Trol-A-Matic Trolling Plate

[Muskieguy]

Anybody have any experience with this? It is the one that is spring loaded(flips up when going fast, flips down when going slow) I am looking to add it to my 4.3L MercCruiser. I am hoping to slow my troll at least to a speed where cranks can be trolled. Anybody have problems with the plate being pulled into the prop when reversing? Any info would be great!

Thanks,

Muskieguy...

[dfv87]

another interested person in those opinions!

[Norsky]

Just attach a drift sock to the bow, much more simple, cheaper, easy to take on and off, and you can use it for drifting.

[Muskieguy]

Most of the time I use the bow mount to pull live bait rigs or pitch jigs to early spring Walleye areas. However, my bow mount does not propell my boat fast enough to pull cranks. Every walleye opener I would like to try pulling cranks at night and cannot with my current boat. I would agree that boat control might be an issue with the plate on but am hoping that night time brings calm winds and less boats to manuever around. During the summer when I mainly fish bass I will remove the plate for improved boat control in the crowds. Then in the fall I might stick it back on for some October trolling. I have thought about a trolling sock but I can be very fogetful and might hit the throttle with the thing still in the water (lost an anchor that way) Plus I got the plate free from somebody who didn't like it. (slowed him down too much).

Muskieguy.........

[rockhardinmn]

I am a big fan of useing a sock and here are my reasons... 1) Boat control- in the winds it will lock the bow down so to speak .With a sock i have fished in winds that chased everyone else off the lake.I understand that from what you said that control is not really an issue . An option for that would be to run a lazy " s" troll, doing that you would have your bait in various depth ranges. 2)Motor performance- In my case running a sock puts a decent load on the motor which leads to less plug fouling,,more control when i am trying to follow a tight break because of the higher thrust i feel 3)Compact and Ease of Use - the socks i use rolls up not to much bigger than a pair of rolled up jeans, so storage is not an issue( i carry 2 different sizes of socks),,,,throw it in the water and it starts working real quick.

I seen above that you are concerned about running it over. well i never have and i have forgotten that it was out before. As i mentioned above i have 2 socks, 1 rated for 18' to 20'boats and 1 for over 20' and my boat is a 14'. all that happend in my case was i had a power loss.most guys use a long line on the socks and then i could see a problem but i dont think a long line is realy needed. I use just enough line to get the sock fully into the water. I also know a guy who does nothing but troll cranks with a 150ProV motor and a sock.

[This message has been edited by rockhardinmn (edited 04-20-2004).]

[Surface Tension]

I've used a few trolling plates. Being spring loaded you don't have the worries of forgetting to raise it. Also being at the helm you don't have quick access to the plate to release it which is an other plus for the spring loaded plate.
Downside is its always down a low speeds. First thing you'll notice with the plate is sluggish steering. It'll take a wider range of motion at the wheel to get results. Add a cross wind and the you'll be constantly fighting to catch the bow. Many times you'll need to throttle up to get the trust needed to steer. Thats not good in crowded marinas or when trying to follow structure. As far as using it in reverse, I don't recall having any problems other then the loss of thrust resulting in less control.
If it were my boat I'd go with a electric bow mount.

[Schwanny]

I have one on my motor. I own a Yamaha 115 4 stroke on 1750 Crestliner Fishhawk. I like to troll for walleyes using livebait rigs. Without the plate the boat would troll at approx. 1.5 to 5 mph. With the plate I'm down to .4 mph. Do you lose some control with the plate, but this is way I like to fish. I also found it will put you on plane alot sooner, but it will slow the overall speed down approx. 5 mph. If you are looking to slow down while trolling I would recommend it. That's just my opinion.

[Muskieguy]

Rock,

I am fishing an 18ft fiberglass fish and ski with 190hp I/O. I think a sock would probably work, but I would have to buy 1 huge sock or two medium ones and run them both, well that could run me $50-$100. I got the trolling plate free from a friend who isn't using it, and thought I would try and make that work before dropping the cash for drift socks. I have heard enough good things about it to where I am going to mount it on my ourdrive and give it a shot. If not I think I will go to the drift sock. Thanks everybody for the help.

Muskieguy.....