Most people who are out trolling have a particular species of fish in mind to catch. You might go for bass, trout, or another popular species that often is on the move. A fish that’s on the move is one that trolling makes easier to catch by covering more water with your lure or bait. You need to ensure your vessel has a motor capable of producing enough thrust to maintain a sufficient trolling speed for several hours. Let’s take a closer look a how to do that.
Important to Maintain Batteries and Motors
You need to have a trolling motor that is in perfect condition to get the best chance at fishing success. The harder a motor works, the faster it will wear out and require repairs to keep it running. Fortunately, Minn Kota parts are available to help you keep Minn Kota trolling motors in good shape for as long as possible. You also need to ensure you have good batteries and choose between a 12-volt and 24-volt battery to give it plenty of power.
Different Vessels Require Different Motors
A trolling motor produces thrust that enables the vessel to move at a sufficient speed to make trolling for fish effective. The lighter and smaller the vessel, the smaller the trolling motor can be, and you have three options for trolling motors. When it comes to trolling motor thrust, you can choose among 12-volt motors that produce 55 pounds of thrust, 24-volt models that produce 80 pounds of thrust, and 36-volt motors that produce 100 pounds of thrust. You need 5 pounds of thrust for every 100 pounds of weight that the motor has to move. That weight includes the weight of the vessel, its passengers, and all the gear on board – including the trolling motor and battery.
Different Fish Require Different Speeds
You’ll need to know that your trolling motor can reach and maintain speeds needed to effectively target particular species of fish. When you can maintain an ideal trolling speed, it’s easier to catch particular fish. Some fish are relatively slow swimmers and don’t require a fast trolling speed while others need you to troll several times faster.
For example, the ideal trolling speed for a crappie is less than 1 mph while the ideal trolling speed for muskie is 3 mph. You’ll need a trolling motor that is capable of maintaining a trolling speed that is nearly four times faster to catch muskie than you would need to catch crappie. When you have a sufficient motor for your vessel, your weight, and your gear’s weight, you can troll at the speeds necessary to catch virtually any popular game fish.
