Trolling bags on a trophy 185?

Hey guys,

Picked up a trophy 185 and opted to max it out with a 175 Suzuki on it. I’m concerned about slowing down enough for early season trout and also early and late season walleye pulling raps. I have an ulterra for really slow but need something for that in between speeds.

Anyone have experience with trolling bags? I see amish outfitters has them for pretty reasonable amount relative to running a kicker. I will probably go kicker route in a few years but need to be alive “my wife” to use my boat. I’m thinking of running an 18 inch bag to slow me down. How slow can I get with this bag? Will only one bag pull me to the side a lot?
thanks guys.

https://amishoutfitters.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=1&zenid=f7890f5db6c2a731383065c5e7ad6189

I used the system described in the following article for several years and it worked great. The bags hang under the front of the boat and are hooked to the front cleats on each side. Any bags work……I used Cabela’s.:

THE TAMER TROLLING SYSTEM…IN THE WIND AND IN CONTROL
If you’ve you ever trolled in the wind, you know how frustrating it can be. The bow of your boat blows off line, forcing you to speed up to get back on line. Take your eye off the bow for one second, and it happens again. Sound familiar? Cross winds, head winds and waves will wear you out – but there is something you can do to get back under control.
Recently we at Tamer began testing a new trolling technique using two Wave Tamers to stabilize the bow. For small boats and engines 100 hp and smaller, we recommend two 30″ Wave Tamers. For larger boats and engines above 100 hp, we recommend two 40″ Wave Tamers.
The trolling bags help anchor the bow so the wind doesn’t affect it as much, which results in much better handling. Several tournament pros were instrumental in developing this technique, and perfected the rigging during numerous PWT and RCL walleye events. Special thanks go to Johnnie Candle and Jim Carroll of North Dakota. The system has since caught on, and has received high marks from all the pros using it.
Here’s how to rig up for the Tamer Trolling System. With your boat on the trailer, take a length of 1/2″ limp nylon rope or soft dock rope, make a 6″ loop on one end, then fasten it to your mid ship cleat. Run the other end under your boat, up to the other mid ship cleat, and tie it off as tightly as you can. Next crawl under your boat, and with a marking pen, mark the rope where it meets the keel in the center of the hull. Now make two more marks approximately 14″ on either side of the first mark.
Next release the rope and pull it from under the boat. Run the rope through the loop on your Wave Tamer until it contacts the outside mark. Tie a simple over-hand knot, making sure the loop of the Wave Tamer is in the center of the knot. Repeat this process on the other outside mark. Pass the rope and bags under the boat and reattach as before, paying close attention that the bags are an equal distance apart on each side of the keel. You may have to adjust the loops to make sure they’re rigged evenly.
IMPORTANT- Both rope ends must be attached to the cleats when you deploy your trolling bags. You must be able to drop the bags over the front of the boat with both loops fastened to the cleats. BE SURE THE MOTOR IS IN NEUTRAL!
To deploy the trolling bags, stop your motor and fasten the loops to the mid ship cleats. Drop both bags over the front of the boat. You can be sure the rigging is in place by pulling the rope as tight as you can and tying it off.
To retrieve the bags, STOP the boat by putting the motor in neutral to release tension on the rope. Go to the short end of the rope and begin to pull in your bags. Be sure both loops are fastened to the cleats, so there’s no loose end to deal with.
The Tamer Trolling System. It’s another innovative new technique from Lindy that’ll help you tame the elements, and put more fish in the boat.

I couldn’t get the pictures in the article to copy but if you want me to send you the article with the photos let me know.

Use two bags along with the method Karry described in his post for best results, I’d probably look at 2 40″ Wave Tamers for your boat. I’ve seen the article Karry references and the pics are really helpful, I saved it to a Word doc somewhere but can’t find it now otherwise I’d try to get the pics up too.

I do know the GL fisherman really like those Amish bags but they usually run them out the sides/back instead of underneath and I wouldn’t like those grommets down there if using the above method. Hope this helps, good luck.

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The Amish Outfitter bags are heavy duty. Much heavier than a drift sock.

I went that route then decided not to use them. They really slow you down to a crawl. Bags also make the boat super maneuverable.

I bought two (I believe 18″) Amish Outfitter bags for my Edge 185 with the Merc 4S 150. If I remember correctly, this setup brought me down to around 1-1.2mph. I would recommend 2 bags. In heavy chop, they also settle the boat down alot. I had called Amish Outfitters and got their recommendation based on boat size, HP, current speed, and desired speed. I attached mine to the front cleat and tethered them to the back cleat as well. Makes them easy pull out of the water just by grabbing the back rope. I’m happy with them although I’ve only used them a couple times on LOTW.

I have a Trophy 175 with a 115hp, I know not the same size boat but I use a Med cabalas bag off the starboard side and works great for me. I can lift it out easy to move or make short moves.