Bob’s Tips for Boaters #13 Raise / Lower Your Trolling Motor

It can be brutal fishing a big lake when the wind is blowing, or worse if it has tour and casino boats who’s captain’s think everybody else is subservient to their job.  Whether you have forward facing sonar, or you just happened to find a deep point loaded with fish it can be quite the chore to stay on your spot.   Lower your trolling motor.  Even a few inches can help if that is all you have.

Fishing pockets in grass or trying to get across a grass choked lake or channel?  Raising your trolling motor can help.  You won’t get as much speed chopping the surface, but its more than you will get with a giant grass ball wrapped around your motor.  Also don’t forget to tilt your big motor up so it isn’t acting like a sea anchor whne the grass ballsup ont he lower unit.

I think your boat is also marginally faster the shallower the prop on your trolling motor is up to a point.  For the most part that is inconsequential, but when you need to get around a point with a current rip in the river it can mean the difference between just barely making it, and just barely not making it.  Set the trolling motor as high as you can so that it doesn’t blow out or cause a break in the surface.