I purchased the new troll n go trolling plate from Cabelas to put on my 2013 Honda 115hp. I had no idea that this thing weighs 20lbs. I’m worried it could break the cavitation plate on the motor. What do you think about this? Thanks ahead of time. RH
The one thing you need to be careful of is when you are done trolling and you are ready to take off to the next spot, you need to raise it!!!! When I was a mechanic, I had to replace many of the units and even a couple of lower units as the cav plate broke off. They do a great job when used correctly. Good luck fishing to you.
Maybe a good idea to put a sticker on the steering wheel to raise it for a season until it becomes habit is a good idea, kind of like draining the trailer when cold out 
I believe that the one you are speaking about is spring loaded. Something like it has been around for years. You could replace the stock springs with lighter ones if you are concerned. Years ago this type was the only ones I saw before the manual trip models became available. I had an aluminum manual trip model on a Lund w/115 Mercury – worked great – could even backtroll with my council model – really throws water if you forget to trip it. Never broke the cavitation plate.
two five gallon buckets will slow you down to .5 mph. you will have better boat control with the buckets also. if you really have a need to spend money to slow your boat down, you can buy the trolling bags. take it back get your money back and buy two trolling setups and use two buckets that you most likely have in your garage
I use trolling bags instead of buckets or a trolling plate. They work great and stow away compactly when not needed. I too would suggest returning the trolling plate and using a pair of trolling bags. Drift socks can be substituted as trolling bags. This is actually what I use and they have held up quite nicely. They slow the boat down and enhance control. The boat will turn on a dime with the bags deployed.
Dave,You must have the bags close to the bow on a short rope so they are out of the way when you are trying to land a fish? Where did you get the bags? I thought they would be a pain taking in and out? RH
The troll n go plate automatically snaps up when you crank up the throttle so you don’t need to worry about raising it.RH
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Dave,You must have the bags close to the bow on a short rope so they are out of the way when you are trying to land a fish? Where did you get the bags? I thought they would be a pain taking in and out? RH
Yep, short rope off a cleat each side up near the bow. Bags run just below the surface about midpoint of my 16 foot boat. They stay out of the prop and I’ve never had any issues when netting fish. The bags I use are Cabelas brand. I leave the rope attached to the cleat and just give the bag a toss to deploy. Grab the retrieval line to bring them in, give them a moment to drain a bit and lay them on the deck. For me, they work well and I don’t consider them a hassle given the benefits they provide.
Here is an older post with some more info on this topic.
See the last reply in this thread.
I have experience with this new Troll N GO. i know it’s heavy, but i talked to them about this prior to getting one. This plate was tested over 2 years and never had any problems. The video online has it on a Yamaha 115. We put one on an older merc 90 and it works great. There is a time and place for drift socks, but i have done the bucket and drift sock deal and it’s just a pain in the a for trolling. We are happy with our troll n go so far and i think you will be as well!
I love to troll, I have a 40hp Suzuki, I can get it down to 2.5mph but would like to get it Down to .5 mph. Do U think the troll and go would do the trick?
Aluma, That’s what I wanted to hear about this plate. I took it to my Honda dealer and he said it looked good to him and didn’t think it would cause any issues. So now I will mount it and give it a try. Thanks to all who replyed. RH
OK fisher, I will post how this plate works for me. We have so much ice I don’t know when I will get in the water. I also hope to get down to .5 mph or less. I would think with a 40hp it would really slow ya down. RH
No problem Handline! I think you will really like it! Fisher, on a 40 HP i’m of the same opinion as Handline, i would think you could really crawl with this and keep pretty good control of your boat at the same time! Keep us posted as to how you like it as will I.
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OK fisher, I will post how this plate works for me. We have so much ice I don’t know when I will get in the water. I also hope to get down to .5 mph or less. I would think with a 40hp it would really slow ya down. RH
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I would think you could get to .5mph with the trolling plate, however to keep hours off your outboard, i would suggest anything under 1mph you use your bow mount TM.
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