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Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM #12309683 06/24/17 05:39 PM
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jafish Offline OP
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Do everyone use a 48 inch shaft on a bass boat?


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Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12309688 06/24/17 05:48 PM
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Andrew Y'Barbo Offline
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52" if you fish deep or windy lakes

Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12309690 06/24/17 05:50 PM
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Champion 221 Elite Offline
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I use a 52"shaft on my Champion 221.Lots of fisherman use a 45"Shaft.It really depends on type and brand of boat.I prefer a 52"shaft because I fish alot in open water and when it's windy a 52"shaft want come out of the water like a 45"Shaft might do in 20+ winds.

Last edited by Champion 221 Elite; 06/24/17 05:51 PM.

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Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12309699 06/24/17 06:03 PM
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Diaudioman Offline
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Here is some good info on trolling motor shaft length. https://www.trollingmotors.net/blogs/selection/86935495-shaft-length-guide

Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12309848 06/24/17 08:17 PM
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Bobby Milam Offline
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Go to the minn Kota site and they have a chart with instructions on how to measure for your specific boat. My Chamoion almost needs more than 52" in rough water because of all the weight I have in the back.

Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12309857 06/24/17 08:25 PM
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TheFluke215 Offline
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Might be a dumb question but can you swap out just shafts? I have a 45" shaft on my fortrex but need extra length. I'd like to swap it out for a 52" if possible.

I've never seen the wiring inside the shaft, so not sure there's enough slack to do something like that.

Last edited by TheFluke215; 06/24/17 08:27 PM.
Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: Andrew Y'Barbo] #12309870 06/24/17 08:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: Andrew Y'Barbo
52" if you fish deep or windy lakes


Yep you can't go wrong with a 52, if you get shallow all you have to do is raise it a little. Got a 20 footer you probably need a 80 hp too.


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Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12309908 06/24/17 09:35 PM
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A trolling motor shop can change the shaft length easily.No Problem!


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Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12309923 06/24/17 09:44 PM
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bronco71 Online Content
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Depends on the motor, I bought a short 36" shaft autopilot years ago for way less than it was worth and had a 54"put on it and it is longer than I need on my 18.5' Nitro. I have a MG Tour 82 with a 42" shaft on it now and it works great and it is not adjusted all the way down. I just ordered a MG Xi5 with a 45" shaft...


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Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12310238 06/25/17 02:43 AM
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52"

Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: TheFluke215] #12310703 06/25/17 06:39 PM
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Originally Posted By: TheFluke215
Might be a dumb question but can you swap out just shafts? I have a 45" shaft on my fortrex but need extra length. I'd like to swap it out for a 52" if possible.

I've never seen the wiring inside the shaft, so not sure there's enough slack to do something like that.


Yes, All Star Marine changed out my Fortrex shaft from 45 to 52. Never had any problems.

Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12310954 06/26/17 12:11 AM
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52 at a minimum if you're doing ANY even remotely rough water fishing. Nothing more frustrating than trolling motor coming out of the water. I run a 60 inch on my Blazer that's super rear end heavy, it's probably a little much, but I've never complained about it being too long. Works for me.


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Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: T-racer @ Mallard Marine] #12311100 06/26/17 02:16 AM
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I have the 45 inch Ultrex on my Triton 21 TRX, no problems at all, I don't fish the great lakes but i do fish Texoma, the 52 inch Ultrex would look like a crane mounted on the front of my boat.


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Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12311144 06/26/17 02:44 AM
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45" on my 721 and it works good. I did fish toledo in the wind and it came out a little but any more wind and length wouldn't have mattered because the power wouldn't have held anyway. There is a different bracket from the 45 to the 52 and 60. It will still work but if you drop the 52 down real far it will hang off the 45 bracket. Or so I was told

Re: Fishing out of a bass boat what inch shaft do you use on your Minn Kota TM [Re: jafish] #12311955 06/26/17 05:21 PM
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forkduc Offline
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I switched from 52" to 45" on my new Ultrex. Worked fine in 2' swells on Fork.

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