Posts: 433
Location: Cedarburg, Wisconsin | Depends on how you troll. If you troll like I do, then I wouldn't even consider anything less than a 15HP on a boat 20' or larger. I ran a 15hp 2 stroke then a 15hp 4 stroke on an 18.5' Alumacraft for 17 years. The 2 stroke gave me about 7.2 mph if everything was balanced perfectly and the big motor was up. The 4 stroke ran about 6.4 with the same setup. Now I've got a Merc 9.9 4 stroke on a 19 foot Tuffy and it struggles to get up past 5 mph. That is just not enough even with a light 19 footer. When you make sharp turns and goose it the lure speed still falls off too much, whereas the 15 2 stroke had the balls to keep your lure chugging along a 5 mph even on turns. If you just troll straight lines in open water it doesn't make as much difference.
Pricewise, figure 3-4K bucks from the dealer for a new 9.9 kicker motor.
15's now are behemoths compared to the older 2 strokes from the early nineties and before. I'll say it right now, when it comes to kickers for musky fishing, the people designing the motors are completely in the dark. They have no concept of what a good kicker should do or how big it should be. To them bigger and heavier seem to be the goal now. If I remember right, the 4 stroke Merc 15 was about 150 pounds and the new E-TEC two stroke is around 180 pounds. My old 50hp longshaft tiller with a V4 gearcase was only 202 pounds! Years ago 15's were hot 9.9's, and now they are detuned 25's. Go figure! |
