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Posts: 12
Location: Waukesha, WI | How essential is buying a kicker to troll? I have a 125 Mercury 2-stroke. I have been trolling with it at speeds of 2.5 - 5 mph. Is this bad for the outboard? Reason I ask is I have been thinking about buying a kicker, but am unsure if it is necessary. Thanks for any advice/info. |
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Posts: 1086
| This is one of those questions where you'll get opinions all across the board. Anything from people saying that they'd advise not to do it to it's no big deal at all.
You'll just need to watch to see if your motor "loads up" with fuel/oil from the slow trolling. You'll just need to run the motor at speed when finished or when moving from spot to spot to clear it out.
As for answering your question: Yes...you can certainly troll with your 125 as you've already found out. Now....will those speeds be the speeds you'll be happy with while trolling a 125? That's up to you. Come Fall...you may or may not want a slower trolling speed. If you do..you could always deploy a drift-sock to slow you down some. A drift sock is far cheaper than a kicker.
Then again..if your budget and wallet can accommodate the expense of another motor, then buy a kicker. It'll add just a tad bit of weight to your boat..but no big deal.
It's all up to you. Again...you'll get opinions all across the board on this one.
That's just my $.02 cents |
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Posts: 3518
Location: north central wisconsin | If it runs fine, keep at it. However, fuel savings and noise are the two main reasons I am looking at going to a new outboard, not a kicker. I don't think I'd realize the benefit as much from a kicker(I have a 90 2 stroke tiller now that doesn't like to troll) as I would in going to a new efficient outboard. I don't buy that one needs a kicker simply to reduce hours on the big motor, unless the big motor is a big 2 stroke that overloads. The salt water dudes run their big fuel efficient motors all day long for years, in tougher conditions than we ever do. I 've been running my Yamaha 2 stroke(though it is only a 40 hp), for over 10 years almost every day, running and trolling and it gets along fine. Think about the cost of a kicker vs. trading in that big motor on a fuel efficient 2 stroke or a 4 stroke, and weigh the savings over the course of a few years or as long as you'll keep it. The one nice thing about a kicker is the piece of mind they give, when faced with big water and long rides home. But, if your rig runs/trolls fine with the big motor, and you don't have a problem with noise, smell, or fuel usage, stay with it.
Edited by Reef Hawg 7/3/2007 12:53 PM
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Posts: 412
Location: Waukesha, WI | I have not seen what impact hours on the big motor translate to dollar wise nor do I know how much more fuel efficient a kicker would be. A kicker (2-3K) is cheaper than the main motor. Which would you rather put hours on? What waters do you fish and would a second motor in case the main motor dies be useful? I looked into a Trollmaster device to fine tune trolling speeds, but a device is not available for a 90HP motor.
How much trolling do you do, what level of speed control do you want, and would a second motor in case the main failed be useful? Just other points to consider. I certainly like the 90HP four stroke for being clean burning. I choke on others exhaust when they troll by. If I wasn't thinking of selling my rig, I probably would have bought a kicker already just to have better speed control. |
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Posts: 2089
| Kicker also = Safety Net should the main outboard fail for some reason. 3 seasons past, I used the kicker to get in on 3 seperate occassions when the 225 had issues, the last time being day 3 of the Simply Fishing Classic on Vermilion.. A kicker is cheap insurance, especially on big water. Steve
Edited by Steve Jonesi 7/3/2007 4:39 PM
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Posts: 2068
| Hey I remember that! ......And just had the big motor die on LOTW 10 miles from anywhere - NOT FUN! ......620 here I come! |
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Posts: 20255
Location: oswego, il | My dad had a merc 125 two stroke and we trolled alot. We had no real issues but a couple things to consider with this motor. If it is the carbeurated 125, then it is the 4 cylinder that runs on 2 cylinders under a certain rpm. While trolling the two other cylinders will load up as they still need lubrication, they still have to recieve oil. It will smoke more as ours did and if the breeze it right, some of your trolling passes will have you breathing it.(maybe that is why I have like 2 active brain cells) When you are done, make a run up the lake to clean out those two cylinders. Ours ran rough for about 20 seconds untill those cylinders were clean.
Other noteables were we could not go 7-15mph. That is where the 2 cylinders kicked in for us and is was like hitting a nitrous bottle. It is very reliable motor, merc made it for quite some time. |
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Posts: 158
Location: Burlington, WI | ToddM, what year was that 125 merc that you had? I have a 1996 115 merc. Someone else told me the exact same things about my motor that you are saying as far as the way the cylinders work, but I've had other people tell me differently. I never knew what to believe. I also troll with my 115 merc 2 stroke now with the addition of an easytroller that I bolted to the cavitation plate I am able to get up on plane much quicker now, and with the troller flap down I can troll just about as slow as I want. |
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Posts: 20255
Location: oswego, il | The 115 and the 125 are the same motor. You have the 4/2 if you have a 2-stroke. A buddy of mine has a mariner 115, same motor. He bought that motor for the reliablility, I believe his is a 94 and going strong. |
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Posts: 2112
Location: The Sportsman, home, or out on the water | I do troll some, walleye and musky, and my Merc 90 2 stroke hates to idle. She wants to be pushed wide open. on the Fisher, not alot of options for kickers. I'm thinking stealth (especially for eyes) so i'm Seriously looking at those Minnkotas that mount to on the outboard. Talked with alot of walleye guys (while waiting for Sheps turn at weigh in's) and they #$%^ing love theirs! Today, I'm thinking electricity is cheaper than gas.
Edited by muskynightmare 7/3/2007 11:26 PM
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Posts: 434
Location: Omaha, Nebraska | We had a trolling motor mounted on our 1997 2-stroke 115 Merc, but it fell off. The only problem with those are that you have to drill holes in your motor. Our dad had some guy custom make us a brackett, because my dad didn't want to drill holes in our motor. It was really nice, but it is at the bottom of Cass Lake right off one of the Potato Islands in about 30 feet, if you want it. The motor might not work, but the brackett was very nice. My dad didnt get it tightened all the way or something. Dewey, to answer your question the 115 works great for us, but we still might get a 4-stroke kicker just to have a backup and more fuel efficient.
Edited by DEMolishedyou2 7/3/2007 11:41 PM
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Posts: 2024
| How long are you trolling for? Just a few hours and then blasting off to your next spot? Or are you trolling long shorelines without hammering the throttle on the big motor?
We have a kicker on our boat, but it's mainly used for fishing lakes with horsepower restrictions. When I troll, which isn't very often, I find myself turning to the big motor. For some reason the kicker doesn't turn very well. It's connected to the outboard if that matters (maybe if it was a tiller I could turn tighter). Anyway, with the big motor I can make nice tight turns if needed and if there's wind it's much easier to work with than the kicker.
Just my .02 cents. |
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| If you plan to troll often the hours add up fast. Ask yourself how many hours you want to put on a big motor vs a low cost kicker. Big motors don't last forever. I put approx. 150-200 hours on my kicker every year. |
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Posts: 229
Location: Willoughby, Ohio | We do quite a bit of trolling here in the east (Ohio). 90+% of those I know, use a kicker and the one or two who don't, have 4 stroke larger engines. One big problem with extended trolling is carbon buildup, especially in the exhaust system. Two strokes are notorious for this but it happens to four strokes as well. If you do buy a kicker and you do go with a 4 stroke, unless your main engine is oil-injected, you'll have to carry an extra fuel tank for the kicker of non-premix. I did that for a season until I decided it was too much of a PITA and bought a 4 stroke main engine (also wanted the extra HP!) |
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Trolling Question