So school me on trolling motors

[RUGER]

For various reasons, about 6,000 of them I have decided to go with a fancy trolling motor instead of shallow water anchors.
Are any of them 12 volt or do you have to go to 24?
My main objective is spot lock.
My first thought is minn Kota.
Granted I know availability is an issue.

 

[tnanh]

You will not be sorry if you get a 80 pound 24 volt Ulterra for your boat, especially as much as you hate the wind. If room is and issue there are even single size 24 volt batteries available now, I just cant afford them. I have a War Eagle 1754 vs and the ulterra 80 with spot lock is the best purchase I have ever made. Strong current and strong wind is no trouble with that trolling motor. Only advantage ai can see with the shallow water anchors is no trolling motor wash on bream beds and crappie mats.

 

[pockets]

Pretty sure all spot locks are 24volts or 36.

 

[Hduke86]

If I'm not mistaken which probably is the case. Powerdrive can be a 12v spotlock trolling motor. Just check out minn Kota Powerdrive options. As mentioned 24v 80# is the best way to go. I have a Ulterra spotlock that is linked to my graphs and it's great on my xpress 16'. I also went with a single 24v lithium battery I believe it's 100ah but don't hold me to it. I can tell you that you'd be hard pressed to run it down and I use it all the time below Chickamauga dam.

 

[RobDooley]

Ultrex

 

[JBell]

I have a motor guide xi3 on my havoc and it has "anchor mode" which is their spot lock. It's 12v and 55 pounds I think. Run it off of a remote most of the time. But have a wireless foot pedal as well.

 

[bluball]

I would get a ultrex,force or ghost prerty sure you will have to go two 24volt though

 

[7mm08]

Ulterra…… besides that it has Spot Lock, can track on a waypoint, and you can self launch without any problem.

Now for the REAL REASON ! I saw my buddy do a head dive off his center console pulling up his trolling motor. Somehow he didn't break his neck. He bought an Ulterra two weeks later. Ruger, you and I are older, my knees are shot and I can deploy or store the motor from starboard without having to get up and down the bow all the time. In the words of Andy Taylor " AUNT BEE, just pay the man"

 

[bluball]

The ultrex is better when comparing the minnkota brand steering response,footpedal better than ulterra,powerdrive or terrova,easier to mount a transducer on the ultrex,deploys and stows better and easier than a powerdrive or terrova.If you are worried and need a self deploy the ulterra is good for that,but the ultrex beats it in lots of other areas as a i stated above.

 

[WTM]

when i upgrade again itll probably be an ultrex 80# ipilot. probably be a couple of years when they have them in stock and after ill probably have to replace a $6000 hvac unit this year.

id love to have a garmin but not for what they want for it.

for what they charge for the garmin i can buy an ultrex and add an xducer turret to it.

ive put a minn kota 70# edge through hell and back and it hasnt broke yet so the quality is there.

 

[fullstream]

Min Kota has terrova in 12v 50lb. Put one on my sons John boat. You will not be disappointed with terrova & I pilot. Had a 24v 80lb in my bay boat. Not sure how big your boat is but I've always found bigger is better.

 

[TN Larry]

For various reasons, about 6,000 of them I have decided to go with a fancy trolling motor instead of shallow water anchors.
Are any of them 12 volt or do you have to go to 24?
My main objective is spot lock.
My first thought is minn Kota.
Granted I know availability is an issue.

What is your application for the spot lock? If bluegill fishing in shallow water, you are still better off with shallow water anchors and some can be had for less than $6k. If spot locked in shallow water, your trolling motor will send trolling motor swirls into where you're fishing if that makes sense. If there's wind, you will have to face into the wind and maybe fish off the back deck. You may already know this but just something to think about.

In terms of trolling motors with spot lock, I was leaning towards a Garmin force but quite a bit more than an Ultrex. I found a slightly used Ultrex for $1,800 and couldn't pass it up. The spot lock future is great when needed. I'm still looking to put power poles on my boat this spring. Good luck with what you choose.

 

[WTM]

micro power pole will work on that boat up to 5 feet of water.

fyi, power pole has special brackets just for trackers that bolt into the transom.

ifin you unbolt the motor for the standard bracket, you will void the warranty on the boat and the motor. also goes for hydraulic jack plates.

 

[Spurhunter]

id love to have a garmin but not for what they want for it.

I struggled with the price, but after a 1 year of use, I can say it is worth every penny if you use Garmin units.

 

[TITANSFAN2104]

I had the garmin force on my 2019 nitro z20 and it was awesome. Pulled that boat at almost 4mph.
On my new boat it came with the terrova and its a good trolling motor but I know I will have a force back on this boat when I get some things taken care of. Its not high on my list due to the terrova being a pretty good tm with spotlock.

 

[09FX4]

I've got a 12 volt 55lb thrust terrova with I pilot on my bass tracker 165. It does everything I need it to do. No issues after a year and a half of use.

 

[Headhunter]

Lowrance Ghost. That comes from someone who all of his life has said, if it is not a Minn Kota, it is not a trolling motor. The ghost has thrust of 97 lbs at 24 volts and if you ever want or need to (motor problems) you can add a battery and have 120 lbs at 36 volts.

All my friends that have ultrex tell me that when there is very little to no wind, their Minn Kotas "spot lock" will move somewhat.

My Ghost does not move, no wind, little wind or strong winds. As far as bluegill fishing in shallow water, I have put Ghost on anchor lock and caught bedding bluegill within feet of the trolling motor.

With all that said, since you have Garmin depth finders and livescope, I might would go with a Garmin trolling motor. I have all Lowrance, the active target is ok, but from what you have told me and others also, livescope is better.

I for sure love my Ghost trolling motor though and have not even come close to running down the batteries, no where close at all.

 

[hitek7]

Lowrance and Garmin are brushless trolling motor (if I am correct) and are quieter than the Minn Kota. If you get the Ulterra go ahead and learn how to manually stow and deploy. It is not "if" it ever messes up, it is "when" it messes up. I wished I hadn't spent my money on the Ulterra. It is very nice until it doesn't stow correctly.