trolling motor preference

Saltwater Inshore Discussion
1

So what do you guys prefer, Minn Kota or Motorguide? Needing a new trolling motor for inshore and would appreciate your input.

Earn it everyday…

2

Minn Kota ipilot, treat yourself. You won’t regret it.

~You holdin’ your mouth right?~

GMC z71
Sea Hunt xp19
Yamaha 115

3

I don’t own one yet, but I agree with Mqsh. I am saving up for an iPilot… It looks like an awesome investment that I would not regret.

[img=left]http://i29.photobucket.com/albums/c282/peanut140/d25b11b9-0c3d-4250-bcd4-7b6695a31921.jpg[/img=left]180 Pioneer Islander 115 Yammie Go Tigers!
4

I have had both, and prefer the Minn Kota. Both units were tiller handle, and I Like the tilt handle of the MK.

5

I agree on the I-pilot. 100% worth the $$. I’ve had both MK and MG tillers as well. The MK is much easier to deploy and has the nice extendable handle.

2110 NauticStar ShallowBay
150 Yamaha

6

X 3 on the Ipilot

Key West 1520
70 Yami
She’s little, but she’s pretty, skinny and fast.

7

there’s another long thread going on right now in the Boats and Motors page

8

Always heard, motorguide = motorfried …although I own a motorguide that hasnt failed me yet and its 10+ yrs old(knock on wood) . But yea those I pilots are something serious! On my next boat I will invest on one of those for sure!

Fishing Nerd

“you win some, you lose some…but nothing beats getting some!”

9

I appreciate the info!!!

Earn it everyday…

10

I own the Minn Kota 112 with Ipilot and I have two 10’ Blade PowerPoles. The Ipilot is so great with its gps anchor I hardly use the power poles at all. As my buddy says “that minn kota is the real cats pajamas” whatever that means:) I recommend the minn kota

Capt. Joel LeVine
RedFin Charters

http://bestinshorefishingcharters.com

11

I like minn kota with a tiller. IF/when the electric steering on the i pilot goes out its expensive to fix. If the steering on the tiller goes out, you have more problems than a trolling motor.

  • I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.

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12
quote:
Originally posted by jimmyaadams

I like minn kota with a tiller. IF/when the electric steering on the i pilot goes out its expensive to fix. If the steering on the tiller goes out, you have more problems than a trolling motor.

  • I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.

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You are fishing by yourself inshore and you have wind and tide. Who runs the tiller trolling motor while you fight the fish in shallow water. She’ll banks and such??

I pilot works well

big dog

13

I do. DO it all the time alone and never once have lost i dont recall loosing</font id=“red”> a fish and have never banged up my boat because of the trolling motor being a tiller. Ive done it fishing with the tide, waves and wind pushing me into an oyster bar that the waves where crashing on and reds were feeding as the crashing waves stunned the bait many times. What i do is it point the motor away from where i hooked the fish or where the oysters are toward deeper water or mud and leave it running and fight the fish. If i hit mud I turn motor off. You get pretty good with the tiller after a while. I dont have any problems cruising the bank and throw a spook at the same time. If i want to stop and anchor, i use my anchor pin. I used to have one of those auto pilot foot controls and i like the tiller much more. I have used my buddys gps tm and i dont like the way it keeps you anchored. its not like a real anchor. To each, his own i guess.

  • I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.

[/URL]

14

I have the MK it is wireless controlled and I love it. I was on a boat where a friend of mine had a 110hp ipilot and it started to move us back to where he set the anchor setting and we had a 80 year old gentleman on board and it made him fall over. Funny as hell but when you are not expecting the boat to move and it does well you get the picture.

220 Viper Sea Fox

15
quote:
Originally posted by Allenhawk

110hp ipilot and it started to move us back to where he set the anchor setting and we had a 80 year old gentleman on board and it made him fall over.

110hp,i bet it did:smiley:

  • I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.

[/URL]

16

I pilot is the best thing since the invention of the elect. motor I personaly think the anchor mode has increased my catch rate by at least 50 %!

17

Just to be clear, I am not saying that i pilot sucks. im sure its great,convenient and frees you up a bit more to fish. I considered it a year or so ago when i got tired of spending money fixing my auto pilot and got the new tiller. all I am doing is giving the OP a thought to consider. Some folks may not have an extra 300 bucks sitting around in case a trolling motor motherboard(or what ever its called)goes out. Remote stops working or you loose it, there goes a 150 plus. It may not happen this year or the next few, but eventually, it will happen. The steering on a tiller will never go out. People have used trolling motors for 50 yrs without I pilot. Furthermore, many of the guys that catch the most fish dont even have a TM at all. IF you really know where the fish are you dont need one for inshore. That being said, having a trolling motor sure is nice and the features of i pilot are kind of a appealing.

  • I’d rather be a free man in my grave than living as a puppet or a slave.

[/URL]

18

I have also owned both & like MK the best.

19

I happen to have a minn kota with the i-pilot for sale in the classifieds if you are interested.

20

I did just have a problem with the steering motor on my I-Pilot and I took it to a local authorized repair center (The Crappie Hole in Chapin). After about a half hour of checking for LOOSE or bad wires, bad GPS head, connections, etc., I was told that the steering motor was bad. He replaced the motor and had everything back together in about an hour. Charged me $75 total. OK, the replacement was a used motor that checked good. He told me that a new one was $450. He also told me that if I LOSE my remote, a replacement was about $125. I love my I-Pilot so the repair was a no-brainer even if it would have cost me $450.

After using foot controlled trolling motors forever, I was totally convinced that I wanted a tiller handle trolling motor on my next boat. Even though it didn’t come with a tiller handle trolling motor, I bought my current boat (used 2007) anyway. I wouldn’t be without an I-Pilot now. And as for LOSING fish because of the trolling motor, it doesn’t matter what you are using. Things will go wrong and you will LOSE some anyway.

Molon Labe!

Until you have loved a dog, part of your soul remains unawakened. - Anatole France (paraphrased)

RIP my “Puppy Dog” 10/15/2004 - 1/14/2013. Still can’t get him out of my mind. What a special friend he was.