kicker or no kicker

[catchNrelease]

I plan on doing quite a bit of trolling with a new rig (17ft boat with 115 4 stroke). What are the pros\cons of running with a kicker, besides the obvious con of price. What is the "ideal" setup? What is the general rule of thumb as to needing one or not? On one hand I'm being told it's a must on the other a waste of money.

Thanks

[duck_man]

with a 115hp fs on a 17ft boat you should be ok for pulling plugs. A kicker is nice to have if something would happen to your big motor. Then you don't have to paddle!