bow mount or transom mount?

Hello I have 2 boats my primary which has a bow mount somewhat a bass boat has a casting deck of sorts. I use this for bass 98% of the time the other boat is a 14 foot Crestliner commodore bench style boat I just got this one for a puddle jumper will mostly do pan fishing and bass. so I have seen some mount bow mount motors however this had a homemade casting deck which in my opinion was to high and this boat is not one to stand in a whole lot. would a transom mount work OK for working a weed line or scooting along for bass. The pros for a transom cheaper easier to mount quick painless, Bow mount I would have to build some contraption to put it on and not sure how well it would work very high bow. I will only use this boat a few times it’s mostly so other family can come with any opinions. I’m very limited in the tools I have also.

I say transom.

It’s going to be more stable to stand or sit in the back and you can always just “backtroll” and get nearly the same effect of a bow mount.

The only disadvantage is if you want one that has spot lock. Only bow mount have this. It would be nice not have to carry an anchor. I’m guessing you don’t have a $1500 budget for an $850 boat.

I use a transom mount on my 14 ft and a bow mount plus a transom on 17’9. On the big one the transom doesn’t control it in the wind. On the little one if you cast alot the transom one sucks. But works. Just find my self always having to correct my steer and over correct and it’s never ending. But that’s only while standing and casting. For trolling or slow controlled drifts it’s fine

I’d suggest a transom mount and backtroll to help your boat control. Most (maybe all) transom mount trolling motors have the ability to remove the top and rotate it on the shaft so you can backtroll in “forward” rather than “reverse”.

Blank I did not know that you could do that on a motor. Thanks. As biggill said I really don’t want to spend much it’s a small boat so a 30 # Minnkota may be the ticket. I just want to make sur eit would be doable Again not my main rig.

The first boat I owned was a 14′ lund and I put a brand new transom mount minn kota on it… Boat control was miserable and I hated it. So I bought a 20 year old BOW mount minn kota and rigged it to the front. Complete 180 on the boat control… get the bow mount!

Yep, I agree with most here.

Flip the head around and backtroll.

Another vote for the transom mount. I grew up with a 14′ aluminum boat, 9.9 Johnson, and a 36lb Minnkota and with the head spun 180 degrees and a longer extension handle I got relatively good at steering the boat with my hip as I went down a shoreline.

Sure the bow mount might be nicer but it sounds like it will take some fabricating and guessing the motor alone will be about $300-$500, where the transom mount will be $100 – $200 and just clamp in on and go, maybe spin the head 180 degrees after you try it out some.

So one thing I did with a small 12′ boat I used to have, was clamp a transom mount trolling motor onto the side of the bow of the boat. Just had to add a small piece of 2×4 as a spacer. Worked great and no need to modify/fabricate anything.

https://minneapolis.craigslist.org/dak/spo/d/prior-lake-trolling-motor-2x-price/6951254567.html