Everglades fishing. Thick grass constantly getting around propeller

[Jonathan Ellingwood]

Hi guys . New Gheenoe owner here and first time boat owner.  Thick grass is constantly getting around my propeller when I get into the flats and it obviously boogs me down .  I can not just reach back and remove due to fishing platform in the back. And I definitely don't feel like jumping up n water to remove grass .  Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!

[Jm526]

When i fish Glades and Okeechobee I put my motor trimmed up out of the water when I'm trolling around, so when it's time to go there's no grass. Also have a small pole/stick so you can push it off. Grass shouldn't be on when your running, only when your trolling around. Hope this helps, tight lines. 

[Al Wolbach]

Don't know much about your boat but sometimes shifting to reverse and giving it gas will clear the grass. And understand, in grassy water there just is no substitute for horsepower but reverse sometimes helps.

[WIGuide]

A few things can help and have already been mentioned. I'm guessing you don't have trim and tilt, but if you do when you're idling around trim it way up, like to the point that the prop is starting to come out of the water or close. The angle of the lower unit will be more apt to push the grass down from the prop instead of it wrapping around the lower unit and getting twisted in the prop.

[Ohio Archer]

Watch your water pressure closely if you're running the big motor in the grass. If you don't have a gauge you need to constantly check the tell-tale hole for adequate water flow. 

We used have that problem in the canals that got clogged with pesky water hyacinth. Reversing the engine helped but most times we needed to hang over the back and pull them off. 

[(='_'=)]

another thing i found out is to put the engine in Forward speed, that way the prop doesnt spins around... 

[Jonathan Ellingwood]

Thanks for the tips ! Think I'm going to have to sell the polling platform, just can't get back to the motor with that thing on . Plus going to add grass ninja to trolling motor when I finally get it back.

[SFL BassHunter]

Jonathan how are you liking the stability of that Gheenoe? Which did you get?

 

[Jonathan Ellingwood]

40 minutes ago, SFL BassHunter said:

Jonathan how are you liking the stability of that Gheenoe? Which did you get?

 

I got the lt 25, so far good . Just have to get it set up for the way I want to fish 

[zachb34]

10 hours ago, Jonathan Ellingwood said:

Thanks for the tips ! Think I'm going to have to sell the polling platform, just can't get back to the motor with that thing on . Plus going to add grass ninja to trolling motor when I finally get it back.

Or you could use it to pole from instead. I'm not sure what motor you have, but my 25 HP weighs 172 pounds and I can lift it out of the water pretty easily if done correctly. In my case, I put it on forward and move the lever to the up position I turn my motor so it's all the way to one side and use the leverage from the jack plate/ transom and it comes up pretty easy. I'd bet I could do it with a piling platform too. If you have zero use for the poling platform, you might as well ditch it but you may regret it if you decide to change up the areas you fish in the future. If you can find a technique to pulling the motor up, I'd try that first. 

[Jonathan Ellingwood]

On 12/1/2016 at 6:31 PM, zachb34 said:

Or you could use it to pole from instead. I'm not sure what motor you have, but my 25 HP weighs 172 pounds and I can lift it out of the water pretty easily if done correctly. In my case, I put it on forward and move the lever to the up position I turn my motor so it's all the way to one side and use the leverage from the jack plate/ transom and it comes up pretty easy. I'd bet I could do it with a piling platform too. If you have zero use for the poling platform, you might as well ditch it but you may regret it if you decide to change up the areas you fish in the future. If you can find a technique to pulling the motor up, I'd try that first. 

Yeah you are right I don't just want to get rid of just yet especially if I get into red fishing etc. i have to work out the kinks . One problem I have is I can't trim all the way up , I knew it when I got it . I have a pole and felt like a complete moron out there trying to use it . Lol 

i guess all part of the journey. Hate being a googan but love this new sport hobby, hell lifestyle I have picked up. 

Thank you all for the helpful ideas 

[zachb34]

1 hour ago, Jonathan Ellingwood said:

Yeah you are right I don't just want to get rid of just yet especially if I get into red fishing etc. i have to work out the kinks . One problem I have is I can't trim all the way up , I knew it when I got it . I have a pole and felt like a complete moron out there trying to use it . Lol 

i guess all part of the journey. Hate being a googan but love this new sport hobby, hell lifestyle I have picked up. 

Thank you all for the helpful ideas 

Why can't you trim up? Is the poling platform that low, or is it something wrong with the motor?

[Jonathan Ellingwood]

On 12/3/2016 at 11:05 AM, zachb34 said:

Why can't you trim up? Is the poling platform that low, or is it something wrong with the motor

Just now, Jonathan Ellingwood said:

On 12/3/2016 at 11:05 AM, zachb34 said:

Why can't you trim up? Is the poling platform that low, or is it something wrong with the motor

Nothing wrong with motor but it doesn't quite trim up all the way . I knew about it when I bought it.   I finally going to get my trolling motor back and just use that to get through the thick stuff.