If you had money to only buy 1, which one would it be? You currently have a 55lb hand control TM.

Minn Kota I-pilot spot lock is great for use in shallow or deep water power poles are limited to shallow water only 12 feet or less, so it really depends on the type of fishing you do, For me the spot lock TM has more options.

It's all about how you fish.

The only thing about the trolling motor lock in shallow water is it's not stealthy. Part of the benefit of poles is you put them down and there is no commotion after. If you bass fish this can be very important.

I also think the poles offer a lot of benefit when pulling up to the dock/bulk head or bank to park.

But in deep water poles are useless. Spotlock on a windy day offshore is gold!

Either one you'll be very happy with though. Good luck

Like TxBazzn says, it's all about how you fish. I am fortunate to have both and probably utilize my Terrova more often than my Talons. I primarily fish shallow water, but take advantage of the Terrova's auto-pilot and trail functions more so than the spot lock. It's also nice to have the option of locking down in deeper water to cast c-rigs at points and brush piles. The Talons make it easy to fish an area in windy conditions.

A trolling motor with spot-lock is more valuable than power poles. The spot-lock keeps you stationary in all water depths but allows the boat to sway on the axis of the trolling motor. Having one power pole allows you to anchor only in shallow waters and will still allow you to sway on its axis. Having 2 power poles is required to prevent sway, but then again only in waters 8-10' or less.

If you fish more out deep then I would go with a tm but if you fish in less than 8 feet I would go with the power poles

80 lbs trolling motor hands down. I can't believe you are even considering power poles over a trolling motor with anchor mode. That should have been your easiest decision all year.

With the TM you will need one of the bigger graphs for the spot lock function I do believe .

I just put the Xi5 80# on my boat and it holds dead on and no noise at all. Boat don't move more'n 6" once locked on. Love this thing! You have to be looking at it to tell if it's even working since it is so quiet.

No the TM have built in GPS so there is no need to change electronics to use the anchor or spot lock features

Not true just for Spot Lock.

Now, for iPilot Link you benefit greatly from the integration of the Hummingbirds and the Terrova. I friggin love mine. You can have your Power Poles and your Talons. I'll keep my Terrova with iPilot Link.