trolling plate

[dairyman]

Has anyone built their own trolling plate for their outboard. I've got a 35 Hp evinrude and the best I can get when I throttle down is about 1.5 mph. I've read pro's and con's with them and if I could build my own and find out it doesn't work all I'm out for the most part is my labor

[Wanderer]

Make it easier on yourself and drag a small wind sock clipped onto your bow eye with a carabiner if you want to go slower. An even cheaper option is to drag a bucket.

I've been in a boat that we used a trolling plate on and one where we dragged a sock. I like the sock better and that's how I'm set up now.

Just my opinion though.

[dfv87]

Small drift sock here also. I bought a 22" one designed for a canoe type boat and it works great. I troll down enough now with my 140 to pull cranks and if I needed even more I would use the bigger sock 60" one and that almost stops me...

[Kyhl]

If you want better bags look into Amish Outfitters trolling bags. They are heavier than the cheap socks you can buy in stores and cost about the same.

I have a pair of small bags that hang on either side of the boat. Having them hung from the sides balances the steering.

[tacklejunkie]

If you want better bags look into Amish Outfitters trolling bags. They are heavier than the cheap socks you can buy in stores and cost about the same.

I have a pair of small bags that hang on either side of the boat. Having them hung from the sides balances the steering.

I use the trolling bags also but a different brand.The OP says he gets to 1.5 mph without a plate. That's slow enough for spinners and such. If I need to get slower than that, the bags go out when it's windy or just use an electric trolling motor

[IceIceBaby]

I have 3 different size trolling bags and can fine tune my 70hp Yamaha tiller to a lot of different speeds. That way I can leave the motor on idle instead of having to adjust the speed constantly. I find that each size bag will lower my speed about 1/2 to 1 mph, depending on the size of the bag. I have cheap 13" and 18" bags plus a Cabelas large bag. I've had the cheap bags for years, but the last time out was the first time I've used them. After using them, I can't believe I never tried them before. Of course, if I want to fine tune the speed even more, I can throw two bags of different size on at the same time. I'm not sure if I'll ever need to do that, though. For me, it's a great system.

Al

[IceIceBaby]

By the way, I see the same cheap 13" and 15" drift socks I was talking about from $6 to $15 on hsolist right now.

Al