ft boat. I troll with it all of the time. Do I wish that it could go a little slower? Sure. Then again, in those times I just switch over to the trolling motor. I honestly don't see the point of buying a third motor when the main and trolling motor work just fine together. A trolling motor isn't just for bass fishing IMO. It's for trolling at slower speeds with precision.

Yep, unless you only troll all day, every day. We were going to ge ta kicker, but didn't and do just fine. We also drop our troll motor to slow the big motor troll speed, and can even turn it sideways to adjust speed a bit. Good luck with whatever you end up getting! I think all the motors nowadays are pretty darn good!

[Hoffer]

I have a 2003 Mercury 75 HP.

I troll with it all day long for running lures on rod holders etc..

When you get down to a certain low speed it kicks down from 3 to 2 cylanders. If you are talking about trolling something like a walleye spinner or lindy rig type of set up then no it wont troll that slow - but thats what the bow mount is for...

I love my 75 merc. It trolls down to 1.5 or so - but the only thing is its a little loud when compared to a 4 stroke. But still love it.

[harvey lee]

I have a 50hp Merc 4 stroke on a 16 ft Lund.

If one is going to troll at different times of the year, a motor in the range you have should be fine with a trolling plate. The trolling plate will drop your speed down far enough to troll for anything.

Many times I need to get under 1mph for a good trolling speed and my motor will not get that low without the trolling plate.

If all you plan on doing is trolling 1.5 mph or better, then I would not worry too much but that speed will catch no fish for you on some days.

The trolling plate will cure about any speed issue for going slower. I could get down to about 1.6 and after the trolling plate was installed, I can now do .4mph per the GPS.

[leech~~]

Boat size and weight make a big diff, on size of motor. I have used a 75hp & 90hp for trolling in a heavier 17' Alm.

[paceman]

another way to slow down your troll is to drag a drift sock. slows you down a lot and helps with boat control in windy conditions.