outtheresomewhere
6/14/2018 8:29:04 AMIf you have only one battery for your trolling motor try raising your main engine to cut the drag - I did this a couple years ago and
trolling time increased by 45%, depending on your speed, wind, current, etc. Thanks for the report and stomach content. Also,the additional
benefit of raising the main engine is to stop the prop from rotating, saves on lower unit gears - one can always put the engine in gear
and that will stop rotation too. I have found though that when the wind begins to control the boat the main engine has to be lowered for better
control. All this works for me - no guarantees.
trolling time increased by 45%, depending on your speed, wind, current, etc. Thanks for the report and stomach content. Also,the additional
benefit of raising the main engine is to stop the prop from rotating, saves on lower unit gears - one can always put the engine in gear
and that will stop rotation too. I have found though that when the wind begins to control the boat the main engine has to be lowered for better
control. All this works for me - no guarantees.
Hugeinchina
6/14/2018 8:33:55 AMIf only my kicker was working that day. ;-) We had intended to use the kicker to prolong batter life (we have two in parallel 24 series batteries for the bow mount), but I could not get the damned thing started. Turns out there was a small clog in some part of the carb that Elephant Boys took care of for me this week. The engine only has around 4 hours on it so I was glad it wasn't something serious for such a new piece of equipment. Unfortunately, running without the kicker also got us blown off the water this last Sunday. We just couldn't maintain enough boat control to keep us on track and the main engine had us going too fast. Too bad because the fish really seemed to be active. We hooked up with two on our first pass!
DavidA
6/14/2018 3:39:34 PMYou've probably already considered this, but if you haven't, it could be quite useful. When it's windy, so you need the main engine for control, but the main engine has you going too fast, consider turning your stern to the wind and troll in reverse. I was on Banks this last weekend and had the same problem with my electric engine. If it was only a slight wind, I went in reverse into the wind, moving upwind. When it got stronger, I went in reverse, but allowed myself to move downwind. Either a 'heard it' moment or an 'ah-ha' one. Worth my time if it's the latter for someone.
Hugeinchina
6/14/2018 3:45:07 PMGood call. I’ll add that to my bag of tricks for next time, thanks!
Bent hook pontoon
6/14/2018 4:39:31 PMyea buddy!.. i have always liked using my kicker for forward power and the bowmount for side to side control. I can see where in a pinch and no kicker you could use the main in reverse to salvage a trip when the wind picks up. Refuse to Lose!
Hugeinchina
6/14/2018 5:32:37 PMGood call. I’ll add that to my bag of tricks for next time, thanks!
Bent hook pontoon
6/16/2018 5:48:50 PMI did have a 24 foot party barge we fished off of for a bit as my boys got older I was able to move into more specialized fishing boats. We currently have a set of bucks bags for every one in the house and also a 17’ Wooldridge xp jet.
Hugeinchina
6/16/2018 7:25:24 PMNice, we have a 20’ pontoon setup for fishing. It’s been great so far, but you definitely get blown around a bit. Love having all that room for everyone though.
Bent hook pontoon
6/16/2018 7:59:58 PMI had a couple buckets I had attached to the front two corners I would toss over and they made a big difference with the wind they would hold the nose really well with a cross wind and you had more ability to go really slow and have way more control in the wind