The Spoonpluggers Forum

I began spoonplugging back in 1973. I read and reread Buck's book and invested in the home study course. I went from there to the big boats and the bass tournament thing. Thanks to buck, I won a very large tournament on the Ohio river fishing a delta structure. But, alas, that was over 30 years ago. I completely quit fishing back in 1994 when work turned sour and then in 2009 I had an accident and crushed a vertebrae, damaging my spinal cord.

Suffice it to say I had a lot of time on my hands and my wife encouraged me to start fishing again. Without a lot of fore thought, I bought a used but excellent 17.5' aluminum boat with a 75 HP motor about a year ago. I wanted something big and safe and it is but it is not the best for trolling. I will be asking for help with some things I never thought about.

Please help this OFF (old fat fart) get going again!

RED

Red what part of the country will you be fishing/ welcome. Bob

Red,
Depending on the boat, your combination isn't so bad. Plus while an existing injury you're going to have to be comfortable. You lose some control but you'll compensate.

I have a Ranger 175t with a 70. I do pretty good - when I actually get to go.

I will be fishing central Missouri on Lake of Ozarks, Truman, and some small DOC lakes.

My first question is that I am having trouble figuring out the speed I'm traveling across the water. I can only maintain about 3 - 4 MPH with the electric trolling motor but even then I seem to be all over the place and have a devil of a time maintaining a constant speed and depth.

I was on Lake Ozarks yesterday but only managed a couple of bass trolling but one of those was a solid 3 lbs. Knowledge is the key and I have forgotten much. Oh, by the way, these lakes are still new to me and I know it's going to take time but I will get there.

Red ,Iam not trying to be smart but from reading your last post,study the Home Study this winter. Bass do not know what 3MPH is. Change the trolling seed often till the fish let you know the right one. Use the bottom to set the depth most of the time.Good Fishing Bob

Thanks for the help but I think maybe you misunderstood what I said. I said that 3MPH was as fast as I can troll with only the trolling motor. To go faster I have to use the outboard... My 3 cylinder outboard will not run smoothly (a problem with that design) slower than 1,000 RPM which (I think) is about 6+ MPH. That, at times, leaves me limited either to too slow or too fast.

I know others have had the same problem. My question is how to eliminate or reduce the gap? Buying a different rig is not financially doable.

Red,

What kind of rig are you running?? Check your prop, you can change speeds a lot by adjusting the prop. Also, get a GPS to accurately check your speed. 6 MPH at 1,000 RPM's sounds a bit fast...should be about 2.5 to 3 mph.

Also, depending upon your boat brand, check the boat manufacturer's website to see test results of boat/motor combinations. The test results give various speeds results at certain RPM settings. The test data gives a good idea of how a boat/motor combination should perform.

TN Dave

I agree with Dave, I doubt you are going 6 mph at 1000rpm. A trolling motor should never be looked at as a trolling tool. It is only used for the slower speeds and boat positioning. Most new spoonpluggers worry about not going slow enough. 2 1/2 mph is dead slow. Bring a friend with a gps or ask someone on the water to check your speed at your slow troll. If there is a need to go slower, buy a different prop. Your problem is fixed and now spend a lot of time on the water. John