kicker or trolling motor?

[fishing addict]

which do you prefer ? I see a lot of kicker motors on boats these days and am wondering what situation these are used for mostly. Is it for backtrolling mostly? I have a fisherman 1700 that has a windshield . I am considering upgrading my trolling motor versus getting a kicker motor. my current trolling motor is from an old boat and its not strong enough to control my boat. My big outboard does not idle slow enough to troll with. Any advice?

[PerchJerker]

I use my kicker for trolling cranks, slipping back and forth while vertical jigging, and for most of my livebait rigging (depending on the wind and waves).

I use my bowmount for casting, and for some livebait rigging (usually when I'm drifting or heading down wind).

Hope this helps. Good luck.

[FullTilt]

I would go with the kicker motor. I had a small boat with a tiller motor that would back troll like a dream, the motor fried a piston last summer so I bought a bigger boat with a bigger motor that wouldn't back troll very well. My new boat has a 74 Lb. thrust transom mounted trolling motor but it doesn't give me the boat control that I was used to with my old tiller. I did a lot of research on kickers and I ended up buying a Yamaha T8. I haven't had a chance to try it yet but I can't wait. A couple reasons why I went with this motor were the high trust prop and the electric tilt. I wondered why anyone would need electric tilt on a small 8 horse. The electric tilt keeps the motor in place when your flying across the water at fulltilt and eliminates the need for bungees to keep the kicker from banging your transom to pieces. I've also been told that the high thrust prop makes this little 8 horse strong enough to push around 20' fiberglass boats. It's also a 4 stroke so it won't smoke and it should run quiet, we'll see what happens. One other thing, if you run a kicker directly from your main fuel supply it's a good idea to put a fuel valve in. This keeps the big motor from sucking the gas out of the kicker. In extreme situations this can happen and it will lean the fuel mixture to the 2-stroke and possibly fry the motor.

[ChuckN]

If you want to troll cranks on your boat you will need a kicker. A trolling motor won't really cut it if you want to troll for any length of time, proper speed, etc..

I use the kicker all the time. Trolling amd backtrolling primarily. But there are many days where I need to kicker to keep the boat positioned on spots when the wind prevents the trolling motor from keeping the boat in the right position.

[Dierkes Circus]

Spend the cash on a 4 stroke kicker. I use the Yamaha T8 for both trolling the big lakes and vertical jigging/back trolling for walleye. Works like a dream on a Lund Baron for great boat control. Very quiet and smokeless and no battery charging every other day out. Only suggestion is to use a wind sock off the bow to keep it from swaying and make tighter turns when vertical/backtrolling.

[fishing addict]

Do you guys have a tiller version on the kicker or is the kicker steering tied into the main console? Can you give me an idea of home much a good 8 or 9.9hp kicker would cost. It sounds like the yamaha is a popular choice. thanks for the help.

[Dierkes Circus]

Addict, use a quick disconnect with the main motor. It doesn't allow you to use the throttle during trolling but you can steer from the dash. Disconnect it for vertica/back trolling. Price for a new Yamaha T8 runs about $2200?????

[ChuckN]

Tiller for sure. I hate being limited to sitting in front of a steering wheel. You can also add a quick tie rod to the main motor for trolling forward.

A good used kicker motor can run anywhere from $900 to $1500. Depends on make, model, etc... New I have found a new Yamaha 9.9 LS on clearance for $1900, but typically in the $2400 range brand new.

I had a Honda that was sweet, Yamaha's are excellent, and now I bought a boat with Mercurys that I have my doubts on so far. Luckily I feel comfortable tearing engines apart and fixing stuff myself.

[can it be luck?]

My 60hp main is console. My 6hp kicker is tiller. They are not "tied" into eachother. On calm days I use the main as a "rudder". By using the main as a rudder so to speak you will be able to steer your boat while trolling....At least I can.

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[This message has been edited by can it be luck? (edited 03-31-2004).]

[FullTilt]

I like the control of the tiller. I priced the Yamaha T8 anywhere from 2,300-2,800 so shop around. I couldn't find any used Yamahas, other newer used kickers were 1,700+ making the decision to jump up somewhat easier.

[Phred52]

I also have a Yamy T-8 waiting to be picked-up. Got caught on the south-east end of a LONG, new lake with a STRONG Northwest wind and the batteries for the electric were slidin' fast. Finally got the Johnny runnin' and made it back. Woulda been a COLD night in the boat that night. Sold me,THEN and THERE! (wife too). Figured the T-8 will troll clean, quiet and when needed, save my sorry a$$. What more can you ask for? Have checked into aftermarket controls,etc. Found some at(If I can say it?) sportsmansguide.com

[PerchJerker]

I have a Merc 4 stroke 9.9 kicker. Not tied to the big motor. On those lazy summer days when I'm trolling I may run the kicker for power and use the big motor as a rudder for a change of pace.

Nice feature with my Merc is twist grip shifting. Twist it one direction, it puts you in gear -- twist it farther and it increases the throttle. Twist it the other direction to go back to Neutral, then to reverse, then to increase the throttle in reverse. Very simple one-handed operation and there's no reaching back to the motor to shift.

I have absolutely no complaints with it. Couldn't ask for a better kicker, in my opinion.

[rockhardinmn]

I am surprised here that none of the others thought about back trooling with a drift sock instead of a kicker. the socks are a heck of alot cheaper.
Addict, i know of a guy up on winnie that trolls all the time with a 19"tyee with a 150Yamaha with a socks. he has a couple of different sized socks which he uses to slow him down to the speed he is looking for that day . all he uses for bait is cranks and lindys
for myself , i used a sock that was rated for a boat 2 sizes bigger and had a hard time of going to slow alot of times. i never used a bow or tiller mounted elec on my boat till i upgraded the motor last spring . after fishing with it last summer. the sock i have now was for a 18' to 20' boat and i have 14'boat at that time with a 25 tiller.now with a 40 on thwe boat that sock is not big enough to slow me down enough to follow the tight breaks like the old 25 did. i still like the boat control i got with the bow locked down by a sock. useing a sock back trolling as soon as you see a change in depth you are on it with the right amout of power to turn the back of the boat to follow the break line and the front stays locked down not swinging all over the place .. it works great in high winds of course also. even with a kicker motor the bow while back trolling will swing around . real cheap way to see if this may be an option for you is to tie a couple of 5 gallon pails to the front bow eye and test it out .
Spending approx 100$ for a couple of socks to me is alot cheaper than the cost of a good kicker not to mention the added weight a kicker adds .nothing ventured, nothing gained