Hi everyone, I just purchased a 115 Merc 4-stroke and am still breaking it in. I would like to know if anyone trolls with their large motor? It sure seems to go slow enough. I wonder if it will gum up like my old motor or just keep puttin along. I plan on going for silvers or kings on Saturday and can go just about anywhere. I keep the Glasply at Port Madison on BI. Jeff is close, for silvers. HOw is the fishing at Dolphin pt. on Vashon?

Scott

I have a Honda 90 and troll all the time with it. Never had any problems.

Fishy

The bigger motors troll ok especially with Trollmaster type products that reduce thrust, but the biggest problem is that you are putting hours on your expensive motor.

Don't know about a Merc, but last year up in Canada I was fishing in the middle of a bunch of guides with 115 horse Yamaha 4 strokes on 18 foot Silverstreaks and they trolled right down - they don't even bother to carry a kicker. This is trolling for sockeye at barely 1 mph even. I can troll under 1 mph with my Yami 25 on my light Smokercraft if I throw a bucket out, and I have never experienced fouling even after hours of grinding. These new 4's idle just like a car engine, so you can probably get away with it.

you are better off buying yourself a kicker motor so you dont put all the hours on the big motor plus if something happens to your big motor you have a way to get back to the luanch !!!

My bro-in-law trolls with his four stroke Honda 140.. He lives in spokane so he uses an electric for walleye and what not but when he comes over here he uses big motor..

I've been trolling with my Honda 115 for two years now and haven't had any problem at all. It never loads up and always runs very smoothly. I too have dumped the kicker, the Honda is so reliable and cheap to run that I don't feel that I need it. I wouldn't worry about it.