trolling bag size

[rods & regs]

I have a question for all you that have more knowledge than I do about this. I have a 34 foot Silverton and I ran two 36 inch bags last year and I was able to get down to the 2.5 to 2.9 sog range. I would like to get a bit slower this year so I wondering what I could expect if I ran two 42 inch bags this year or if I should just go to 48 inch?

This is all new to me so I am still in the big part of my learning curve. Thanks for your help and any advice is welcome and appreciated.

[Priority1]

With that size rig I'd go to the 48". A few more rpm is a good thing for oil pressure and boat control.

I have been running a pair of custom made bags for years but my boat is a 22' Islander Hardtop. I'm not even sure of the diameter but I can get 1mph or less. I'd guess the diameter of mine are 30-36 inches. I do a lot of walleye trolling. The boat control is amazing. I don't use auto pilot because of the anticipation factor. I can hold a very steady course trolling into 3-4 foot seas. This is important to me when running inline boards.

[fishy1]

  Priority1 said:

With that size rig I'd go to the 48". A few more rpm is a good thing for oil pressure and boat control.

I agree a few more rpms keeps good oil pressure and would rather burn a dollar or two more gas than a motor or two.

[rods & regs]

Thanks for the response fellas. I kinda figured that the bigger bags would help more than hurt but it still gives a bit of a 'warm & fuzzy' to hear it from experience before spending the money.

[1mainiac]

While 36in bags are likely small for your boat how big are the openings on the outlet. My son made me a adjustable bag years ago it has a second rope that when pulled closes the outlet which improves speed control. From fully open to fully close d it gave about 1 mph of speed control which on my 18ft would drop me down to under 1mph closed and around 2mph open. The reason I mention this is you may be able to modify your current bags to slow you down more.

[rods & regs]

  1 MAINIAC said:

While 36in bags are likely small for your boat how big are the openings on the outlet. My son made me a adjustable bag years ago it has a second rope that when pulled closes the outlet which improves speed control. From fully open to fully close d it gave about 1 mph of speed control which on my 18ft would drop me down to under 1mph closed and around 2mph open. The reason I mention this is you may be able to modify your current bags to slow you down more.

Interesting idea and for sure a cost savings. Could you explain how that was done? If it was something I could do I would consider it.

Thanks

[1mainiac]

The bag has about 8 D rings sewn around the outlet the control rope runs thru the D rings and clips to itself so pulling on the control rope make the outlet smaller, adding more stopping power. Just like a choke collar on a dog.

[Rascal Trophy Fishing]

I am curious of the rpm idle speed on the Silverton. My 33' CC idles at 700-800 rpms, perfect for slow trolling, and docking. Anything 1100 or over is running too rich imho, and the carbs. should be adjusted. I have 36" sea anchors that work pretty well this way. Higher idling also wears on the trannys faster too.

[SUPERTRAMP]

  Rascal Trophy Fishing said:

I am curious of the rpm idle speed on the Silverton. My 33' CC idles at 700-800 rpms, perfect for slow trolling, and docking. Anything 1100 or over is running too rich imho, and the carbs. should be adjusted. I have 36" sea anchors that work pretty well this way. Higher idling also wears on the trannys faster too.

My 31' Chris Craft Commander idles around 900, and I have no trouble getting to 2.5 mph, but she is really touchy on the throttle, thinking about a couple of 48" sea anchors to let us keep the rpm up. Never tried it before but I know a lot of people that swear by it. Thinking it is time to give it a shot. I found a really good bag with trip lines for about $70.00 on ebay. Just for info when trolling I put the trim tabs all the way down, helps us slow down.

[CITM]

I run 2 (usually just 1) 36" bag on my 33 Tiara. I have a 48, works fine in bad weather but 2 would be too much.

[1HI4X]

How many of you are running two bags? I like the extra RPMs I get with a bag but I seem to be working the wheel much more (probably due to the drag on one side).

[fishy1]

I only run 2 when needed and no steering problems but with 2 boat is alittle more fickle.