Trolling motor recommendation

[captpierre]

Hey Guys,
I fish Pigeon Lake mainly for eyes, Bluegills and occasionally musky. Weededges and humps.  My ride is a 2007 Lund Tyee 1750. My current motor is a 2007 Minn Kota Powerdrive V2 24v without Spotlock.  Works fine.  My electronics is a Lowrance HDS 7 with over 600 waypoints. Will likely upgrade that to Humminbird at some point to sinc with MinnKota. 
But it’s  often windy and it’s a pain to keep on a spot or follow a weed line. 
Thinking of upgrading to a new Powerdrive or TerraNova. Which would you prefer?  And is a handheld remote alone sufficient?  I’d have no footpedal and cable to take up space. Seems better but want to know what experience says.   Thanks. 
 

Edited March 11, 2023 by captpierre

[Reelpro]

I run an older 36v with spotlock . Handheld remote is all you will need .  Tether around neck. I do have. a foot pedal stowed away for emergencies, but never use it. Spare remote and spare batteries.

Game changer, don’t use an anchor much either any longer.

[BillM]

24V Terrova 60in 80lb without a doubt.   I use the foot pedal way more then I ever use the hand held, especially when I'm musky fishing.   

[Dan668]

Based on what was listed, Terrova for sure since you intend to go to Humminbird. The Xi5 can sync with certain Lowrance units however the foot pedal takes some getting used too. My Terrova served me well in the past, but I now run a Ghost. Whatever you choose, you will love the spot lock.

I personally love the foot pedal for bass and musky. Hardly use the remotes on any of the motors I have had.

[AKRISONER]

Terrova 24v ipilot without a single doubt

if money is no issue, get a Garmin force, probably way overkill for your application though 

Edited March 11, 2023 by AKRISONER

[RickOnt]

I agree with Bill on the motor a Terrova 60 in 80 lbs thrust 24 v 

ipilot and spotlock

But I use the remote  way more than the foot pedal 

However I do not fish for Musky

 

Its just finding one is the challenge

 

[Musky Plug]

I can’t speak to any other brands but if you’re going Minnkota would choose the Terrova. If you’re going to change to bird units I would go with I pilot link. That’s one regret of mine, not getting the I pilot link. If you choose to do your own mapping on the bird units the I pilot link can take you down the specific contour line. Both foot pedal and remote have their time and place, but I tend to use the remote more when fishing walleye and the foot pedal more fishing musky/pike/bass. 

If you need one sooner maybe check out sportsman show next weekend. They had deals on electronics and stuff and the last fishing show a few weeks ago. 

[captpierre]

I’m reading about the Ulterra. Self deploy and stow. Easy depth change. 
However, seem to be lots of problems. 

[Musky Plug]

57 minutes ago, captpierre said:

I’m reading about the Ulterra. Self deploy and stow. Easy depth change. 
However, seem to be lots of problems. 

I have seen YouTube vids and read other forums where people have had issues late into the season using the ulterra and it freezing up and the auto stow/ deploy feature not working. If you don’t fish into late season shouldn’t be an issue. Other than that, not sure about other issues. 

Edited March 11, 2023 by Musky Plug

[BillM]

Ulterra definitely requires it's owners to keep up on maintenance. 

[CrowMan]

If your battery runs out of juice while  the Ulterra is deployed, it can turn into a bit of a nightmare. That was case with the first generation, not sure if they have rectified this issue.

Edited March 12, 2023 by CrowMan

[AKRISONER]

Major deployment issues with the ulterra. Minkotta/Johnson outdoors are not known for their reliability in products. They have a few gems like the Fortrex and terrova, but buyer beware of a lot of their other stuff. 
 

the ultrex has essentially been a nightmare until the newer versions. Even then they wear out quick. Bushing, etc problems.

[fisherman7]

So I've got the Ulterra and I've had no issues at all, except once I let my batteries get too low and it would only come up half way. Still got home, and it was my fault as I knew I needed newer batteries. Came up and stowed after a short charge. 

I fish Upper Buckhorn and it can get choppy. The number of times I almost fell in stowing my old trolling motor!!! I have to admit it's pretty cool to see the look on other faces when I hit the deploy button from the back of the boat or the stow button. 

Others may have had issues but I've had none going on 3 years now. 

Good luck with whatever you choose. 

[mike rousseau]

When I ordered my boat in 2022 I got a minn Kota 80lb 60” terrova with ipilot

 

due to COVID shortages I ended up either waiting extra 6+ months for that motor or get i-Pilot link 

 

so deal split difference for me to upgrade 

 

Looking back I’m happy I was put in that position because the link features are awesome 

 

 

[limeyangler]

I-pilot Link is the way to go, like someone else mentioned used in conjunction with autochart mapping it’s worth it’s weight in gold, my favourite feature while fishing walleye is to spend time mapping out structure then moving your cursor with the remote to any spot incrementally, wherever you leave the cursor the Ipilot will take you there and spot lock automatically, I can even access all remote functions on the fishfinder too. I think Power Drive models can only work with the foot pedal OR the remote, whereas the Terrovas and Ulterras can run simultaneously. I have an Ulterra and I had some deploy issues a few times, but it was mainly because I did not do recommend maintenance and lots of dragging my boat miles on dusty bush roads, it ticked me off for sure but I kept my old Terrova as back up. WARNING…Once you use the self deploying Ulterra you won’t want to ever have to get up to deploy a trolling motor ever again.

[porkpie]

I’ve been pretty happy with my terrova.

[captpierre]

Dropped into Gannon yesterday. Having difficulty getting Terrova 60” 80lb. Said it’s the most popular motor out there. They get them in a few at a time. Gone next day. 
$2800 with pedal an no ilLink. 

[RickOnt]

That,s what I have found also.

Either out of stock or backordered

[BassMan11]

Been running the same Ulterra since 2018 with 0 issues. Running a tiller (where I am always at the back of the boat) its a great feature when friends or family are in the boat. Then the auto trim is awesome when getting in shallow for snags etc.   Like anything you need to take care of your stuff and it will last a long time. Kept in a garage and a small amount of maintenance after every trip keep it working excellent. I almost never use the pedal... the remote works great.  Would definitely recommend. 

What I think the most useful perk is launching and trailering the boat solo. I fish solo quite a bit so personally for me I would never buy another type of trolling motor.  No dock needed... no help needed. The video below is literally every time I pull up to a ramp and someone is watching. 

Good luck with the decision

 

 

 

[captpierre]

29 minutes ago, BassMan11 said:

Been running the same Ulterra since 2018 with 0 issues. Running a tiller (where I am always at the back of the boat) its a great feature when friends or family are in the boat. Then the auto trim is awesome when getting in shallow for snags etc.   Like anything you need to take care of your stuff and it will last a long time. Kept in a garage and a small amount of maintenance after every trip keep it working excellent. I almost never use the pedal... the remote works great.  Would definitely recommend. 

What I think the most useful perk is launching and trailering the boat solo. I fish solo quite a bit so personally for me I would never buy another type of trolling motor.  No dock needed... no help needed. The video below is literally every time I pull up to a ramp and someone is watching. 

Good luck with the decision

 

 

 

Good to hear. What kind of maintenance is required?

[CrowMan]

If you're primarily a Walleye angler, you may want to consider the new MEGA Live Imaging Target Lock feature from MinnKota/HumminBird. This allows you to spot lock the TM, but still independently aim the MEGA Live scanning...and even keep it locked on a  target (fish or structure) even the though the boat is swinging around maintaining its fixed position. Nice option, as it negates the decision whether to install your scanning transducer on your TM or on a seperate pole mount.

I may be wrong, but I believe it's currently only available on the Ultrex....however, Ultrex also offers  cable steer if you want to "hunt" Bass.

Wish Garmin would offer this on their imaging transducers and TM's.... as I've been kicking around what to do...

 

Edited March 14, 2023 by CrowMan

[AKRISONER]

1 hour ago, CrowMan said:

 

Wish Garmin would offer this on their imaging transducers and TM's.... as I've been kicking around what to do...

 

The issue is that mega live is a far inferior product to livescope especially now with the LVs34

 

even the 32 is still better than mega live at current

[CrowMan]

11 minutes ago, AKRISONER said:

The issue is that mega live is a far inferior product to livescope especially now with the LVs34

 

even the 32 is still better than mega live 

Hence my wish...

[BassMan11]

2 hours ago, captpierre said:

Good to hear. What kind of maintenance is required?

Make sure the shaft is lubricated (thats what she said) with a silicone lubricant. White lithium grease on some components inside when the side covers are off. There are a few video's on Youtube that go over things extensively. Nothing too crazy. Also what others said before about if your batteries die you are in trouble that is defiantly a thing. So you just need to be mindful of that. I just got batteries big enough to know i'd need 2 full days hard on the TM before i'd need to worry.  

You can manually stow the unit but then need to take it to a dealer to get it fixed after... not an easy process from what I have seen. Lots of ways to keep track of your battery voltage though...

[AKRISONER]

11 minutes ago, CrowMan said:

Hence my wish...

If you’ve got a cable steer style/wireless footpedal like the force…I’m going to recommend running the livescope and not worrying about target lock until some more time has been spent figuring it out.

 

to not be using livescope=you’re missing out.

 

get one for this upcoming season and never look back. Trust me, using it with a Garmin force…you will most certainly put more fish in the boat, it’s not even a question.

in some applications, like fishing laketrout jigging in the spring when they are up in <50fow but are still not right to bottom? My goodness

remember it’s not just about finding fish either, it literally feels like cheating when you can see the piece of structure you want to fish 30 feet in front of the boat. 
 

I think my last 4 tournaments I managed to catch a fish that I literally saw eat, we fished a rail piling on rice in October during a gale, it was effectively impossible to figure out how to approach the structure without live. you couldn’t go right on top of it, the fish wouldn’t bite cause the boat was going nuts in the wind and waves. I marked it with the livescope and got the correct angle with the wind and let the force spotlock and we proceeded to just toss baits at it all day.
 

Edited March 14, 2023 by AKRISONER