I have to throw my .02 in here, there are hundreds of good used potential kickers out there. I bought a 15HP 2 stroke Johnson 12 years ago for $800, used it as a kicker right up to last year and to run my duck boat every fall, still have it on my duck boat. You can rig a boat with a good kicker for 700-800 if you shop around and don't need shiny trinkets. One man's opinion
Throbbin Rods
Out

its probably going to be the trolling plate for me also, i cant get over how much they are getting for those small engines. when i set up my boat in 92 with the merc 115 the cost installed was 5600 dollars with the throttle linkage. im just hoping i can increase the rpms and still go slow enough with it, the motor really bucks and shakes the boat at low rpms. i can get 33 hours trolling from a 35 gallon tank. need to count whats in my change jar, maybe i can find a second hand motor that would fit the bill. in the past ive caught more salmon at faster speeds with increased rpm's 3-3.5 mph and sometimes faster) which tells me that maybe the engine knocking is putting those fish down at the lower speeds

I'll second the fuel consideration. Might not make a big difference at $1 a gal, but it will be near $4 a gal on the lake this summer. I can troll all morning with the Honda 8hp on about 1 gal of fuel. Plus the added benefit of being able to hear the loons, and not smell the fumes from the old 2 stroke. Suggest looking for a lightly used 4 stroke, bought mine from Melvin Village, used 2000 model, paid less than half of what a new one would cost.

I second the kicker. No smell, no mess and it cost ALOT less !!!!!!!!

I.ve been using a trolling plate on my Merc 150EFI for several years now. Had to weld reinforcement on several plates since if you even bump the power up slightly it bends. Anyway, I bought a replacement trolling plate last fall (Still in the box) and have now decided to buy a 9.9 Honda kicker due to the price of gas. I agree it's much more expensive than buying a trolling plate, but with the price of gas what it is , I figure i'll save $5.00-$10.00 each time out and even more on the Lake Ontario salmon trips.

I have a brand new Happy Troller trolling plate (large size) and mount, still in the box I'll sell to anyone interested..

I agree it does depend on the level of determination and frequency of fishing time a person has (plus, to a lesser extent, finances.)
I had a trolling plate on my 40 hp (now have a 70 hp) and had so-so results with it. Busted pins & I could never quite get the speed right using it. 2 fast, 2 slow. So I scrounged an old kicker mount at a boneyard for 20 bucks & used my old 3 hp Sears Gamefisher, 2 cycle that used to power my 12 ft v-hull. It was very light but, loud. Sounded like a jet turbine. I jury rigged a motor link to the big motor & used it for years. Finally, I broke down & bought the 5 hp Merc. 4 cycle in 2001. The Merc was a 1999 model that had sat on a pedistal in a showroom for 2 years. I got it for about half the list price. Best investment I ever made (well, except for "The Tank.") I can troll for days on a 6 gallon tank. Quiet as can be, no smoke/fumes. For me having a 2nd engine adds a lot of peace of mind, 'cause if something can go wrong it WILL for me. Kicker will push me at 3.5 mph which is enough to motor home. (I love redundancy. Plus, rowing "The Tank" is out of the question.) I'm divorced, so "justification to the spouse" is not an issue. (Hey, you can always ask her, "how many pairs of shoes does a woman "need" anyway????" LOL. Nevermind that one, you're tryinjg to get the motor not start a war, right?)
Get a Kicker. You'll do it in the end anyway. Face it, once you start catching salmon....you're never the same. You're never gonna give it up 'till you get your turf blanket. It's as bad a deerhunting that way. & I Love it.

All the Best,

Gary

I went out this year and got a new lund which has a happy trolling plate on my 40hp 4 stroke merc. and I find that when i go out for say 5hrs or 6hrs of fishing I use about 1.5 or 2.5gals of gas each time. That to me is pretty good, For the last 4 yrs I was using a 5hp two stroke evinrude which was good but I would use more gals of gas in less time than in my new boat. Plus i don't come home smelling of gas and fumes. I'm a big fan of the trolling plate. Just my 2 cents
Dan

Gents...can't help to add 3.5 cents. I spent a bunch of time this winter looking at kickers, plates, going back and forth. I've got a 90 HP Honda 4-stroke which (supposedly) only uses 0.1 gal per hour at idle. So gas conservation was less of an issue than for other guys. I settled on the Easy Troller plate, which is more or less the most expensive trolling plate out there. Its solid machined aluminum, very sturdy. With the hydrofoil fins the cost was about $179 from cabela's, probably could have found it cheaper. The plate is hinged so if you forget to pull it up first before pushing the throttle, the hinge gives so the plate does not bend. No pins to break or replace. It works great and I can get into the 0.5 to 1 mph range or higher with a slight bump of the throttle.

Bottom line: if you're leaning towards a trolling plate vs. a kicker but are concerned with potentially bending the plate or busting shear pins, go with the Easy Troller. Second choice would be the Happy Troller, it supposedly gives automatically...

I put an easy troller on my 19 ft. GLS in 1991 after I bought it and didn't like using buckets to slow me down. I then picked up a 6 hp kicker and hung it off the back. I like both for different reasons. Ruff water and windy I like the big motor with the plate. Early mornings and calm water I like the kicker. Big water trolling Ontario or the mouth of the piscataqua I don't use either. I'm on my third or fourth fish finder, sixth down rigger, replaced the steering, fixed the floor, put new vinal on the side boards, put a mast and otter boats in it, got several rods I use in the boat and ten more in the garage that don't get used. My tackle box has enough lures for everyone to use at least one or two, My buddy said always buy two because if they're good you'll have to give me one until I buy more. Fishing is the greatest! I don't catch fish every time but it gives me pleasure to tinker and think about it. Remember what ever you do, keep going fishing, bring a friend, a child, your wife if you have to and share. It makes the stories more believeable. Sorry for such a long post. Tight lines!

As I've stated before... I have the Easy Troller also. I feel the fins give me much better plane control at higher speeds and the plate works great. I get down to .5 with my 3.7merc @170hp...
They say in the box that this plate can withstand the force of a 140hp motor at full throttle and not bend. I like to test things... Therefore, I put the plate down and gave her all she had with my motor... The plate worked as stated. The hinge flipped and NOTHING bent or broke. That to me is awesome. I now know that I have no worries. And neither should you if you buy this plate.
The way my transom bar and downriggers are setup it would be very hard for me to access a kicker... I'm sticking with the plate. Been out three days the last week (about 16 hours total) and including high speeds to and from trolling spots (up to 8 miles) I have only used about 10 gallons. Not too bad in my opinion.

Craig,

My Easy Troller came in today. It looks well made and rugged, can't wait to try it out this weekend.

Good discussion. I've never been fully satisified with my bucket solution and have been considering a trolling plate. One question I have is when they are up, do they have any residual effect on boat speech, maneuverability or noise? Have people been satisfied with the EasyTroller in this regard?

Thanks,

JC

Very happy with mine... I bought the one with hydrofoil fins and it definitely helps the boat plane better at higher speeds. You wouldn't know it was there when its in the up position...

I've also got the Easy Troller with hydrofoil fins on a Honda BF-90 4 stroke on an 18-ft Alumacraft Magnum 175cs. Since my boat is a little bow light, the fins help with control and planing quicker at low speed. Seems to run nice at high speed too. At first I thought it took about 2 mph off my top end speed(about 33-34 mph before), but I found that if I adjusted the tilt up a little bit (which I normally run all the way down at high speed), I found a sweet spot where I got most of the speed back, maybe I lost 1 mph. All in all, I'm very happy with it, just wish I could get up to Winni soon...

Another thing, it definitely helps in trolling in rough water as others have posted.

Im a bit late one this but here's my 2 cents.I just put an 8 hp kicker on my boat and my main thing is keep the hours of use off the $6,000.00 motor and put them on a cheaper and more fule friendly 8hp.
mark

What are you asking for the plate ?