Reducing trolling speed

[fishingdan]

Hi,

I have a 19' bowrider with a 4.3lx mercruiser Alpha 1 outdrive. The current prop works great for water sports and cruising. It is a 4 blade aluminum Solas 14x21 prop.

I would also like to do some fishing trolling with the boat and I was thinking of picking up a prop that would be used when I'm on one of these outings. The current setup idles at about 3 to 3.1 mph per gps. I would like to get this down to 2 mph or slightly under that. What would be a good starting place to step down the prop for this use? I know I would have to watch rpms when running which would never be close to WOT in this usage.

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Hard Head]

Re: Reducing trolling speed

You can always use a trolling plate or throw out a drift sock.

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Reducing trolling speed

Thanks. Those are options I considered. Not thrilled with either, but it may the way to go.

 

[Wvawitrado]

Re: Reducing trolling speed

honestly to go through all that every time you would like to go fishing would seem inefficient just grab about ten foot of rope your drill and a five gallon bucket to make the best trolling speed you can get lol Its just real easy and works for me just a cheap alternative and time saver

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Reducing trolling speed

You know what? I think I'm seeing the light. I'll try the buckets or some trolling bags.

Thanks!

 

[K.P.]

Re: Reducing trolling speed

I wouldn't waste your time trying to pitch that rig low enough to troll. Your better off doing what the others suggested or investing in a separate out board motor like a 9.9 or 15 HP.

Another suggestion is do not rely on GPS for determining trolling speed. They are not as accurate for that purpose as you would think. I use a transome mounted paddle wheel option that connects to my sonar. After you calibrate them, paddle wheels provide very accurate WATER speed between 1 and 5 MPH. They are not very accurate at high speeds unless calibrated for that but they then loose low speed accuracy.

I mostly troll a river system here in Illinois. Trolling on moving water results in water speeds that can be vastly different from the land speed readings of a GPS. The same applies on wind blown lakes.

 

[fishingdan]

Re: Reducing trolling speed

Thanks KP. I mentioned the gps speed because I did some testing on a static body of water. I normally fish in in-shore areas and there is always current to factor in.