walleye trolling

[junski1986]

Do I need a electric trolling motor to troll for walleye or will my 8.8 kicker be ok to troll ? thanks

heres my boat

[Shortdrift]

If you can get down to 1.2/1.3 mph-gps with your 8.8 you are OK. If not, you will be missing out on a good amount of early season hot bites. Nice looking boat but would look better with a Minn-Kota on the bow or some Amish Outfitters Buggy Bags hanging off the sides.

[trapperjon]

Nice looking boat but would look better with a Minn-Kota on the bow or some Amish Outfitters Buggy Bags hanging off the sides.[/QUOTE]

i could'nt agree more. my buddy has a 18' tracker with a 9.9 kicker which work's fine. has a long shaft minn-kota which comes in handy working the reefs during spring jig bite and skinny water and night trolling when stelth seems to work best. JON

[junski1986]

I can get the kicker down to about .8 to 1.3 would that be slow enough if not will drift socks work? Thanks

[junski1986]

can u anchor and jig?

[Shortdrift]

Originally Posted by junski1986

I can get the kicker down to about .8 to 1.3 would that be slow enough if not will drift socks work? Thanks

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The only thing you will be missing at those low speeds without a bow mount is control in the wind. Much easier to contol a boat from the bow at slow speeds, especially when heading into the wind or troughing the waves.

You are free to anchor during the jig bite or at anytime but you will irritate a lot of people on the crowded reefs. Drifting allows you to cover more structure and motor back up for a second pass over a productive area.
Some people use the electric bow mount for drift control but I usually use my drift socks for that purpose when needed.

[Saugeyefisher]

I love the auto pilot on my minkota! When waves arent to bad makes life alot easier. Instead of haveing someone else on the boat letting my lines out,switching lures,lol showing baits to choose, when you cant let ur hands off the wheel cause you will shoot way off coarse. Can at times make a hands free trolling pass if you play the waves right.

Other then that when jigging a tm is a good option rather then a anchor. If you want to throw some smallmouth baits the tm is good.

LOL guess what im saying is i dont go with out my trolling motor... and unless im strickly trolling contours on inland lakes then always use my electric trolling motor.

Oh, and i have a 9.9 kicker as well, just no auto pilot on the outboards. Auto pilot is on the trolling motor

[RWK]

yOUR GOOD TO GO!

[bluegilla killa]

thats a killer rig right there! I was out in one like that 2 summers ago and fell in flippin love with it! great ride, built to bust 2" of ice, very steady and reliable! plus you cant go wrong with the yammie!