Diesel Engine Salmon Trolling

[2johnsons]

Diesel Engine Salmon Trolling

Is anyone fishing the Great Lakes for Salmon with Diesel engines on thier boat.

Is there a problem with getting them to go slow enough ?

Any suggestions ?

 

[SeaCatMich]

I know a guy with an Angler WAC boat with a diesel IO.  Was able to slow down enough for spring walleye on Lake Erie with 2 trolling bags from Big Papa.

[Kenny D]

1 hour ago, 2johnsons said:

Trolling  valves or trolling bags 

 

[79Dyne]

I have a Pursuit 3400 with twin Volvo Diesels.  I uses  combination of bags and my trolling valves to troll.  Depending on the conditions, it may be valves, it may be bags, it may be both or may be neither.  Some of this will be a boat setup question  size and weight of boat, engine size, prop size and rudder size.  Boat control at slow speed was a bigger issue for me and I ended up putting over sized rudder on my boat which made all the difference.  Now I can troll slow with great boat control.   

[Lured Inn]

I have a Pursuit 3400 with twin Volvo Diesels.  I uses  combination of bags and my trolling valves to troll.  Depending on the conditions, it may be valves, it may be bags, it may be both or may be neither.  Some of this will be a boat setup question  size and weight of boat, engine size, prop size and rudder size.  Boat control at slow speed was a bigger issue for me and I ended up putting over sized rudder on my boat which made all the difference.  Now I can troll slow with great boat control.   

That's a nice rig. I'm looking for a 33 open maybe even a 36. What kind of speed do you see? What kind of gallon per hour burn rate do you see?

Capt. Tony

[79Dyne]

Are you looking for trolling or running?

[Lured Inn]

Trolling. And running​

 

Capt. Tony

 

 

 

 

[2johnsons]

What is a Big Papa ?

What are trolling valves ?

[79Dyne]

Big Papa is a make of some very fine trolling bags, which are used to slow down and stabilize the boat.   Frank at Amish Outfitters also makes very nice trolling bags.

http://www.bigpapasportfishing.com/trolling_bags.htm

https://amishoutfitters.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

I have used both of their products and  both are durable and well made.  Both manufactures will  help you choose the correct size for your boat.  

 

Tolling valves are a add on to a marine transmission.  Basically is reduces pressure on the clutch plates in the transmission and allows them to "slip" thus reducing the speed of the output shaft and prop. There are both mechanical and electronic version. 

[79Dyne]

Capt Tony,

 

 My pursuit is spinning big wheels at 28 x 23 if my memory serves me correctly this morning, so one one motor no bags, valves or gear in the water i am a bit over 4 mph.  Cruise is about 28 mph and WOT about 35 mph.  I really don't have any good fuel burn  numbers for you as I don't have flowscans on board.  My slip mate does have the same rig as i do, and his comment was the fuel consumption was a half of what it was in this 36 Sportcraft with twin 454's.   If you run a lot of trips the diesels are worth it from the fuel burn prospective, but you have to balance that with cost of all other maintance is higher.  The price of parts is much higher than on gas engines and even the cost of the oil change in more than double the gas engine with 2 filters and 5 gallons of oil per motor.  With the new rudders i can now get down in the 1.5 mph range and still have good boat control.  I really dont slow down that far as this boat actually tends to fish a bit better on the faster side in my opinion.

 

  Justin 

[Lured Inn]

Awesome. Thanks for your time.

Capt. Tony

[timtube]

I fished the Michigan tourneys for several years aboard a 31 Open w/ twin Cummings.  We were able to make it work with trolling valves, but it required constant tweaking and it was almost like safe cracking... turn it 3 times around to the right then back a 1/4 turn or some such non-sense.  It was always one engine and a bag to balance.  It was a real headache, but in spite of it, the team took several firsts and generally placed well.

[79Dyne]

Trolling Valves can be a bit difficult to deal with, and how they are set up has a lot to do with it.  The mechanical ones seem like they are a bit more touchy, prone to drift than the electronic interface.  It can also depend on how much "safety" is build into the system, this can litit adjustments.

 

 

[2johnsons]

Thanks to all for your help and input...