Slowing my trolling speed

[BFD]

Wondering if anyone does this: While forward trolling with my merc 115, at idle speed, could I attatch my drift sock to the back of the boat to slow my speed?

[Mike Walerak]

You can as long as you do not get it caught in your prop! It is a little harder to steer.

mw

[Moonshine]

BFD,

I too have a 115 Mercury that I use a drift sock to slow my troll. I actually use two different size socks for varying speeds. Attach to your front cleat to keep it away from your motor and out of your way when reeling in fish.

Good Luck!

Jason

[BFD]

front cleet? Are you talking about back trolling? I was planning on attaching it to the back of the boat or to the motor.

[markkstanley]

Front cleat for forward troll. Make sure the rope is short to keep it out of the prop. You can rig it across both front cleats and have the drift sock directly under the boat - easier to steer and out of the way. Do a web search and it will explain how to do it. You can also throw it out the back just make sure your line has a float on it and you'll need to pay attention to keep it out of the prop. Also the good old 5 gal bucket works and is very handy for other uses. One bucket cuts my forward trolling speed by .4mph

[Moonshine]

Yes, front cleat. I keep my drift sock on the port side and hooked to the front cleat when trolling forward. The sock should open somewhere just beyond the console. For me, it does not pull much to one side so I have never had to try to get the sock directly under the boat. Just try it. You'll see how it works.

Jason

[ripstick]

To the best setup is 2 socks 1 off each side so you get a steady pull off each side. Using 1 sock the boat allways wants to pull to that side . Besides you can always give it a little more gas.

[Ely Lake Expert]

You should possibly look into bow mount trolling motors!!!

ELE

Slight edit

[Fishin4Life]

Ely, maybe he didn't. And even so, can we try to keep our comments helpful, not insulting...?

All that needed to be said in your post was, maybe try getting a Bow mounted trolling motor. The other comments I don't think were needed.

[Ely Lake Expert]

fishin4,

It wasn't meant to be insulting at all. I was saying that my own question might be dumb. I guess I just assumed that if he had a boat with a 115 on it, that it was probably a pretty nice/expensive rig. I just think for ease of use of a trolling motor vs a big motor and also in the long run I would think it would save money instead of burning up alot of gas.

Ryan

PS F4L, are in a member of the nice police of something? JK, lol

[Ely Lake Expert]

Actually I have a question.

Are drift socks made for use on bigger/windy/wavey lakes or just any lake?

[LoonASea]

lake size doesnt matter ,,,they are made to slow the boat down while drifting, trolling or slipping current ,,,plain and simple ,,,its a tool for boat control

Randoid

[Fishin4Life]

Yes I was sworn in yesterday. I got my deputy badge. LOL

[Boedigheimer]

BFD, Have you ever used a trolling plate?

I don't have one but I have fished with someone that was using one and it worked great. I am seriously considering getting one, not sure which brand or type. It sounds like a good concept but I see very few on any big tillers. It might be the fact that you have to drill four holes in your motor to mount the clamp.

Dragging a sock around will work too, but pulling it in everytime you want to move is a pain, especially at night.

[BFD]

My rig is not expensive....... It is a Fish n Ski Model with no where to mount a trolling motor (other than the bow mount foot elec).... Expert ehhh???

[BFD]

I did look at the plates...but thought for now I would keep the drill away from the motor...

[Ely Lake Expert]

Quote:

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My rig is not expensive....... It is a Fish n Ski Model with no where to mount a trolling motor (other than the bow mount foot elec).... Expert ehhh???

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Ya, sorry, neither is mine. Though those bow mount foot electrics do a great job.

[markkstanley]

Trolling motors don't always solve the problem especially in big waves where they are out of the water half the time. Trolling plates have some drawbacks too mostly related to forgetting to release the plate when you take off. Drift socks are a very easy solution. That said I have my big engine tweaked so it runs at 1.8mph at idle speed - putting the trolling motor down and tilting the prop up a bit gets me to 1.3mph. If I need to go slower than that out goes the sock. Doesn't happen very often but I do use it.

[Fishin4Life]

I have a question now after reading all these good responses. I thought the main reason guys liked trolling motors was because they were pretty much silent. Does anyone think that trolling with the big motor makes a difference? I know some of the two-strokes can get noisy.

[SteveWilson]

My 140HP 4 stroke Johnson (e.g. Suzuki) is very, very quiet at idle, much more so than the 9.9hp Johnson that hangs on as a kicker

[markkstanley]

Mostly a reaction thing. The big motor moves and controls my boat very easily (I run a tiller) The trolling motor is a little less effective. I use the trolling motor when vertical jigging or casting - in other words when I want to hover in an area.

[SpecialK]

Quote:

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I have a question now after reading all these good responses. I thought the main reason guys liked trolling motors was because they were pretty much silent. Does anyone think that trolling with the big motor makes a difference? I know some of the two-strokes can get noisy.

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I actually had an experience yesterday when my battery ran out of juice so I switched to the 10hp 2 stroke for trolling. My father had a large fish explode on his lure 20 feet off the back the boat. I am thinking that it may move the fish out for a few seconds but it won't stop them from coming to something they want.

[Hone Eye 1]

Front cleat one sock off each side.