Practical Fuel Planning Advice

[walleyeguy13]

Funny the things you think about when you make plans to fish big water. When I fish up here in Minnesota I never really think about how much gas I use when I go out. I fish a couple of nights, top off the tank then head right back out. But when you start contemplating big water...

Anyway, I know the general rules of thumb for fuel consumption. Take 10% of your motor's HP rating and that roughly gives you the number of gallons per hour you will consume at wide open throttle. So I have a ballpark idea. It just gets too convoluted if I start to think about travel to the farthest point, trolling, backtracking, trolling, going back to the first spot, etc.

What I am looking for is practical advice from anyone who fishes the Bays in a rig similar to mine ... '97 Pro V 1660 with a 60 Merc (2 stroke), 24 Gallon tank. I'm wondering how far you guys comfortably venture out from the Gladstone/Escanaba area for a full day of trolling. I'll be fishing the NTC tourney in August, so we are limited to MI waters (Delta and Menominee).

Thanks.

[DooFighter]

You didn't mention if you troll with main power or kicker (or electric )?

[walleyeguy13]

I troll with the Merc. I have a smaller electric for calmer days and extremely slow movement.

[DooFighter]

I don't have a boat similar to yours, so I know that's no help. Here's an idea...next few times you fish, use your trip meter in your gps, use it just like your car to figure fuel mileage. Once you've had 3 or 4 trips, figure out how much fuel you've used, some mileage figures and then use that info to extrapolate how far you think you can travel and still have enough reserve to get home with. If your calculations suggest you will b cutting it close, you have two options as I see it 1. Return to harbor for fuel or quit early or 2. Carry extra fuel with you. A 5 gal can adds a lot, 2 of them is 40% more range.

[crazyeyes]

Pay attention when you are pre-fishing for the tournament. That will tell you alot. Top the tank off in the morning, reset gps/trip calculator, fish/document trolling time and what not, fill the tank again. Take note of fuel consumption running in waves versus chop, because it can get wavey here

[Frank S]

Keeping 4500 or below will give a real jump on mileage, not much speed loss. In the tourney, there will be plenty of high HP boats that are going to have more speed than you, so wide open is not going to be much of an advantage. I would guess you get somewhere about 4-6 mpg or even better at a slower cruise. Not sure where you will be launching from, but some of the popular August spots can be 15-25mi. one way from Gladstone, 6-7 less if going from Escanaba. There are closer spots for sure, and some that are quite a bit farther, 50 or so down to Menominee. A spare 3-gal tank doesn't take up much room. Good Luck, be safe, big water that can get real nasty.

[walleyeguy13]

Thanks for the input. I'm sure I'll have a better idea of the general area I want to focus on when we get closer to August. Then I can plan accordingly.

[crazyeyes]

Might want to check the tournament regs on packing extra gas should you need to do that too...just a thought...