Trolling with a 60

T

tcr_pnw

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C Dory Year
2006
C Dory Model
23 Venture
Vessel Name
Sea Star
Anybody troll straight on a 60hp? Or thoughts that a trolling plate would be needed? Via GPS on the Raymarine I got 0.9mph on idle with one engine at idle which is below the 2-3 needed for salmon. This was on a lake, no current or wind. First season with a boat and no kicker. Heading to Neah Bay this week and wondering if anybody has input on being able to troll for salmon adequately without a trolling plate. They are 2006 four stroke Yamaha's.

Thanks in advance as always!

Troy
 
Lots of folks do troll with the 4 strokes. There were issues with the 2 strokes--but as long as you run the 4 stroke up on the run in and out there should be no issues.

The 0.9 knots is a low speed, and should be OK for salmon...I would leave the second motor down (and you can always tow a bucket if you have to ....)
 
We always troll with only one of our twin Honda 40s running but both down in the water. We'll run one for an hour or so and then switch sides.

When Im trolling with the tide, the motor is idling in gear. Against a tide it could be running as much as 3k rpm, to get the right speed for salmon. We run between 1.5 and 3 knts trolling.

So I guess it depends! You should have no trouble staying at the right speed on a single 60, and no trolling plate.
 
I think Bob was talking about a kicker 4-stroke needing to be in the up position on the way in and out. You have twins, right? If so, you won't be running them in the up position for any reason.

I have trolled for years with my twin honda 45s.....I alternate between the two of them to keep the hours nearly the same and leave both of them down so I can go a bit slower due to the exra drag. I can only get mine down to 1.5 mph, so yours must idle down even lower since you get .9 mph. You will not have any issues running it at 800-1000 rpms (2-3 mph on mine) all day long. They will do this indefinately without fouling plugs or overheating.
 
Something to remember is that the speed indicated on your GPS is speed over ground (SOG), not the speed through the water (STW). When trolling for salmon it's the speed through the water that makes your lure/bait act correctly. For instance, when using flashers like Pro Troll or Qcove the recommended STW is about 2.5 mph. So if you're trolling down hill (with the tidal current) your SOG could be greater. Conversely, if you're trolling against the current your SOG could be less than 1 mph, but your lure/bait is spinning like crazy.

A lot of fishermen use the angle of their downrigger cable as a guide for the proper speed. The rule of thumb is about a 45 degree angle. However, that too will depend on the size of the downrigger ball and how deep you're fishing. The best thing to do is to hold the lure in the water next to the boat and adjust your speed until it's working correctly and then maintain that speed. If you're not getting bit, try trolling in a S pattern and see if you get bit on the inside or outside rod during turns. That will give you a hint as to whether you need to speed up or slow down.

Finally, you can not worry at all about going too fast and adapt the philosophy of "if the fish ain't fast enough to catch my lure, he's too small anyway." :)
 
Thanks guys! I didn't want to assume then have an "uh oh" moment out there. I ran the speed test on the lake since the GPS measures speed over ground and didn't want current to be a factor in how slow they can throttle down. And yes, twin 60's, both left down for the extra drag.

Good advice alternating engines to keep similar hours and on the same schedule for maintenance.

Any other Brats going to be out that way? We'll be fishing 19th-22nd.
 
C-Dawg":2z6kgw20 said:
Something to remember is that the speed indicated on your GPS is speed over ground (SOG), not the speed through the water (STW). When trolling for salmon it's the speed through the water that makes your lure/bait act correctly. For instance, when using flashers like Pro Troll or Qcove the recommended STW is about 2.5 mph. So if you're trolling down hill (with the tidal current) your SOG could be greater. Conversely, if you're trolling against the current your SOG could be less than 1 mph, but your lure/bait is spinning like crazy.

A lot of fishermen use the angle of their downrigger cable as a guide for the proper speed. The rule of thumb is about a 45 degree angle. However, that too will depend on the size of the downrigger ball and how deep you're fishing. The best thing to do is to hold the lure in the water next to the boat and adjust your speed until it's working correctly and then maintain that speed. If you're not getting bit, try trolling in a S pattern and see if you get bit on the inside or outside rod during turns. That will give you a hint as to whether you need to speed up or slow down.
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Agreed. I don't use the angle of my cable as a speed indicator as the angle varies considerably depending on the depth of the ball and the weight of the ball. What I feel works best is to determine the RPM at which the boat goes 2MPH, 2.5 MPH, 3.0MPH etc. in water with no current. Then I troll at a fixed RPM and use the knowledge gained from previous no-current experience to determine speed relative to water. Of course the other way to go is to get a paddle wheel speed sensor that measures speed relative to the water.
 
My apologies, my "run up"--referred to running at a higher RPM--lets say 4000 RPM =---not run out of the water, or with the lower unit out of the water.
 
tcr_pnw":2yuvayqy said:
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Any other Brats going to be out that way? We'll be fishing 19th-22nd.
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I was out there Sat and Sun this week and I'll be out there again next Sat. and Sun. Send me a PM if you want some fishing intel.
 
Good posts and info, Rick and Roger.

And Troy, I've trolled many times with our 4-stroke Suzuki 90hp with no adverse effects.
 
C-Dawg":wt6gqazt said:
A lot of fishermen use the angle of their downrigger cable as a guide for the proper speed. The rule of thumb is about a 45 degree angle. However, that too will depend on the size of the downrigger ball and how deep you're fishing. The best thing to do is to hold the lure in the water next to the boat and adjust your speed until it's working correctly and then maintain that speed. If you're not getting bit, try trolling in a S pattern and see if you get bit on the inside or outside rod during turns. That will give you a hint as to whether you need to speed up or slow down.
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this is how we troll i used to go with sog for the longest time when using deep 6 or inline weight. however with dr. keep the cable at a 45 and your good to go.
 
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