Been soliciting info on trolling with my 150 HPDI. I just don’t have the budget for a kicker this year. Will I have problems going down the road? Let me prefice this by saying:
a. I will be running Ring Free and Yammy Lube
b. I am just a weekend warrior
c. I normally stop trolling every hour and go for a nice run.
Problems trolling with the HPDI’s? Nope. None that I’ve seen or heard of. The only instance when I’ve used the big motor for trolling has been when pulling boards on blow days or when I really need to roll when trolling plugs for pike/muskie up on Mille Lacs but guys like Brett King regularly employ(ed) their Yamaha’s in trolling duties. Their only real limitation, I still prefer pushing with a kicker 99% of the time, is low end speeds. As long as the conditions and fish don’t dictate a sub-2 MPH speed, you’ll be fine.
James –
Do you run Sea Foam through the engine, or does the Ring Free take care of it?
Just to jump in on your question regarding sea foam. I’ve been using it on everything I own that burns gas for about 15 years. I think it’s one of the best gas treatments/stabilizers available. Put 2 cans in every tank of boat gas. It says on the can 1 can – 10 gals. of gas but I don’t mix it that strong. It’s not cheap and adds about $.20 to every gallon I run thru my boat. I think its a good investment for the piece of mind it gives me when running big water. 
Sea Foam for this guy. That ring free stuff is horribly expensive…
I have a johnson 140 4 stroke and until I can buy a kicker, I take two five gallon bucketts that I set up with ropes and quick release swivels, attached to the transom,This brings me down two 1.8 against a slow current. If thats to fast.Which it usaully is for threewaying. I then put my bow mount electric motor down and face it backwords. Then you can crawl. If you want to fish all day you hardley use any of your batterys juice. Now I know I get alot of strange looks, but hey it works.
I troll with an I/O, Best way to get down to 1.2 mph is hang a drift sock from your bow and let it go underneath your boat, works great
Best of luck
Jeff
I was wondering about the drift sock thing. It sounds like your using only one of them. Does it end up under the boat or of to one side and if it is of to one side then which side. It obviously effects your steering. Also was curious as to how well the drift sock holds up when trolling like that. I know they run about $30.
I troll with a 120 Evinrude. 1.9 by my Rhino gps. The bucket thing works. Drop a 5 gallon bucket 18″ below grade ad you can cut it more.
I hate to ask a stupid question- but what is “sea foam”? I run a merc 125 and i notice that at idle and start/stop driving it dies out a lot (Ie when water skiing and trying to get the rope tight). If this sea foam helps with low end speeds, or if it helps anything please put me in the know. Thanks.
Sea Foam is an additive , that when added to the gas , will help clean out the fuel system and promote a smoother running engine. You will be able to find it in automotive stores or places like Fleet Farm that sell auto products. It comes in a pint can similar to the old brake fluid cans.
It is very popular among boaters.
Dino
I did have an issue this spring trolling with my 150 HPDI. Break in was long since done, spent one morning in may pulling cranks for maybe 2.5 hours, got out the next day and lost 2 cylinders & 1000rpm. Turned out fouled 2 of 6 plugs and a quick replacement of all fixed the issue. I avoid it and run the kicker, even when trolling fast with muskie plugs.
This info is on walleyesearchers.com By Dave G
Trolling Bucket….
I wish motor manufactures would make all engines troll super slow; unfortunately they dont, so we have to either get a kicker or slow down the boat in other ways. Although my motor trolls slow enough for pulling cranks, it is still too fast for the very slow pulling of live bait floaters on 3-ways. I could have put on a kicker but have not yet seen an easy and comfortable way to control a kicker from the drivers seat. I also like to have the power of the big engine always available whenever it is needed. To slow down enough to pull floaters, I deploy a 2-gallon plastic feed bucket off each side of the boat. The ropes to the buckets are just long enough to keep the buckets from getting hit by the propeller. Now I can slow troll from the comfort of the drivers seat and not have to stretch or stand to reach a kicker handle. After several years of trial and error I found that holes in the bucket, snaps, or swivels are not necessary; just replace the metal bucket handle with a longer rope.
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