trolling down a mercury 150 4 stroke

[Jaspernuts]

I just got a 2013 crestliner superhawk. Love it. It trolls down to 2.8 mph. Too fast. Will the smartcraft gauges get me low enough or will I need one of those goofy things you put on the prop?

[Kyhl]

How slow do you want it to go?

What RPM is it running at 2.8 mph? The troll control will get it down to 550 rpm minimum.

It's been a few months since I've been on the water but my 150 with smart craft troll control gets down to 2.2, I think, on an 18 foot alumacraft sport. I rarely run it that slow when trolling though.

[Schubie]

Jasper

I have a 2014 crossover with the 150 4 stroke. I have troll control but not smart gauges. It does reduce the rpms to 550. (I took it in to shop to verify) I still am only able to troll down to 2.8 or 2.7.

Others on the forum have shared they can troll slower with out plates or socks. I have not figured out how yet.

Schubie

[delcecchi]

Trimming the motor up helps some.

[TR21HP]

Jaspernuts, Do you have a bow mounted trolling motor? If so use that to get slower trolling speeds otherwise socks do well to slow down your speed with the main motor.

[Jaspernuts]

I do have a bow mount, but if trolling all day that would toast the batteries. Are the socks easy to use?

[TR21HP]

Drift socks are real easy to use. Are you talking back trolling or conventional trolling? if you back troll you do get slower speeds just because of the back of the boat creating more resistance. Trolling all day will run the batteries down but if you have an onboard charger they will recharge overnight. Are you looking for a specific speed to troll cranks?

[delcecchi]

I do have a bow mount, but if trolling all day that would toast the batteries. Are the socks easy to use?

You can drop a little speed by deploying the bow mount and turning it crossways. Adds drag.

[Jaspernuts]

All excellent tips, thanks guys. Yes, looking at getting down to 2.0,2.2 for cranks.

[tacklejunkie]

There is a difference between drift socks and trolling bags. I have a 150 Horse ETec that I normally troll with spoons on Superior but if the need arises, I toss out on Amish trolling bag and that slows me down to 2MPH or less