Trolling motor advice ?

[SportJet120]

Hi all, I am brand new to this site and also new as far as fishing the Allegheny river by boat. We picked up a Tracker Pro Team 18 Jet last fall. We used it several times around the Tidioute area. The elecrtic trolling motor (Motorguide Pro 40, 43 lbs thrust) seems to be under powered for the river. I was thinking of jumping up to a motor around 55 lbs in the 12 volt series. Do you think this is enough for the river or will I have to jump into the 24 volt series and add another battery? What would better choice Motorguide or Minnkota ? Thanks Gary

[Red Childress]

If you have the means and cash to pull it off, go with the 24v and 80lb for your size boat. You will not be sorry. My vote is for MinnKota unless you want quicker responsiveness. If that is the case, then go with the cable steered MotorGuide.

My 02. cents.

[SportJet120]

Thanks for the responce. The Minn Kota seemed to be your favorite. Are you talking about the electric steer model? What do you think about the cable steer Minn Kota vs cable steer Motorguide? $1000.+ for the electric steer is more than I want to spend. Thank you, Gary

[Red Childress]

Yes, I am talking about the electric steer MinnKota. I have had no experience with either of those cable steer models....only read about them both on other forums.

[Pescatore]

I have an Alumacraft 1860 CC AW which is almost the same boat and I use a MinnKota Powerdrive 24v 70lb. thrust. I agree with Red, that a 80lb. would be perfect especially in the faster water he fishes in Warren. I fish the river from Tionesta south were the water is a little slower and my 70lb. works great. I only paid $550 for mine. It was a previous year left over that was on sale at Sportsmens Warehouse. Check Ebay some outfitter will have a motor for cheaper than Cabelas or Bass Pro.

[jah1317]

you could also look into refurbished ones, I have not gotten one but they are fixed at the factory and I believe they carry some sort of warrenty.

Jacob

[Red Childress]

My boat is very heavy and the 80# does great, even in fast current. Stepping down to a 70#/24v would probably be just fine for an 18CC.

[lowbidder]

The boat I have now had a cable steer minn kota 70 pound on it when I first bought it last year. The power was fine, but I couldn't stand the cable steer. If you get the cable drive with a larger motor, be prepared to constantly have your foot on the pedal. While you're fishing, your boat will almost always be pointing upstream and even a slow current will turn the motor unless you really tighten down the cables. I only fished with it twice, so maybe my evaluation is unfair, but I love the electric drive.

Bonus for the electric drive MK- You'll have the option of adding the Co-Pilot wireless remote which is so valuable, especially if you're fishing by yourself. Like I said before, your boat will be pointing upstream, so if you're by yourself you can control the motor from the back of the boat and still go through first instead of your boat!

Mike

[SportJet120]

Thanks guys for the great advice. After taking your advice and taking a closer look at the electric steer models I think this also would the best choice. I will have to talk my fishing partner and see about getting one of those ES models. Her and her labador retreiver usally control the bow, while I am perched on the seat over the Merc. When its time to fire up the IO jet, its all me. Life is good ! Thanks Gary

[toothyfishman]

I have a MinnKota 55 lbs 12 volts cable steer on a 14' Lowe and it is just enough to battle the current. It is okay, I wouldn't want anything less!!!

That is a smaller boat too. I'd listen to the suggestions and go with the 70 or 80lbs and buy it once and be happy with it. I don't think you'd be happy with the 55 at all!

I went with the biggest 12V motor so I only had to carry one battery to cut down on weight.

[SportJet120]

Thanks guys for the great advice. We decided to to with the MK Terrova 80lb with i-pilot,auto-pilot,co-pilot and built in dual beam transducer. Minn Kota is currently out of stock so we will have to wait, (hopefully not long) for shipment. My girlfriend decided on this motor and paid for it. I practice catch and release but, I am KEEPING this one ! Gary

[toothyfishman]

Sounds like a keeper!

[lowbidder]

Gary,
That's the same motor I just bought this spring. MK had a good promotion on it. I just installed it last weekend. Low and Behold... the bolt holes matched up! The only gripes I have is that the US2 cable from my powerdrive was different so I have to go get another one and the motor only came with the long shaft which will look kinda funny when running it shallow!

Mike

[SportJet120]

Hey Mike, I'm betting you could shorten the shaft so that is does not stick up so far. I'm guessing they make them that long for deep Vs. She ordered the motor from Cabelas, they had rebates,coupons, and free shipping and she saved several hundred dollars. Cant wait! She just purchased a 5500 C3 and now is looking to buy a rod. All she talks about is going musky fishing this year. Sure beats shopping for shoes.

Gary

[lowbidder]

I found very detailed, illustrated instructions on how to cut down the shaft length, but I think I'll put up with it until the warranty has expired. I am a tinkerer, but I shall resist.

[SportJet120]

Look at the bright side, the long shaft should make it deploy easier.

[lowbidder]

I finally got to put in some hours with the new motor today. I simply don't know how I fished without it. 30 mph gusts blowing upstream and a strong current from last night's storms and the spot-lock held like a champ. I really didn't expect it to work nearly as well as it did.

I got to a spot I wanted to pound, hit the anchor button and started casting. Never once had to stop to adjust the direction / speed of the motor. The high winds did occasionally change the direction of my boat a few times, but I just worked my way right around it. Without the high winds, it would've held me in the same direction the whole time.

I didn't have the chance to use the record-a-track function, but I did get to use the autopilot concurrently with the cruise-control. It had some difficulties fighting the wind (especially at low cruise speeds). At one point when the wind died down, I was able to fish about a 1000' stretch of straight shoreline at .5 mph without touching the remote (just as an experiment).

All in all, I'm very happy with the performance so far and I'm sure you will be too (as if you weren't already excited about it). Worth every penny!

[SportJet120]

Glad to here it performed better than expected, thats always a plus.

Our Tracker Jet is still in the garage waiting for a new Terrova to arrive. I can't wait. In the meantime I have installed a new Humminbird 757 with GPS, also cant wait to try it out also.

I was wondering Mike, what size batteries you are using and how did they hold up?

I was also told that if you want to shorten the shaft and don't want to void your warranty, A MK service center will do it for around $40. Did you see any problems that you might have with the shaft being 60" ?

Glad to hear all went well, Gary

[lowbidder]

I use two Optima Blue Tops. I fished from 0800 till 1500 and when I put the charger back on it read exactly 50%. The motor basically ran the entire time minus about 30 minutes of trolling.

I would expect WAY less drain on the batteries on a calmer day. Like I said above, the motor was not only fighting a strong current from Friday's storms, but 15 - 20 mph sustained winds ALL DAY LONG.

[SportJet120]

Hey Mike, Are you also using a starting battery for the o/b motor? I was wondering if I should run two 12v for the Terrova plus a start battery for the Merc jet. I am thinking yes. What do you think? or anyone else? Gary

[lowbidder]

I do run a starting battery for my outboard and accessories.
I know MK states running the trolling motor from a starting battery will cause damage to the motor, but I don't know if running the merc from a deep cycle would bad or not. Irregardless, I would do it just to keep the life of your deep cycle batteries. I use a cheap-o walmart special for the starting battery. Going on 9 months without a problem.