16’-19’ boat without kicker.

[glen]

I’m thinking about getting an another boat. 16’ to 19’ without a kicker. 75 hp to 90hp main. 
low rpm cruise speed about 20mph. I’m not concerned about top end. 
trolling for three people but also good for casting.  
Will the main engine troll at 1.8mph? 
or maybe I set up the bow mount for trolling less then 2.5mph.  
any thoughts?

[lew]

I'd go for a bowmount, nice to have if you want to get into some back bays for casting.

[BITEME]

21 hours ago, glen said:

I’m thinking about getting an another boat. 16’ to 19’ without a kicker. 75 hp to 90hp main. 
low rpm cruise speed about 20mph. I’m not concerned about top end. 
trolling for three people but also good for casting.  
Will the main engine troll at 1.8mph? 
or maybe I set up the bow mount for trolling less then 2.5mph.  
any thoughts?

Easy fix on the trolling drag a sock behind the boat

a blue ikea bag is a great weapon

[Rizzo]

I have a 16'8" boat full console with 90hp Yamaha 4 stroke. When I troll for salmon sometimes I go as low as 2.5...and occasionally catch the boat only going 2.2 or 2.3 then I speed up. Never actually tried to go as low as 1.8. Maybe it would do it? 

[glen]

Your 90hp will get down to 2.2 mph.  That’s good to know.  
it would be nice to get slow enough without a drift sock.  
 

[BITEME]

You could look at this option I had fantastic success with this on my sixteen footer 

you drop them down and it produces drag in normal op it improves ride at speed 

 

don’t over think this to much chinooks will pound baits at 2.5 all day 

https://nauticusinc.com/products/protroller-trolling-plates/?srsltid=AfmBOooyWeycZXq7GGdidltPDouasELD7QHIEor8tfFBk6dnjigHngsu

[Spiel]

1 hour ago, BITEME said:

don’t over think this to much chinooks will pound baits at 2.5 all day

I typically troll Summer Kings (June, July August) at 3 to 4 MPH and have even done well at 5mph on occasion. 

As for the OP, My 75 Merc on a 17' Lund will troll down to less than 2 MPH (into the wind  ).

[glen]

All good info thanks.  

part of the problem is I fish for so many different species perch, bass, pickerel, pike, crappie, Muskie, lake trout, rainbow trout ,salmon and brook trout.  
having the right gear for all of it is a challenge.  
hopefully I can find a boat I like.  
 

[BITEME]

you will be fine a bow mount is a bonus I prefer a deep 16 footer that is eaiser to drag around

[AKRISONER]

if you want to fish with 3 people regularly, im going to suggest buying the biggest boat that you can afford. speaking from experience, 16 footers are pretty tight. 17 with two people on the back and one on the casting deck in the front is good, 18 you wont even think about the fact that theres 3 people in the boat. 19+ youre starting to think more about the water you like to fish. If you want to fish walleye and bass on georgian bay or lake O in the fall its 19 foot or bigger to be comfy. 

Kickers are a nice to have, but as mentioned above can be created using a drift sock. 

You most certainly want a bow mount trolling motor, full stop. Avoid minkotta powerdrives, look for a terrova. 

 

This all being said, i caught a heck of a lot of fish in gale winds on georgian bay out of my 14 foot tinner with a 15, handmade casting deck (a sheet of 3/4 plywood) and a terrova bowmount...Got wet, had people fall in the lake, but were alive lol

Edited March 17 by AKRISONER

[glen]

I’m planning on Only 2 people casting and three people trolling.  
the main thing I was thinking about was if I need a kicker in any of my trolling presentations.  

[BITEME]

I have never run a kicker in my life 

Maybe I should have but never could get my head around the actual need. Save your money for something else, you don't need it.

Take that for what it is

[BillM]

I've always run a kicker, keep those hours off the big motor and sip fuel.  Salmon/walleyes/muskies/whatever.   Kicker probably gets 10 times the amount of hours the big mill does.  If you do a lot of trolling, you'd be crazy not to have one.

[Terry]

27 minutes ago, BillM said:

I've always run a kicker, keep those hours off the big motor and sip fuel.  Salmon/walleyes/muskies/whatever.   Kicker probably gets 10 times the amount of hours the big mill does.  If you do a lot of trolling, you'd be crazy not to have one.

I agree 100%

[AKRISONER]

On 3/18/2025 at 10:52 AM, BillM said:

I've always run a kicker, keep those hours off the big motor and sip fuel.  Salmon/walleyes/muskies/whatever.   Kicker probably gets 10 times the amount of hours the big mill does.  If you do a lot of trolling, you'd be crazy not to have one.

who trolls these days though?

 

yaaaawwwnnnn Old man fishing I call it 😄 

look on the bright side, you may never feel a fish bite, but it comes with a seniors discount

Edited Thursday at 05:58 PM by AKRISONER

[Rizzo]

On 3/17/2025 at 12:02 PM, glen said:

I’m planning on Only 2 people casting and three people trolling.  
the main thing I was thinking about was if I need a kicker in any of my trolling presentations.  

This is how I fish. Lake O for salmon? 3 guys trolling. Lake St C for musky? 3 guys trolling (maybe an hour or 2 of high-risk crowded casting). Kawarthas for musky? 2 guys casting

[BillM]

20 hours ago, AKRISONER said:

who trolls these days though?

 

yaaaawwwnnnn Old man fishing I call it 😄 

look on the bright side, you may never feel a fish bite, but it comes with a seniors discount

You should see the smallies we pull out of Simcoe in Nov strolling, lol!   I'd much rather cast as well, but certain times of the year nothing touches it.

[CrowMan]

7 hours ago, BillM said:

You should see the smallies we pull out of Simcoe in Nov strolling, lol!   I'd much rather cast as well, but certain times of the year nothing touches it.

Kicker for strolling or moping  ? We generally use the bow mount for those presentations...but, yeah, the line between trolling/strolling/moping/bottom bouncing/drop shot/etc  is pretty blurry..

As mostly a Bass and Musky guy, I prefer to cast. However, after a morning of flinging half-pound lures with a 9 ft broomstick and a winch, by lunch time I often turn to my partner and say" how 'bout we troll for a while"..

[BillM]

On 3/21/2025 at 6:31 PM, CrowMan said:

Kicker for strolling or moping  ? We generally use the bow mount for those presentations...but, yeah, the line between trolling/strolling/moping/bottom bouncing/drop shot/etc  is pretty blurry..

As mostly a Bass and Musky guy, I prefer to cast. However, after a morning of flinging half-pound lures with a 9 ft broomstick and a winch, by lunch time I often turn to my partner and say" how 'bout we troll for a while"..

I'll fire up the Yamaha T8 and put it in forward gear at basically idle.  Gives me .8-1mph, works great.  I'll steer with the TM.

[Moosebunk]

On 3/14/2025 at 3:29 PM, glen said:

I’m thinking about getting an another boat. 16’ to 19’ without a kicker. 75 hp to 90hp main. 
low rpm cruise speed about 20mph. I’m not concerned about top end. 
trolling for three people but also good for casting.  
Will the main engine troll at 1.8mph? 
or maybe I set up the bow mount for trolling less then 2.5mph.  
any thoughts?

Yammy 90 on my 1875 ProGuide drops to a troll speed of 1.4mph using the RPM limiter. As the hours build on the motor, you will in colder water build carbon up pretty quick using that limiter so run it hard back to launch and burn that out. The Terrova 80 will pull the boat along for a troll at up to about 2.6mph. 

Cruise speed at 4500rpm is about 27-28mph. Go a big tiller, lots of room to roam.

[Moosebunk]

On 3/20/2025 at 1:57 PM, AKRISONER said:

who trolls these days though?

 

yaaaawwwnnnn Old man fishing I call it 😄 

look on the bright side, you may never feel a fish bite, but it comes with a seniors discount

Now you just relax a minute young whipper-snapper! Trolling is healing, casting is just "itis" for the joints.

[Wallyman]

If you find a boat with room for a kicker I would recommend it.

One,  a back up if the big motor fails for some reason.  May not get you home but should to shore.

Second, to keep slow speed carbon build up off your plugs in the big motor.

 

Regards

[BITEME]

Buy a 4 stroke