Trolling plates?

[Drifty]

Well I was wondering how many of you have had expierience with trolling plates? I have a 50h 4 stroke on a 16 foot boat and would like to know if a trolling plate will slow me down enough for salmon and if it will hurt the performance of my boat? Or do i need to use a kicker?

[CAGEY]

Drifty, I have a 16 foot Sylvan Select with a 40 horse and a happy troller. It is perfect for salmon in the rivers and bay's. You will not need a kicker. One nice thing is it slows you down so much you actually have to add throttle which is good because it keeps your plugs from fouling, It is the second one i have owned and they are trouble free however the first thing you will need to do is use a small file to finish off the the release mech as they are a little sticky until you clean them off. I have the line run up to the steering compartment so i can run it right from there. Another tip is that i purchased some small plastic tubing ( the kind used in drip kits for watering plants) and ran my line thru that and it keeps from wearing it out on the side of the boat and it also slides really easy. After about a seasons use make sure you check the cord attachment at the release point as it seems that there is a lot of wear in this area. I change the whole cord about every two years but need to retie the cord and get rid of a small portion of it each year. As far as performance you actually gain a little because it helps you to get up and going faster. Never ever ever forget to raise it befor you give it a lotta throttle or it will bend bad enough that it will no longer be usable. Also they are very easy to install so dont pay some marina the price they want to charge. They come with all the nuts and bolts. Just clamp the troller onto the motor with a couple of c-clamps and drill your holes and attach. Its that simple.Hope this helps you out. If you have any other questions just email me. Good Luck Cagey.