Fellas I need some trolling motor advice

Boat is a 15' aluminum. I fish alone 95% of the time on a pedestal mounted seat on the bow of the boat. Saltwater creeks & back waters. Sick & tired & frankly too old to keep anchoring, moving etc.

I am going to buy a bow mounted trolling motor, a Minn Kota. My initial thought was to simply get a tiller model, control it as I move slowly along etc. Now I moving toward a co pilot type model because it would seem awkward to keep having to reach over to control the track. I don't really think I need the I-pilot capability but if it would make my experience easier I'd be completely open to that option.

My question to anybody who uses any one of these setups is what would be ideal setup (foot pedal, hand held co pilot, etc) for a 1 man crew.

I'd appreciate any & all advice. (I know it won't help me catch fish, they seem to be allergic to me) I'd just like the experience to be a little more enjoyable & less work.

On my larger boat I have a foot pedal Minn Kota mounted in the bow. In my smaller boat I have a transom mounted trolling motor. With the foot pedal you can fish and use the trolling motor at the same time. You can not do that with a tiller model. As with everything you get what you pay for. Make sure you get a deep cycle battery. You may not think this is cool but you may want to hook up a fish finder to the trolling motor.

i will never had another tiller trolling motor. i have a motorguide foot pedal model now, i LOVE it! wish i took the leap much sooner. drive and fish all day with two hands on the reel.

Appreciate it guys. The cordless (or corded) foot pedal is/was something I'm giving serious thought to. What scared me off was reading various reports from people saying they had absolutely no feel & that using them was awkward (this was specifically talking about the Minn Kota) I'm really not opposed to spending any amount to make things easier. I worked my entire life & I ain't takin it with me. Just want a simple easy way to fish.

You can fish with a tiller style TM, it just takes using one of your hands instead of a foot to control the TM. I've read several comments/threads where people prefer tiller style over foot control for personal preference, etc., Tiller style TM's are common/preferred on different styles of flats boats along the coast due to the limited floor space.

The MK PD2's and Terrova models are electric steer and do take some getting use to. The head does not respond nearly as quickly when changing direction as a cable TM does which is a common complaint when you first make the switch. the electric models will hold a heading/direction with the prop spinning/moving the boat, where a cable steer usually will flop around/change direction on you if you don't keep your foot on the pedal at the time.

If you get the co-pilot with either of these, and use a remote, well, that takes a hand of the rod/reel to control the TM/boat. If you get the PD2 and get I Pilot (IP), you lose the foot pedal due to design limitations. If you get a Terrova with IP, you can use either the remote or foot pedal. Co-pilot does not have spot lock or anchor spot, IP does but does not perform as advertised for most owners.

18th hole:
Since you seem to move along creeks, etc, and anchor to fish then move on and repeat again, I would get the Terrova with IP for the electronic anchor feature. You ease up to a area you want to fish, deploy the TM, and the Terrova is EASIER to deploy than the PD2, hit the spot lock button on the remote, and fish. The TM/IP will hold the boat in the general area, and will move the boat back to the spot you selected if blown off by wind or current. It will NOT hold you on the exact spot, the boat will move around, but you can fish pretty much undisturbed for the most part. Point the bow into the wind or current for best results. You do need a clear view of the sky as the IP is gps satellite based, so keep this in mind.

The Terrova has the digital maximizer/variable speed which helps the battery last much longer on the water, the PD2 is variable speed as well but not sure about the digital maximizer. I've got the Terrova with IP for trolling for crappie, and its great for lots of reasons. I been around 2 PD2's and they are very hard to deploy/stow IMO.

JMO.

Tntroller thanks very much for taking time to help. The reason I have somewhat moved past the tiller option is just what you mentioned. My question would have better been phrased as "do the tiller models flop around much if you have your hand off it" ie Is there any way to adjust the friction & keep it from moving too much?

My objective is to keep my hands free as much as possible. Also, if I went with the Co-Pilot model & did not like the hand control I would assume I could purchase a foot pedal. Would that require any type of disengagement of the hand held device or can both be active at the same time?

Again much thanks, I'll very likely go with the Terrova based on your reply. I have no desire to fight a trolling motor when I'm deploying or stowing. Now I'm down to Co-Pilot or I-Pilot. The spot lock is not a deal breaker for me either way. As long as the Co-Pilot will maintain a heading without constant input, that might very well do the trick.

18th hole said:

Appreciate it guys. The cordless (or corded) foot pedal is/was something I'm giving serious thought to. What scared me off was reading various reports from people saying they had absolutely no feel & that using them was awkward (this was specifically talking about the Minn Kota) I'm really not opposed to spending any amount to make things easier. I worked my entire life & I ain't takin it with me. Just want a simple easy way to fish.

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its akward at first but you get use to it in no time. I will say the cable steer models are more responsive compared to the PD and terrova's electric steer. by responsive I mean u tap that pedal and there is no pause in the reaction.. the PD and terrova hesitate just a bit b4 responding to the controls...

18th hole said:

Tntroller thanks very much for taking time to help. The reason I have somewhat moved past the tiller option is just what you mentioned. My question would have better been phrased as "do the tiller models flop around much if you have your hand off it" ie Is there any way to adjust the friction & keep it from moving too much?

Most tiller models have a friction adjustment to keep the head from turning due to motor torque, etc., so you can set it and forget it "so to speak" up to point. When you got to change directions, it will or could be pretty hard to move it. I have a tiller TM on my 13' glass boat, and use the friction adjustment to "lock" the TM in position when trailering it.

My objective is to keep my hands free as much as possible. Also, if I went with the Co-Pilot model & did not like the hand control I would assume I could purchase a foot pedal. Would that require any type of disengagement of the hand held device or can both be active at the same time?

To my knowledge, MK does NOT offer Co-pilot or IP on tiller models, only on the PD2 and Terrova.



Again much thanks, I'll very likely go with the Terrova based on your reply. I have no desire to fight a trolling motor when I'm deploying or stowing. Now I'm down to Co-Pilot or I-Pilot. The spot lock is not a deal breaker for me either way. As long as the Co-Pilot will maintain a heading without constant input, that might very well do the trick.

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I would suggest the IP as it has many more features/functions as the CP will only control the direction or heading and that is it, but I'm not sure. IP has cruise control similar to your car, direction control (gps based), spot anchor/anchor lock, a high speed rabbit button (be seated in the lower part of the boat if you use it as this is HIGHEST power setting), you can record up to 6 trolling tracks/paths and save them, and play or use them over and over again along a certain path along shoreline(s) or open water based on gps settings, can adjust your movements in 0.1/mph increments, etc., Google the I Pilot and watch some utube videos or read up on it. With the Terrova you can use either the foot pedal OR remote. On the PD2, with IP, you will lose the ability to use a foot pedal

I've had all three types, (cable, hand, and electronic foot control..but not the newer elec. Remote style.

You are already getting good advice above. The only thing I can add is....a transom mounted trolling motor of any kind is/was a Royal PIA for me. Any bow mount will be 100% better.

I greatly appreciate all the responses. I'm real bad about just buying the first thing that pops up & more times than not wish I'd taken the time to do a little more research. Thanks to all, you've been very helpful.

I use a 55lb Minn Kota Power drive V2 on a 1548 G3 Jon and me and equipment totals around 400lbs plus boat and motor 550ish. With that said i have seen 4mph fishing solo. It's electric steer and it comes with a 20-25 ft corded pedal so I can control it anywhere on the boat I want. It's nice and quiet and easy to use. I highly recommend it!

I have the same model as GarryB...I love it! I got the co-pilot...I don't care to ever go back to the pedal. I have a 1648...it's not crazy stable so the foot pedal did throw me off balance a couple times. I really like to be able to walk around the boat and still control the TM.

Thanks men. Thought I had all this figured out & put to bed. Due to complaints about the deploy/stow on the other models I decided to bite the big bullet & buy the riptide ST (salt water version of Terrovo) Then I found out that model comes in a 54" shaft only in the 55lb thrust model. That is going to be way to long & sit up way to high on a 15' aluminum boat. Now I'm back to the Riptide SP with the more difficult stow/deploy bracket because I can get that model with a 48" shaft which will still be too long but more doable. Hope I'm not about to make a mistake because I really, really don't have the patience to fight with a trolling motor to simply deploy or stow it.

Any other advice will be greatly appreciated.

Lots of great advice above. I just installed a 55 lb, 48 in. Terrova with I-Pilot on NY '93 Bass Tracker Pro 17. I have not had the boat back on the water yet, as I am still in the rebuild stage, but I did notice that my 48" model has an adjustable collar that allows me to adjust the depth when deployed. I am not sure if this would still work for you, or not, but thought I would mention it. I really wanted to go with the Terrova so that I could use the remote and the foot control at the same time, if need be.

I love my power drive. Cant go wrong.

Out here in windy Wyo. I've found I simply cannot fish without my i-pilot!! I have the P/D and have no trouble with manual deploy and stow as it is mounted on my Tracker 175 W/T. I'm just starting to build a 2013 1442 Alumnacraft and forsee problems getting over the middle seat if I mount a similar but smaller unit on this jon. The auto deploy and stow models are just too big for this little boat. Any Ideas? 8)