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Trolling motor recomendations #12337069 07/13/17 12:45 PM
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TXHC Offline OP
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I have 22' bennington pontoon and I am in the market for a trolling motor for it. I am mainly a catfish fisherman and that is what it is set up for but I am wanting to get into sand bass and hybrid fishing mainly for other kids and family that I love to take out that would love the fast action of that type of fishing. I have a budjet of $2000 give or take. I want one that has the anchor option and remote. Pretty much I want something will be the best for holding the boat still as best as possible and has all the bells and whistles. If I need t spend more I will. just want to spend that amount on something that works I know abosutely nothing about trolling motors.


If i dont suceed i will die trying
Re: Trolling motor recomendations [Re: TXHC] #12337248 07/13/17 02:36 PM
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I would get one with the anchor feature.


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Re: Trolling motor recomendations [Re: TXHC] #12337296 07/13/17 03:02 PM
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I've had my X5i for about 6 months now. Never had MinnKota's so I cant compare but I definitely have no complaints.

Re: Trolling motor recomendations [Re: tmd11111] #12337527 07/13/17 04:55 PM
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TXHC Offline OP
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What are you running it on?


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Re: Trolling motor recomendations [Re: TXHC] #12337597 07/13/17 05:29 PM
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tin man 55 Offline
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ultrex is the best.


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Re: Trolling motor recomendations [Re: TXHC] #12337695 07/13/17 06:21 PM
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I'm looking at the Minn Kota Power Drive V2 68# pontoon for my 18 toon. Then I will add the I-pilot for the advanced features and anchor mode.
https://www.trollingmotors.net/products/minn-kota-powerdrive-v2-68-pontoon

Re: Trolling motor recomendations [Re: TXHC] #12337706 07/13/17 06:25 PM
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I commented on something similar a few days ago, which I'll edit to fit your circumstance.

I've got a 21 ft pontoon with a minn kota Terrova 80 and ipilot (old version). I was really leaning towards a 55, and got some good advice and bought a used 80. I love the spot lock feature, which is why I wanted the ipilot to start with. I fish a lot of open water, and this feature is priceless to me. I honestly don't use many of the other features often. I also like having the remote and the deck being clear from cords and pedals. The cord that comes with the foot controller is about 300' long and is a PIA in my opinion. I have had some great fishing trips spotlocked in open water on windy days with it almost maxed out (running at 8 or so constantly to stay in the same spot) and never run the batteries down. For your size boat, I wouldn't go less than 80# thrust.

Minn kota has the ipilot and ipilot link on at least the Terrova and Ulterra models. The Ulterra will stow and deploy itself if that interests you. If you desire to connect your humminbird fishifinder to your trolling motor, you want the ipilot w/link. I believe you would also need a lakemaster chip. That would allow you to automatically follow contours from your graph. The other cool part as I understand it, would be that you can find fish from your graph and direct your trolling motor to take you to that spot without having to steer it yourself. If you want the same type of features but you have a Lowrance, look at the motor guide XI5.


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Re: Trolling motor recomendations [Re: TXHC] #12339214 07/14/17 03:20 PM
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I like the auto deploy and stow feature the Kota offers but I like how much quieter the Motorguide is and it's more precise spot holding. If you interface with your electronics then you are stuck with Humminbird/MinnKota or Lowrance/Motorguide. There ain't no perfect choice I guess but for a stand alone unit I would go with Motorguide. It's quieter and cheaper and holds anchor better.

Last edited by Muzzlebrake; 07/14/17 03:20 PM.

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Re: Trolling motor recomendations [Re: TXHC] #12339515 07/14/17 06:08 PM
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TXHC Offline OP
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Lots of great info here fellas thank you very much. I have a lowerance hds 10. Terrova 112 is looking pretty good. As I make purchases like this I never want to say "man I should have spenta little more and such and such". Thanks for any input.


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Re: Trolling motor recomendations [Re: TXHC] #12341140 07/15/17 06:02 PM
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TXHC - since you have a Lowrance HDS plotter - if you are thinking about connecting your plotter to the trolling motor to control it, you should consider what you will be up against. Lowrance only works with Motorguide, and Hummingbird only works with MinnKota. Another BIG factor is the generation of your Lowrance unit; for it to interface and work - you must have a Gen2 or later unit.

I have a pontoon, also with Lowrance HDS, and I use my trolling motor all the time to anchor on structure for crappie fishing. I love how my Xi5 works, when it is working properly - which is most of the time (I fish 3-4 days a wk). I've had mine since May last year, and it has been in the shop for warranty repairs twice. The last repair was another defective gps board in the unit.

I would recommend the Motorguide Xi5 mainly because you "might" want to connect them together, AND because the Xi5 holds to structure like nothing else on the market. I use to have a MinnKota, but when I saw the Xi5 in action at least a dozen times, I had to have one. You can easily stay under your budget with the Xi5 - with PinpointGPS, and the Motorguide gateway cable - should you decide to connect them together.

I've talked to Motorguide many times and they assure me that they have worked out the bugs in their hardware, and this is why I feel OK about recommending the Xi5 to you.

So, with that in mind here's what I would suggest:

Xi5 with PinpointGPS - with the built-in sonar transducer
24 volt
80 lb thrust minimum
shaft length will depend how far above the water your bow sets. There are several websites that will help you choose the correct length.
Get the Motorguide quick release mount so that it is easy to remove it from your boat when you want to.
If you are considering mounting it up front - think about how it will interfere with other water activities to minimize issues. This is the main reason I went with the quick disconnect mount; so that I could get it out of the way when the kids are swimming, etc.

Hope this helps!

Good luck.

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