what is my speed???

[St Rich]

So here is my predicament... I am wondering what speed I am going at minimal throttle with my 90 HP 4-stroke Merc. I have a 2013 Tracker PG V-16. I am wondering if I can troll with the "big motor" but I do not yet have a new Fish/Depth Finder equipped with GPS to determine the actual rate of speed. The speedometer is clearly not going to tell me if I am going less than 5mph. Does anyone have a cheat sheet on this or a simple way of knowing how fast I am going? I do have the electric trolling motor as well, but still have the same problem of not being able to dial in speed. Any practical and affordable suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

You can borrow a hand held gps and there are also "trolling plates" for lack of a better term that flip down over your prop and slow the boat. Some of the Walleye crowd (meat heads) will be along shortly.

 

[St Rich]

I was looking at those trolling plates and also trolling brakes. Seems like they all require some permanent mounting/drilling. I would be curious to hear from said walleye guys who have used them since this is exactly what I will be doing (for trout too) when the smallies aren't biting.

 

[Major Mark]

drift bags is what I used to use

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I totally forgot about drift socks. We use them on St Clair when the wind gets up to slow our drifts. Sometimes 2 of them.

 

[Major Mark]

when I had my walleye boat, I carried 3 sets of drift socks, S, M, XL. I always used 2 of the same size to keep a straightline drift or troll. Size deployed depended on water conditions, wind, and lure being trolled (crank or live bait). I loved the Cabelas quick release sock harness/buoys. Fish on, release the sock to avoid getting in the way of landing fish if necessary, then retrieve the sock/harness that was floating in your trail zone.

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Cabe...=drift+socks&WTz_l=Header;Search-All+Products

 

[St Rich]

Forgive my ignorance - A drift sock is deployed off the back and can slow your trolling speed while underway? Or... is it only deployed and used when drifting with current/wind?

I did find a speedometer app on my smartphone that works via GPS and seems to be pretty darn accurate thus far. The best part - $1.99! I am going to be out on the water the next 3 days since this will probably be the last nice weekend before the snow comes. I will give it a try and see how it works on the boat.

 

[Major Mark]

they can be used for controlling a dead drift, many walleye guys who don't have kicker motors deploy their drift sock(s) while using the big motor for trolling to get the boat slower than the motor idle speed will allow. Some guys also rig 5 gallon buckets with holes in the bottom in place of socks. Those usually are rigged off the front gunnels cleats. I never wanted plastic buckets rubbing on my painted hull so I used socks, harnessed off the rear cleats

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

Since we fish 2 to a boat and drift, we deploy the drift socks port or starboard, 1 or 2, forward and aft. Here is a 2-part article I wrote for Yamamoto on dragging and drift socks.

http://www.insideline.net/index.php/feature-genfishing/802-the-art-of-draggin-part-one

 

[Major Mark]

Tox is right on if drifting is what your after. When I used to chase eyes, it was all about motor trolling pulling planer boards. For that purpose I used to deploy 2 socks off the back cleats. The only time they interfered was if additional rods were setup dead sticking straight out the back. That is when I'd release the harness & let the sock(s) go free to not interfere with landing the fish off the back. The socks and harnesses would just float free until retrieved. 5 gallon buckets sink so can't be released. For the most part if we had 4 lines out (2 port, 2 starboard) with planer boards, the socks rarely if ever interfered & didn't need to be released. Planer boards take your lines/lures off to the sides of the boat instead of behind. We'd routinely run them 50+ feet off each side so socks rarely got fowled with the retrieve. I owned socks made by Lindy, Cabelas, & MinnKota. My personal preference was the MinnKotas. They all were self opening, the MKs & Cabelas had dump straps on them so you'd retrieve them inverted (tail 1st, empty), the MKs seemed to dry the fastest. (geez, this brings back memories, kinda wish I hadn't sold that boat & gear..LOL)

 

[Scott Hammer TOXIC]

I'm actually in the market for a couple.

 

[St Rich]

Thanks for the information guys. Toxic - the article makes good sense of things. However, it seems that it would be difficult to operate 2 motors, the sock and fish as well. The lakes out here in CO are fairly small with a lot of traffic. It makes it nerve racking to try and watch out for the morons, drunks and water skiers and fish which unfortunately defeats the purpose of fishing... to relax.
I will probably stray from the drift socks until I become a more experienced boater seeing as this is my first year at it.

On a side note, the Android App I mention above worked very well! It is called "Ulysse Speedometer" and only cost $1.99. It is capable of slow speeds, as well as knots and is very accurate since it is GPS reliant. Over the last three days I discovered that my 90 HP merc 4 stroke does 2.2 mph against the wind and 2.7 mph with the wind just above idle. The Minn Kota trolling motor does 1.6 mph at top speed. The optimal speed on my lake is (allegedly) 1.3-1.5 for trolling. We caught some nice rainbows running the trolling motor. Once the battery drained, I went back to the big motor and even at the higher speed got a couple more. Needless to say, the app I bought for my smart phone seems to be sufficient and accurate for speed readings until I purchase a nice new fish finder. It also includes a compass, and tracks everything from your average speed and distance to time traveled. Pretty cool little application