cable or electronic steering?

I’m going to buy a new trolling motor (Minn Kota) I have the bow mount maximum 74 now. I don’t know anything about the power drives or the auto pilots. they look like a good idea, any advice or info is appreciated. Thanks Ron Lamar

Depends on your style of fishing. If you want very responsive steering, keep the cable. If general trolling or casting is your style and you want less fatigue, you might like the Power Drive or Auto-pilot. Cable is more reliable and cost less to repair. The universal sonar is a nice option if you have compatible electronics.

I own a cable style MinnKota.

The advantage to a cable MinnKota is the durability of the mount. If you find yourself going shallow in rocky or stumpy areas you will find that the cable style motor is very durable. Also something to be said for a sense of where the motor is pointing based on the angle of the foot pedal. When I was looking to buy, it seemed that most of the pros use the cable style motors. The main disadvantage is in my opinoin is that I am on a 60″ leash in a boat that is 17′ long when using the trolling motor.

I think that the autopilot motors would be really slick based on abilty to point and forget allowing yourself to fish from any positoin on the boat.

CABLE!!!!!

I would go with a cable.

That being said, when I fished with Braink last year, I was pretty impressed with his electric. That was on the Croix, in pretty calm water, steady trolling along a break.

Down here, the flow seems to be much more significant, and it’s nothing for the boat to turn a 180 if I’m fighting a fish or slipping a wingdam. In those situations, I want the instant response of the cable. Also when I’m in shallow water around rocks and trees, the cable seems like it would be more rugged. Like someone else said, being able to steer without looking based on where your foot lies is also nice.

There are situations where the electric would be nice, but I can’t think of any that couldn’t be done with the cable steering… without any real experience I’m basing it on gut feel, but I can’t believe the opposite is true.

Thanks, It really helps to get advice from guys who are knowledgable about all the tools and toys. Thanks again Ron

I agree with most of what was said here but Derek said that it depends on your fishing style and I fully agree. The quick response of the cable driven Maxxum has made it very popular. If quick response is important then the Maxxum is the way to go. I you like to kick back and let the electric do more of the work for you, then the powerdrive or autopilot is the way to go. My powerdrive works great for me because of the way I fish. One other option that was not mentioned is the very popular Minn Kota Copilot . The Copilot has an incredible satisfaction rating.

I wish they had a co-pilot transom mount model.