Kicker Setup

I am hopefully buying a new boat to me in the next few weeks. My last boat had the kicker controls at the helm which was nice to have the throttle there and steer from the counsel with the tie bar attached to the main motor.

New Boat does not have a kicker, which I will be adding. I am finding that it is quite a bit more expensive to have the controls installed at the helm. I am contemplating buying used kicker with a tiller handle and getting either itroll or trollmaster to control speed and either steer with the trolling motor or still add a tie bar to the main motor.

My question is for people that have experienced both which setup was your preference any advantages or disadvantages of either setup.

Commenting to follow, I might do the same in the future. Bolting up a kicker with a tiller handle sounds really nice because it could go off on on as needed with minimal hassle.

Don’t have experience with this particular setup but I’ve always found that if you compromise on the setup you want two things occur:

1) You regret it
2) It costs more in the future when you change it

It’s expensive now for the upgrade but it’s more expensive in the future. If you can afford it don’t compromise.

I’m also looking for a kicker at the moment – I was hoping to find a used T8 or T9 but obviously this has not been a great time for that.

My boat is a tiller but I had just planned to connect it to trollmaster and then lock it in forward. I have seen more people using their trolling motor to do the steering. However with a helm its probably up to your preference on using the wheel vs. adding hours and wear on your trolling motor.

I’ve got my kicker set up with controls at the helm but in all honesty would probably prefer just having a tiller handle with the controls in the back. When I’m trolling I’m almost always standing in the back of my boat watching and adjusting rods. 99% of the time I just drop my kicker in straight, put it in gear and then steer with my ulterra.

I wouldn’t buy a kicker with remote control again. A trollmaster or Itroll works best for speed control, so a tiller handle and either option would do just fine. Steer from the back or with your bowmount. Powrtran also makes a kicker steering device.

I just put a tiller kicker on my boat. I have fished in boats both ways and being stuck to the wheel is a pain in most instances. The only draw back I can find is going to the back of the boat to start it and drop it into the water versus sitting in the captains chair. I went with a tie bar for long runs but haven’t used it yet. Right now, I am using my terrova to fine tune speeds and steer. I’ll add something for speed control soon but haven’t been able to decide which one I want.

I agree, although I am used to having the controls at the counsel. I feel the other option might give me more ways in the end to play with to see what works best. Now I just have to talk myself into the change. Haha!

tight_lines wrote:

I’m also looking for a kicker at the moment – I was hoping to find a used T8 or T9 but obviously this has not been a great time for that.

My boat is a tiller but I had just planned to connect it to trollmaster and then lock it in forward. I have seen more people using their trolling motor to do the steering. However with a helm its probably up to your preference on using the wheel vs. adding hours and wear on your trolling motor.

Yes, that is my thoughts as well. Better to have the hours on the cheaper kicker than the big motor. Have not used the new boat but in most cases they can not get down to the slower speeds used for trolling

We have the kicker with itroll. And a tod connecting the two motors together. And we hate it. Would much rather have steering with the wheel and the kicker turns on it’s own.

Like somebody else mentioned, the cost was less when we got it, but to get it fixed is going to be almost as much as a new motor.

My old boat had a kicker with the remote control at the console. I think for the most part it worked well, but I felt like I really didn’t have great throttle control. My new boat I picked up this spring has a tiller, I guess I haven’t done a ton of trolling in it yet to come to a solid conclusion but I think I’m liking it a bit more. As mentioned above, worst part is going to the back to trim down and start.

I think you need to consider your style of fishing when making the choice of remote versus tiller.

If you are typically fishing larger bodies of water making long trolling runs such as on GB, LOW or Mille Lacs you may consider a remote kicker. In these situations you are typically setting the speed and going with periodically making S-turns. Not a lot of adjustments are being made.

If you find yourself following and sticking tight to contours you may want to consider a tiller as it is way more efficient for making course and speed adjustments.

For me I have a tiller as I feel I could never effectively follow close to riprap shorelines in the river, a weed line or a rock reef with a remote. With one hand I can adjust the speed and direction of the boat while using my other hand to hold the rod and fight fish. I do not think I could do that effectively sitting at the helm holding a rod, steering and adjusting speed. When I am on big water trolling I lock the tiller handle 15-20 degrees to starboard (motor is on port side) adjust speed with Trollmaster and steer with the big motor.

Just some food for thought.

I don’t consider myself a “serious” troller, in that I generally only set up for trolling Lake Michigan for salmon/trout,and occasionally a local big local lake for eyes. With that said, I’ve found that the four stroke one cylinder 6 hp motors are great for my fishing needs, with the added bonus of easy on/easy off, as they only weight 60 lbs. No doubt they do not run as smoothly as the 2 cylinder motors, but that’s a trade-off that works for me. I use a connecting bar for steering from the wheel, or an extension handle if I want to steer from the tiller. The 6 hp has saved my butt on LacSeul twice over the years, when the main motor decided not to start one time, and a rock pile got in the way a second time. At top speed of 5 mph on my 17 foot boats, it was a casual 2.5 hour ride ride back to camp enjoying the scenery. My first 6 hp merc (Tohatsu)took care of me for 13 years when I sold it with my YarCraft in 2017, and replaced it with another (Evinrude 6 hp also a Tohatsu) on my new Lund. Yamaha and Suzuki make their own version.

My 5hp Honda is hooked up to the 90 Merc tiller with a Panther steering rod, works great, steer with the main tiller.

I added a kicker to my 18ft stratos it is a merc 4 stroke and I steer half the time with my foot and use the electric for corrections and I have a connecting rod for use with the steering wheel. I don’t have I troll or a speed control and the throtle on my merc has a speed control on the throtle. I fish Canada and wisconsin inland lakes as well as bigger water. My brother has the set up on the consel and I admit the trim and start from the chair sure is nice but I like to fish from the back so I can adjust things as they arise. Like said earlier its all about you style and comfort.

Mike

Something else to think about is your console fish finder. I troll from the back of my 16ft walleye boat and seeing the screen on my FF became tougher.

I found a kicker 4 years ago and ended up going a different direction. Just listed it with controls if someone is looking.

Merc kicker