Happy Troller?

[slipbobber]

Last year when I was trolling for Pike it seamed that the boat was still going to fast when it was idled down as far as it would go. Thinking about putting on a Happy Troller or similar device on the motor to slow down the trolling speed a little. For those that use some device for doing this what do you use? I've been told that installing one of these units on my motor will not affect the warranty.

[jhillock]

Happy trollers are not a good idea if you have a 2 stroke. They weren't meant for excessive idling/trolling, in the long run, it will hamper the overall performance of your motor. Even if your main is a four, and you can get it to idle slow enough, it's hard on fuel. Personally I've used a kicker, a little 5 horse Honda worked great on my 16 foot inboard/outboard. If you're not interested in a gas option, an inexpensive electric trolling motor and a deep cycle battery isolated from the main to prevent starting issues for the main motor when your done fishing is the ticket.

[kevinhits]

It was mentioned to me last week about tying a rope and throwing a 5 gallon pail behind the boat...

[skykomish sunrise]

Good advice above... Electric or small gas. Trolling will kill ur big motors

[cube]

Talk with your motor manufacturer or find a marine mechanic and ask them about slow trolling with your big motor.

If you were thinking of going to a kicker I would go gas. Runs for days on a fill. Can use the same gas as your big engine. Has the power to get you home if the large engine ever fails. Don't need to bring a generator with you if you go camping where there are no electrical hook ups. Weights less than the electrics. When you factor in the electric motor weight and batteries the gas kickers are much lighter but give you more power.

Good luck with what ever you decide.

[Mackinaw]

I tried a happy troller did not care for it had a bit of fouling with the big motor changed to a gas kicker and steer with bow mount electric works like a dream

Mack

[dodgeboy1979]

i have a spring loaded one for my boat and love it. It gets the idle down nice and slow and automatically flips up when you accelerate.

[huntsfurfish]

Drift socks.

[waterninja]

A drift sock or plastic pail might slow you down, but then you have a rope out in the water for your line to get tangled in while retrieving a fish. Hate to see you lose that "once in a lifetime" fish because it tangled in a rope. Heck, i've had plenty of big Trout wrap themselfs around an anchor line.

[EZM]

You can always buy a lower pitch prop ......

Going from a 25-27 degree down to 17 degrees took my idle speed down from 3.5 mph down to 2.3-2.5 mph which is a nice speed for pike.

Keep in mind your top speed (at full cruising) will also go down - I went form ~ 60+mph to 43-44 mph at cruising speed (85 - 90% throttle).

The way I look at it - 43-44 mph is plenty of speed - and on those days with some chop, when you want/need to use the big engine ..... it pays off. Who needs to be running 100 km/hr on the water ..... not me ....

[huntsfurfish]

A drift sock or plastic pail might slow you down, but then you have a rope out in the water for your line to get tangled in while retrieving a fish. Hate to see you lose that "once in a lifetime" fish because it tangled in a rope. Heck, i've had plenty of big Trout wrap themselfs around an anchor line.

He is trolling for pike and I have never lost a fish to a rope yet.:) It is a suggestion to help him lower his speed. They dont cost much and will get the job done. And your suggestion is?:)

[dodger]

He is trolling for pike and I have never lost a fish to a rope yet.:) It is a suggestion to help him lower his speed. They dont cost much and will get the job done. And your suggestion is?:)

Plus he might catch a nice Pike trolling that pail. ;)

Dodger.

[PerchBuster]

Would help to know what HP, size of boat and boat type you are currently running to determine maneuverability limitations etc but if a gas kicker motor is not in the cards and you don't want to invest in an electric you could always try backtrolling . Forward trolling and kicking it in and out of gear periodically or as often as required to vary the speed and action of what you're pulling can also be good. Carry an extra set of plugs on the boat should a quick change out be required down the road if they get fouled on the water. With trial and error you will find the desired cadence to use. Sometimes this erratic action is just the ticket. Also, maybe avoid trolling in a straight line if that's what you've been doing. Trolling in an S type pattern in your situation with frequent turns along your desired path will allow the outside rod to speed up but that inside rod will definitely slow down quite a bit during the turns and often a fish will come on that inside rod as the lure slows down and either sinks or rises. Suspending lures can be deadly as well. Sometimes they hit the fast outside rod on a turn too so this technique gives you possibly best of both worlds in some situations.

[Tfng]

Perch buster makes a lot of good points and is asking the right questions.

I've dragged pails lots in the past and it works. I would just pull it in if it would be in the way while landing fish.

The boat I have now is a 16 foot with a 40. It trolls way too fast so I installed an easy troller plate. It's a tiller model so I don't have to get up to deploy it which is handy. A nice feature of the easy troller is that it has a spring loaded hinge in the flap. This prevents bending when you forget to lift it. I wouldn't want to troll without it.

I found it was too slow all the way down so I added a second set of notches so it could be latched at half down.

I do own a five horse kicker as well but I keep it in the bow for emergencies. I find it awkward to run and it's always in the way at the back of the boat.

It really depends what kind of boat and motor you have and your budget.

[waterninja]

He is trolling for pike and I have never lost a fish to a rope yet.:) It is a suggestion to help him lower his speed. They dont cost much and will get the job done. And your suggestion is?:)
Was only suggesting that a rope and pail could possibly get in the way. If thats all he can afford right now then have at it. There have allready been plenty of other suggestions put foreward by other members. A small kicker would probably be the best, but once again it would cost more then a rope and pail.

[huntsfurfish]

Was only suggesting that a rope and pail could possibly get in the way. If thats all he can afford right now then have at it. There have allready been plenty of other suggestions put foreward by other members. A small kicker would probably be the best, but once again it would cost more then a rope and pail.

Sorry waterninja, I misunderstood your intent. And was kind of cranky yesterday. I will eat a snickers next time.;)

[JohninAB]

I either use a drift sock or my electric bowmount.

[Mark]

I had one on by 75 horse 16 ft Glascon. It trolled too fast for downrigging for Lake trout without the happy troller. Used it for years and loved it. Worked like hot damn.
I did remember to kick it up the speed and go full bore every couple of hours to blow the carbon out the engine. Never had an issue with my motor.