Trolling Rig

[Jim Clark]

I have been searching for a trolling rig for my boat without any success so I decided to design my own. I think it will work out for trolling in Lake Anna and Smith Mountian Lake. Check it out in my pic folder (my boat) and give me your comments, good and bad.



Jim

 

[Greg Meyer]

Yours looks very good. Attached a link to Tite Lok setups. Yours is very similar. Also, yours looks more substantial. "Kewl"!
http://www.titelok.com/index.php?cPath=18_21_28

 

[fatrap]

TROLLING!!!!!!!! Bite your tongue. I didn't think the "T" word was allowed here. Before long we'll be talking about "Slow Death Hooks" and bottom bouncers. The stuff for those who brave fishing for fish with teeth.:lol:



fatrap



PS: I fish with nitecrawlers sometimes.

 

[Mark Jaworski]

Another option



http://www.foldntroll.com/



I think BPS has them as well



Mark

 

[Mark Jaworski]

Jim,



Sweet trolling rig great job!!!!

 

[Mebassn]

Jim, nice rig, looks like you could sell it out at SML, should/would go over pretty good. So how are you planning on controlling your speed. Are you going to use a drift sock off the transom tie down points? Just curious. Also what are you going to be trolling? Striper rig, crank baits or live bait(i need to learn that one). Good luck with the rig.



Eric H

 

[Jim Clark]

Eric H - I plan to control speed by using trolling motor. Gonna use live bait and going for stripers. This is a trial and error kinda thing - for my winter fishing.



All - thanks for the replies.



Jim

 

[Bill Hamilton]

Jim - Nice job on the rig. If you are going to do striper fishing with live bait at Anna I would suggest using planer boards. They work great and really allow you to place your lines in a much wider arc without having them cross, particularly on turns.

 

[TrepMan]

Jim - Check you speed on your GPS in idle on the Merc, on my Tracker and my Nitro I can (with a bit of tweaking to the idle screw speed) to get 2.6mph to 2.9mph which for stripers here pulling trolling rigs like Umbrella rigs is perfect. But yes, if you are dragging minners or shiners/trout behind the boat the T-motor is better so you can get them to the depth you need.

 

[Dan J.]

Trep - Be careful with trolling your 2+2. Carbon is the enemy to your powerhead and that 115 is notorious for low idle carbon building. Just an FYI.

 

[TrepMan]

Dan - thanks, I actualy LOVE the way the 2+2 idles at around 2.8mph, its perfect for the Capt. Mac Urigs!!!



I have been getting tune ups each year, and use Stabil on months I'm not using the boat every weekend.



Any other suggestions? Typically only troll/idle it a few months a year for Stripers at maybe 15-20 mins a shot.



Trep

 

[Dan J.]

Quickleen (Merc label) or Ring Free (Yamaha label) is your powerhead's best friend and carbon's worst enemy. Get whichever one is cheaper around you as they are identical in purpose, ingredients and use in your engine. I run Quickleen every tank and recomend you to run it (or equivalent) at least every other tank. Stabil (original red) keeps the gas fresh and the blue label does similar and helps counteract some of the disagreeable properties in ethanol. (Use the blue label Stabil or Seafoam for ethanol when treating today's gas formulation.) Keep in mind, treating the gas does little more but ensure a good burn, not a clean burn. The cleaners mentioned keep the carbon particles broke up and exhausting well instead of building up in the cylinder head as quickly. It will lengthen the life of a powerhead and adds to smoother idle and more responsive acceleration. Think of it as just a cheap insurance policy for your powerhead.

 

[Dan J.]

Oh yeah, if you want a cheap and easy (I know. Music to your ears!! :lol: ) way to get your idle speed down another .5 mph or more, get a 5 gal. bucket and a 5'-6' piece of good rope through the handles. At idle troll, tie off the loose end to your rear cleat and drop the bucket over the side. A bucket on each side can drop you a full mph or more. It allows you to idle up a hair also to help clear the cylinders. (Also known as a "poor man's drift sock".) Don't use the thin wire handle that came with the bucket. Drill a hole through the bucket on each side and run rope through leaving some slack when knotting. Buckets will stack together and come in handy loading/unloading your striper gear.