Selecting a new bow mount trolling motor

I am in the process of selecting a new bow mount trolling motor. Not because my current motor is dead, but just because I need more thrust. I have used Motorguide on my last two boats and have no complaints, other than the amount of deck space taken up by the large foot control pedals. I am a non-tournament fisherman that just likes to get away and enjoy the day on the water. Currently here in Pool 15 of the Mississippi the current levels have been pretty fast due to high water and my current trolling motor is having trouble keeping the boat positioned properly. Just interested in everyone’s opinion on which are the best on the market and why?

Thanks for your opinions….

I have a maxxum 74 pound thrust on my Ranger and it seems to be pretty good. Once again you will have the big foot control though with the maxxum. A friend has the maxxum 101 on his Ranger and he can just about pull skiers with it.
I have always used Minnkota and have never had problems.
On the boat before I had a Minnkota PD50, it was a 16 foot aluminum boat…pretty light and that PD 50 was great.

Buckshot, appreciate the input. I’ll have to take a look at the maxxum.

Thanks

If you’re comfortable with the cable drive type motors then the maxxum is the way to go. If you really want the juice go with the 101 Lb thrust / 36 volt jobbie and you’ll be able to do most anything you’ll ever want in wind and current.

I have a 12volt Motor Guide cable drive with 43lbs of thrust that was the biggest you could buy at that time in a 12 volt, it is about 5 or 6 years old. I wanted to go with a 24 volt but the boat that I had at that time did not have room for the extra battery. The reason I went with the Motor Guide was the foot control was much easier to use than the Minnkota at that time, I think Minnkota has improved them now from what I hear but I have not had the opportunity to try one yet. Mechanically this has been a good motor for me I have had no problems with it at all, the thing I do not like about it is you need to keep your foot on the foot control 100% of the time, if I take my foot off the pedal I am off course right now. In theory the Minn Kota AutoPilot cures this problem and when they work they are great but I have heard so many horror stories about the AutoPilot that I do not think I would buy one. So is there something out there that is a good compromise without AutoPilot that would stay in the same position when you take your foot off the pedal?

You can never have too much power. Never. There’s one thing I would keep in mind is how many batteries you’ll need (12v, 24v, 36v). I’ve got a chart here on our Trolling motor page. Note that the 101 is a 36v system, some are 24v, and the 55 is 12v. Just something to keep in mind while planning.

One more thing if you do go with a Motor Guide spend the extra $$$ and get a Gator Mount, well worth the exta money

I’ve been using a 24 volt Pinpoint on my ProV for years now and I pray that it never dies because I’m not completely sold completely on anything else out there.

My tournament partner just bought a Triton 205 that was rigged with a cable drive Motorguide on it. For a couple reasons, we decided that it wasn’t the best for the boat. First, both of us like having a foot pedal extension so that we can troll from behind the windshields. Second, every time the head comes out of the water (fishing in the wind on the Columbia River), the motor would turn making it very hard to control.

It is being replaced with the new Motorguide PTSv…nothing like trying out expensive, unproven technology but we’re hoping that it does the trick.

When deciding on the motor, we looked for a strong motor as there is no kicker on the boat (yet). That limited the selection substantially. I had been fishing with another friend who has an Minn Kota autopilot and it also seemed to have trouble staying on track on the river. Neither of us had any experience with the Maxxum so it was a toss-up. We hope that Motorguide adding some of the Pinpoint technology to the motor will result in a good product. (If it ever arrives, I’ll post a review after we fish it).

Ha don’t fear the the autopilot, yeah they are not perfect, but no doubt about it, minnkota has been working on it. Mine a little characture to it, but 98% of the time it’s doing what it suppose to. I can’t imagine anything better for fishing, point it and it holds it’s line. Although the pinpoint system would probably be better the extra money makes it had to justify, IMO. Autopilot is a big selling factor me, and the autopilot/copilot set-up is darn near perfect for boat control.

It seems you’re a pedal guy, have you tried a co-pilot on a minnkota? no cords no fuss, and less stuff to break.

Oh yeah I did forget it is a tad slow for the river at times , the co-pilot pretty much makes this a non issue, but yhou;ll have to watch it a bit closer. I gotta keep suggesting to minnkota that the need to have a adjustable control, to make the motor correct faster upon user command, a little gain control…

Thanks for the reply MN-RST-RIDER

Still looking for a answer to this question.

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So is there something out there that is a good compromise without AutoPilot that would stay in the same position when you take your foot off the pedal?

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I will clarify a little more, does Minn Kota make a Model without AutoPilot that will stay in the same position when you take your foot off the pedal?

I haven’t seen one that will hold their position like the AP. Really, all trolling motors should stay pointed in the direction you set them unless you change it…I wish. They probably don’t change much on flat water but they’re all over the place in any wind / current. It isn’t that the AP motor stays pointed in the same direction, its the ability for the motor to compensate for any change that makes that motor appealing. Had MinnKota bought out Pinpoint instead of Motorguide, they could have combined technologies and really had the perfect product.

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I will clarify a little more, does Minn Kota make a Model without AutoPilot that will stay in the same position when you take your foot off the pedal?

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The Minn Kota PowerDrive stays locked in to whatever position you leave it at. In other words, if you have the motor pointed to 2 o’clock then that’s where she stays until you move it one way or another. It does not “automatically adjust” like the AutoPilot, but it locks in to where ever you leave it. Is that what you mean?

I’ve got the Minn Kota 65PD/AP/US and just added the co-pilot. No problem moving an 18ft boat and no problems with the AP. I love that feature! Now if Minn Kota would just integrate this with sonar….

Thanks Wade thats what I wanted to know

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I will clarify a little more, does Minn Kota make a Model without AutoPilot that will stay in the same position when you take your foot off the pedal?

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The Minn Kota PowerDrive stays locked in to whatever position you leave it at. In other words, if you have the motor pointed to 2 o’clock then that’s where she stays until you move it one way or another. It does not “automatically adjust” like the AutoPilot, but it locks in to where ever you leave it. Is that what you mean?

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Now if Minn Kota would just integrate this with sonar….

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Johnson Outdoors (owns Minn Kota) recently purchased Techsonic Industries (owns Humminbird Sonar). What things may come?

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Thanks Wade thats what I wanted to know

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You betcha Steve!