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[arimaBOATER]

Merc 6 hp. CASE CLOSED.   
Weight ? Owned one Nope. Owned a small Yamaha 4hp 4 stroke.
Why a Mercury 6hp ?  Sounds like a Mercury are a favourite brand.
Or a Merc 5hp . Do they even sell a Merc. 6hp?
CASE RE-OPENED !!!! 

Yep Mercury 6 hp & Spawn Shack this is the perfect OB for you. Trolls perfect & light weight.
Small & powerful enough for 95% of your fishing needs.

[Spawn Sack]

Thanks for all the replies. Valid points on either side, that is, to go with a single cylinder 4, 5, or 6, or go with a twin cylinder 8 or 9.8.

If I knew someone that had a 8 or 9.8 four stroke I'd test it out and primarily see how slow I could get it to troll. Several people have commented on here that neither an 8 or 9.8 will troll as slow as 4-6hp and that is pretty much a deal breaker. Also considering an 8 or 9.8 is another 30ish lbs to carry on my knees (I have a canopy) in and out of my truck each time I use the boat I think as I age the extra weight would start to become a nuisance.

Yeah I could just troll with an electric but I find having two motors on the transom, fuel tank + battery in the boat, and so on too much of a pain cost/benifet wise. On smaller lakes (esp those electric motor only) we just pack the electric (duh). On lakes that are "too big" to cruise around and troll with just the electric, I prefer to just bring a gas motor and use that for both cruising and trolling.

Sometimes I/we slow troll a fly to prospect out a new lake and find where the fish are, other times we slow troll a flat fish or wherever. Being able to troll nice and slow 1mph or so seems to be the key. The 5hp Merc I borrowed off the father in law trolled about 1mph at lowest throttle and no wind. Pefect. Yes the electric will troll even slower but I find generally I'll increase the throttle until we are moving at 1mph or so. For sockeye (Babine Lake) we we typically doing about 1.8mph which killed the battery in 3-4 hrs with no wind. Not juice for a days fishing.

I havent bought anything yet but am likely going to go with a 5hp Merc. I have used this same motor on my boat and liked it a lot. A few different forums I read (not this site) said that the 6hp idles a bit faster that the 5 and therefore trolls a bit faster. I dont think the 6 will do anything the 5 cant except move my boat a bit faster at WOT. Leaning towards the 5hp.

[Fatso]

A five horse is plenty of power and is still easy to swing around.
I have a lovely 10 hp 4 stroke Honda that I love and used to be able to lift and move around with 1 hand.   I don't do it anymore.  Too heavy.  I love the power but I would sacrifice power for portability.

I would go for the 5 hp.  Still plenty of power for fishing the seaside. 

For trolling a fly have you ever tried just wind drifting?
I normally troll the shoreline with a fly first going up wind and then I  just  wind drift back.  In a big lake I use a full sink line.  Works good.

In the ocean I like to wind drift and jig a buzzbomb.  I find it's a lot quieter and peaceful, and can be very productive.

5 Alive baby!!! 

[firstlight]

There is a very nice 6 hp Merc 2 troke for sale on FlyBC right now.
It wont be there long.

[Spawn Sack]

Thanks firstlight. Unfortunately I troll often enough that I would not want a 2stroke. I do however love 2 strokes for staying up in the revs and zipping around. Our 16 foot river boat has a 2011 Merc 90/65 and that motor is just plain awesome! 

[bsmcrosseyed]

Lehr has a propane powered outboard. You don't have to worry about old fuel or mixing 2 stroke fuel.

[Spawn Sack]

After much thought I decided to look for an 8 or 9.8 four stroke. I figured if I got a decent price on a newer used one, if I didnt like it could always sell it at not much of a $$$ loss. Not much had been up on CL and kijiji since the early fall, so I had more or less figured I'd wait until the spring to buy.

Then I was at my local Yammy dealer the other day. They had one 8hp short shaft left on the floor. MSRP was $2750 or so. Sale price (probably the always on sale, "sale price") was $2350 or so. I'm just checking it out, not planning to buy. Staff member comes over and informs me there is an end of the season promo going on right now, additional $400 off! I said what the hell and bought it for $1900 plus tax. Obviously more than a newer used one ($1750ish seem to be about the going rate for this motor or similar), but hey, it's brand new!

The extra 30 lbs (compared to a 4/5/6 single cylinder) is definitely noticeable lifting it and carrying around, but not a big deal. I'm pretty stoked to try it out in the spring! If it trolls too fast for my liking I'll follow the advice given here and change out props until I find one that trolls to my liking.

[arimaBOATER]

Congrads on a good make & plenty of power for your needs.
The day winds pickup & ya have 2-3 people in your boat your going to appreciate the 8hp over the 5.
Just take your time carrying it. Guess ya have a car-top boat ...so if the 8 hp gets a bit heavy as ya age just have a cart /wheels & just transport the outboard near your boat & stick it on the stern.
Bow in the water & back end on the shore. Easy to take from cart & onto stern. Push the boat into the water & turn it around with a bow rope. Load gear / jump in & away ya go.
That salesman must be a pro. He got you to commit after so so so so much thought & deciding.
On sale plus another $400 off !!!!
Think we also have a pro buyer. That sales guy must of thought....I'm going to make this guy buy even if it kills me & we barely make a buck profit.
Maybe he thinks they will eventually make some profit when the outboard needs servicing......
Congrads again. Spring before we know it.

[rgm]

I have the Merc 6 on my 16 foot aluminum Legend as a kicker. The thing I like about it is that it can take an external fuel source but it also has a built in tank. This gives me some options as well as being able to have a "reserve" tank. This may be true for other outboards as well but since this is the only one I own......
I haven't used it on any other boat but it actually pushes my 16 along at an acceptable speed in a lake. On the Fraser, it would be great going with the current but I think it would take a long time to get anywhere going against it.
Good luck with your search.

Edit:  I see you got one already. Congratulations on your purchase. You should get many years out of it.