Troll control. 2020 tracker v175 115 mercury

[motorhead99999]

I want to be able to troll around 1.6 mph with my mercury 115 4 stroke. I was googling trolling plates and came across a forum where a guy mentioned a troll control rocker switch. With my motor in gear idleing I’m at 2.7 and am not sure if I will see enough of a drop by just dropping the rpm that little bit. Does anyone have any experience with the troll control kits? Boat is a tracker v175 wt pro guide

 

[motorhead99999]

Nobody has any input on this?

 

[jerry shack]

Nobody has any input on this?

If you have Mercury's Smart gage it's wired into your engines PCM (propulsion control mogul) and it will have troll control mode built in were you can set the troll speed you want. hope this helps

 

[motorhead99999]

If you have Mercury's Smart gage it's wired into your engines PCM (propulsion control mogul) and it will have troll control mode built in were you can set the troll speed you want. hope this helps

I don’t have the smart gauge. I don’t think. Isn’t that the digital gauge that you can have set on different things?

 

[jerry shack]

Yes , however it's not the SC1000 that's a service monitoring gage you will need the SC2000 or 3000 gage.

 

[Woody b]

I don't troll but my classic xl, 50 merc is right at 2.7 mph at idle too. How long do you troll? Get a bunch of batteries and do it with your trolling motor.

There's a bunch of people around here who troll for crappie. Occasionally I see a 9.9 horsepower engine hanging on their transom next to their big motor.

 

[maybrfd]

There is a stand alone troll control available from mercury. Having said that I would recommend the smart control. With a few extra $s and a couple of parts it will give you engine hours, water pressure, water temp. Trim control feature to help save a gallon or two, and yes, troll control. I like mine on windy days when the terrova simply can't handle it. On those days you can get the speed down below 2mph. On a clear , smooth day, yeah like that ever happens, you'll be in the low to mid 2s. It is easy enough for you to install yourself and will fit most consoles, if you don't mind losing one of your existing guages (speedometer comes to my mind, since the smart Guage gives both rmp and speed on same screen). Install is a bit tricky, but will give you some tricks if you decide to go that route.

 

[motorhead99999]

I don't troll but my classic xl, 50 merc is right at 2.7 mph at idle too. How long do you troll? Get a bunch of batteries and do it with your trolling motor.

There's a bunch of people around here who troll for crappie. Occasionally I see a 9.9 horsepower engine hanging on their transom next to their big motor.

I troll anywhere from 4-12 hours depending. My old boat had a kicker plate that I ran a 5
hp evinrude on for trolling. Me biggest problem is wind. Going into the wind with a drift sock out I can get 1.8 but the sock is a pain for going straight.

 

[motorhead99999]

I think I’m just going to get a trolling plate and see where that gets me for speed

 

[Jimnitrozv]

I think I’m just going to get a trolling plate and see where that gets me for speed

I had a trolling plate on a Tracker Targa 17.2 Sport deep V. It was the "Hydro Troll" brand. I had a 115 Merc Optimax on the boat. When the trolling plate was locked down it would troll so slow that in any side wind it was worthless (slowed it down to the point that you couldn't keep the boat on course). However, when I kept it not locked it worked great. It then would slow me down to 2.0-2.2 mph .

I sold my Tracker after 10 years (had a ton of engine hrs on it) and purchased my Nitro ZV18. It has a 200HP Merc Verado L4 and has the Digital Smart Gauge with Troll Control and Tow Control. When running the engine without activating the Troll control I am running about 2.4-2.6 mph and 6500 rpm. With it activated, It will drop the RPM to 5500 (which is the lowest it will allow on my motor) and brings the speed to 2.0-2.1. The Digital troll control allows you to adjst the RPM in 100RPM increments which is nice. Of course the speed will vary depending on the prop you use also. I catch a ton of fish with it at 2.1-2.1mph speed when trolling lead core lines, braid or mono. I get hits for wiper, trout, walleye, white bass, smallies, largemouths, and crappie. When I need to go slower, especially as water and conditions dictate, I use my 60" Minn Kota Ulterra 36V. which will run all day easily even in moderate wind conditions. I would recommend you go with a 36 volt and 3 heavy duty deep cycle batteries if you have the room and use an on board charger. If you don't have the room, invest in a lithium battery but then you have to have a charger that will handle that and/or one that will charge different types of batteries. Either way, it all cost money! I was lucky enough to come up with the dollars to have everything I wanted in equipment. Even better, its all paid for. Anyway, that's my two cents worth! Good luck and enjoy!

 

[Dan Wilson]

OP, you can get a trolling plate. My brother had one on a Mercruiser Bravo 3 and it slowed that thing way down. It flaps down behind the propeller.

Or, get a big battery and do your slow trolling with the trolling motor.

But the trolling plate works really well. It doesn't slow you down at top speed, either.