Trolling Plates

[pitman]

Took the boat out today for the first time. I definitly am going to need a trolling plate for lake use. Does anyone have any reccomendations of which one to get and where I could get one local? I have a 90hp Johnson 2 stroke. Thanks...

[NoHo ART]

get em on ebay much cheaper then locally (happy troller) or (easy troller)
while you are at it get your self a small yoyo fishing reel they are like $3 shipped on ebay
that will prevent your trolling plat line from getting caught up in your prop
(happen to me more then once) <-- not fun
i will post pics of it later

[fishfinder]

ifyou want one that you don't have to remember to put it up then get this one.
http://www.cabelas.com/product/Trol-A-Matic-Trolling-Plate/699629.uts?Ntk=AllProducts&searchPath=%2Fcatalog%2Fsearch.cmd%3Fform_state%3D searchForm%26N%3D0%26fsch%3Dtrue%26Ntk%3DAllProduc ts%26Ntt%3Dtrolling%2Bplate%26WTz_l%3DHeader%253BS earch-All%2BProducts&Ntt=trolling+plate&WTz_l=Header%3BSearch-All+Products

http://www.amazon.com/TROLA-TROL---MATIC-TROLLING-PLATE/dp/B002ANL194/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1298358534&sr=8-1

i have had mine for 4 years and it was worth every penny. although it was only $60 then.

28656

[pitman]

Thanks. I checked out the Happy Troller it looks solid and I can raise or lower while in the water. One question, do you know if I have to remove the hydrafoil plate to install this or can they work together?

[oomicha3loo]

I say you get a trolling motor mount and get a 4 hp, i had a trolling plate on my bass boat and what a pain compare to a kicker

[fishfinder]

Thanks. I checked out the Happy Troller it looks solid and I can raise or lower while in the water. One question, do you know if I have to remove the hydrafoil plate to install this or can they work together?

i dont think you will be happy with having to use that cable to lock and unlock it. the troll-a-matic is just that its automatic. just throttle it and go and it opens up when you are not trolling. check the reviews on cabelas. and then check the reviews on happy troller

[pitman]

I have a 9hp kicker. But it has no consule controls I would have sit in the back of the boat and baby sit it. Im gona check out the troll a matic. thanks...

[oomicha3loo]

Oh I hooked my kicker steering up with my outdrive by a shaft. Since my i/o is a 350 so i get about 2 mph. so I use my kicker a lot more than my main when trolling

[NoHo ART]

the hydrofoil's have to come off unless you get the easy troller witch is available with wings ... http://www.cabelas.com/catalog/largeImagePopup.jsp?productId=737690&cImage=s7_017198_002_01
OR
lol you can do what i did get a happy troller plate and the easy troller wings lol saved about $100 doing so

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh293/trufy2000/IMG_1887.jpg

and the yoyo fishing reel to keep you line from getting in your prop
sorry for the bad pic didn't feel like taking the cover off
http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh293/trufy2000/IMG_1888.jpg

[fullerton]

I recommend the EasyTroller as it has a spring loaded articulation which will prevent damage to the plate when you forget to pop it up before taking off under full power. I have had mine for about 2yrs, and it works well. Mine is a factory cosmetic blem., so I got it for about $85 two years ago. I believe they make one with fins too.

[pitman]

I'm getting mixed info. Sounds like I need to bite the bullet and see if this plate is actually gona slow my boat down or not.
Right now she idles at about 1100 rpm and 4.5mph. i'd like to get down to 2mph to troll at Irvine.

[TroutOnly]

THE HAPPY TROLLER IS THE BEST ,THE SPRINGS GET JACKED ON THE OTHER ONE,,,,,,,,FIVE MILLION TROLLING HOURS IS THE TEST,IVE BEEN VERY HAPPY AND HAVE CAUGHT ALOT OF BIG TROUT BECAUSE OF MY HAPPY TOLLER,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,t/o,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

[pitman]

thanks t.o. i was hoping you'd get invovled in this discussion...

[pitman]

Ok. So I took her out to the Vine today. As expected I had to troll with my kicker. That thing kicked butt. Does anyone know if there some sort of kit to link the kicker to my main motor to gain steering controls from the consule? Thanks for the info...

[Beeracuda211]

I would go with Bob on this one and go with the Happy Troller. I took his advice 5 years ago and put one on my 200hp mercury and it slows to a crawl... sometimes i feel like i'm not even moving... lol... that other one easy troll looks like it's plastic?? I've never had any problems with the Happy Troller and it's solid... just dont forget to open the throttle up with the plate down, it will bend the plate.. I made the mistake of doing that when I first got it and fortunately I was able to take it off and bend it back and then put it back on, but 5+ years going strong....

B/C

[fishfinder]

I would go with Bob on this one and go with the Happy Troller. I took his advice 5 years ago and put one on my 200hp mercury and it slows to a crawl... sometimes i feel like i'm not even moving... lol... that other one easy troll looks like it's plastic?? I've never had any problems with the Happy Troller and it's solid... just dont forget to open the throttle up with the plate down, it will bend the plate.. I made the mistake of doing that when I first got it and fortunately I was able to take it off and bend it back and then put it back on, but 5+ years going strong....

B/C

so far 4 years and still working. i just cant have one that i have to remember to pull the string/wire. but its not plastic. its Constructed of fiberglass-filled nylon. but i think either one will bring you to a crawl. i just think bobs gets more fish. lol

[Rooster]

Ok. So I took her out to the Vine today. As expected I had to troll with my kicker. That thing kicked butt. Does anyone know if there some sort of kit to link the kicker to my main motor to gain steering controls from the consule? Thanks for the info...
Wheres the troll report? :Envious::Envious::Envious:

Is this what your looking for? :Cool:
http://images.cabelas.com/is/image/cabelas/s7_010974_999_alt01_01?rgn=0,0,2000,1937&scl=5.2631578947368425&fmt=jpeg&id=167OHr-6dMFf2_Nw3m_oj6


http://www.cabelas.com/boat-steering-e-z-steer-motor-connectors.shtml?type=product&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleBaseUSA&WT.z_mc_id1=737473&rid=40&mr:trackingCode=C4DBA4C9-958E-DF11-A0C8-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA

[oomicha3loo]

pitman I can fabricate you one like i did for my old bass boat and my skippy. Its not too hard to make at home

[diamondbear]

I had a plate years ago for my 40 hp ,didnt like it so I put the lowest PITCH PROP I could get for this motor and it slowed way down , you will lose a little on the top end but not much .

[pitman]

Wheres the troll report? :Envious::Envious::Envious:

Is this what your looking for? :Cool:
http://images.cabelas.com/is/image/cabelas/s7_010974_999_alt01_01?rgn=0,0,2000,1937&scl=5.2631578947368425&fmt=jpeg&id=167OHr-6dMFf2_Nw3m_oj6



http://www.cabelas.com/boat-steering-e-z-steer-motor-connectors.shtml?type=product&WT.tsrc=CSE&WT.mc_id=GoogleBaseUSA&WT.z_mc_id1=737473&rid=40&mr:trackingCode=C4DBA4C9-958E-DF11-A0C8-002219318F67&mr:referralID=NA

Action was slow yesterday. I tried trolling in the am with 90ph, no luck to cruising too fast. So we opted to just meter around and find some fish. We got into the flats and man there was a ton of fish over there. So I fired up the 9hp Nissan and a trolling we were. Had our first strike about 10 min in on SC Shinner but we lost lost him. Continued on and got hammered on a CD7 Firetiger landed that one about 3lbs. That little fish was a fighter too. Had few more strikes but nothing landed. Off the lake by 2pm. Reports from other boats were lots of strikes and nothing to show for. I bet today was good out there. Thanks for the pic on those steering controls...

[pitman]

pitman I can fabricate you one like i did for my old bass boat and my skippy. Its not too hard to make at home

Thanks for the offer. What do you think that would run? PM me...

[pitman]

I ended up going to west marine and found a kit made by Panther Products to connect my kicker to the main motor for steering controls. The kit was about $35 and was a bit tricky to install. After a bit of customizing we got it to work well. The nice part is you can connect / disconnect while in the water. Thanks Guys for all your input. Weather permiting I will be back out to Vine tomorrow. If you guys see me in my 18 foot Invader CC please come say hello...