Crestliner Fish Hawk

[Fillet]

Looking into buying a 2000 1750 Fish Hawk. Fish mostly walleyes in some decent waves. Will this boat suit me alright? It has a 115 Merc 2+2 on it. Any comments on those motors for trolling cranks? Thanks!

[Ray Esboldt]

The boat will suit walleye fishing very well. I only know one guy with a 2+2. Honestly, it does not troll down all that great. He said when he back trolls he is constantly in and out of gear on small structures if there is minimal wind. A one or two foot chop and it's fine, but on slack days it is not ideal. However, I'm not sure any motor would be all that great in low wind unless you're talking about a true kicker motor.

[blarkey]

I have the same boat with a Yamaha and it takes big water great but I would recommend wave whackers or something because the transom is kind of low and sometimes wave will crash over.

[bassNspear]

Fillet,

Welcome TO FM, glad to see you part of the huge family here.

That boat is going to be awesome for the fishing that you are going to want to do. The only thing that worries me a bit is the motor, but if you have the guy get it checked out at a dealer, and make sure its all ok, you should be fine.

[Fillet]

What concerns you about the motor? Talked to a dealer today and they said that the 2+2 is a great motor with hardly any problems. They sound like they idle way down, even enough to troll spinners(for sure cranks) but have to be opened up to clear the cylinders every couple hours. Does this sound about right?

[davesfriend]

Sorry to jump in but if I may, what is a 2+2? Honestly I have not heard this term before.

[Ray Esboldt]

A four cylinder motor that reduces to running on two cylinders at lower RPMs.

Fillet, my friend that does have a 2+2 has had zero problems with that motor and it's a 1998. So, your dealer contact maybe correct in stating that it is a reliable motor.

[PerchJerker]

I know a couple guys that had 2+2 motors, and have fished with them. Both guys were happy with their motors, and never had problems with them.

They are carbuerated 2-strokes so they will be a little cold blooded, they will be smokey at times, and they're not very efficient with gas. That's just the nature of a carbuerated 2-sroke outboard.

They aren't all that smooth at idle speeds - that's the nature of running on 2 big cylinders - but they trolled down okay and ran for hours on end. For cranks you'd be fine trolling with a 2+2 motor.

I'm not too sure it will glow slow enough for live bait fishing ...... but I'd say that about any 125 hp motor. But put some splashguards on the back (definately needed for this with a 1750 fishhawk), throw a driftsock off the bow, and you should be able to backtroll livebait effectively.

Good luck.

[davesfriend]

Oh, I get it. I have a 2+2. I would not say that would be a good trolling motor. My 125 would not do it. Not to mention the gas really sucks. If you can I would try to get a kicker or maybe a trolling plate or something. I have noticed at slow speeds with the 125 she tends to "walk" back and forth on me. I don't know if it is the "v" hull thing or if I am not the greatest driver. Heading in to the dock is so much fun I usually try to do it with the kicker. But other than that it is an awsome rig you are talking about.

I troll for walleys all summer, with that four stroke kicker I bet I used about 7 gallons of gas trolling. The 125, well, lets just say that you can watch the gas gauge move while driving..