Trolling with twin 40's

4

416rigby

New member
The age old question, I know...the "single with kicker or twins" decision when it comes time to decide on power for a CD. My main interest with regard to this issue is trolling. Donna and I are die-hard fishermen, so cruising will be very much secondary for us...although we are looking forward to some overnighters. We're used to a single and small kicker. How do you folks who have twin 40's troll? Seems like running one of the 40's for trolling would be way overkill. Opinions? Experience?

Thanks, guys
Rick
 
I run on one 40 for trolling. My minimum speed is about 1.8kts. I switch the other off, troll for 1-2 hours and then switch to the other. Works OK for me. I have a drift sock that can be used to slow me down if I really need to. Yes, it's a compromise (how many times has THAT word come up on this site?) but it works OK.

Roger on the SeaDNA
 
Rick,
For what its worth I have twin Honda 50's on my 22 cruiser and one trolls down just fine for King fishing. I would much limp in with a 50hp than a 8hp.
Jim, Work Release
 
I troll with a single honda 90 all the time. It will troll down to 1.6 at idle. i would only go with a kicker if i was going to fish for trout. Trout fishing would be better with a electric motor anyway. I may get a kicker later but only as a back up and to counter balance the wife and kid.
 
I use the same method as RogerBum- in fresh water, troll with one engine and switch every couple of hours. In salt water, I can troll with both engines just idling and the trim tabs down, trolling at ~ 1.3.
 
Rick,

You already got some great answers. I have the twin 40's on McNaughty and love them. However I was taught and love to fish for salmon (Chinook) by motor mooching at a very slow troll. Using 2-3 ounces of lead and a herring is a fun and exciting way of catching fish. I can't go slow enough even on one engine to do this. I would guess the speed would be .5 mile/hour or so. I have recently switched over to downriggers (hope my old friends don't kill me) and it is of course not a problem any longer. Downriggers are very effective but not as much fun, at least in my mind. Now, after I find the fish while trolling with the downriggers, I'll quickly switch over to drifting and mooching for them. Sort of the best of all worlds.

Craig on the McNaughty
 
First off...when I found this website, your boat was the one I lusted over the most...she's a beauty, Craig! And the proper color! :D

We use downriggers a lot. I do my mooching for salmon while fishing for halibut, and it's fun. I guess dropping you trim tabs down helps a lot...great idea.
 
Back
Top