Kicker motor or Troll o-matic trolling plate

My buddy and I have decided to go one way or the other as pulling cranks with the longlining batteries doesnt last long(3 hours maybe) We are fishing in a 20 ft triton aluminum boat with a 115 4 stroke merc on the back. Need opinions on which way to go.looks like cost wise about $100 for plate(have decided to go with the troll o matic on sale at Cabelas if we got plate) vs over $1000 for kicker motor depending on the size needed.But how slow will the plate get us down too?? and how much kicker motor do you need for a boat of that size .We usually pull cranks from 1.3 mph to 2.0 with 1.7 or 1.8 ideal for the depths we catch them.Just trying to get some input before we either pull the big trigger or go with the plate!!

I used to have a 115 four stroke with a trollamatic trolling plate...pulled cranks for several years with it. Would get it down to 1.2 mph.....I pulled at 1.8......it worked good.

Get the plate, figure out a way to lock steering on big motor straight ahead ( bungie cord steering wheel ) and set trolling motor speed at about 3-4 then use it to steer with.

yes thats what we were planning to do if we go with the plate,try to guide or steer with the trolling motor.

Pretty simple once you get the hang of it. That's how I do with my stick steer. Plate is a lot cheaper than kicker.

How did u get ur stick steer to stay straight .mine about wears out my arm trying to hold it.

I have one of those flat bungie cords, hook one end inside rod locker, wrap around stick one time and pull tight and hook to rod holder. You can adjust by slipping bungie around stick. I usually sit in back of boat and just steer with Terrova. I longline and pull cranks this way. I have a trolling plate on big motor that on calm day pulls about 1.8 to 2.0. Have found I can vary speed a little by trimming up or down.

hers a link to the one i use
T&L Trol-A-Matic

Thanks for the info will give it a try.

Want to give a big shout out thanks for all the in put on kicker motor vs troll o matic.We went with the $99 buck troll-o-matic with fingers crossed.I ordered it last Monday and it came this Friday from Cabelas,My fishing buddy and I installed it Sat morning .We decided to wait till Sat afternoon to let the parade of jet skiers and party boaters thin out to test run it. After 2 hours of use pulling cranks on the big G we both gave it a thumbs up or grade of A . The lowest it would go with my buddy's 115 horse 4 stroke was 1.4 and with just a bump up on the throttle kept us at our preffered 1.7 or1.8 mph the whole time and because of the straight running of his boat we were able to use the I-pilot just as if we were only using it to guide us. IN the 2 hours we were pulling we caught 5 big crappie(3whites and 2 blacks), lost 3 more and had 3 green trout ,and numerous over achieveing yellow stripe and a couple of white stripes.We were pulling along an underwater creek bank trying to keep it at the 18 to 21 ft level.Not much bait clouds yet water temp was 85 to 86.Most of the bait is still in the fry stage and under the bridges.Still looks like the device will save us the cost of a kicker motor and we were both amazed at the lightness of the product.Better than the added weight of another small motor for sure ,one other thing there was no noticable difference in slow steering when coming back to the dock either thanks again guys.