I wouldn't go without one. I went with a MK Terrova and I haven't had any issues; it didn't come with a foot pedal which I may end up purchasing. I'm a rookie but bass fishing with a remote is difficult for me. I'd give MotorGuide a chance next time I'm in the market; they seem to be cheaper and I've heard pretty good reviews.

Best money I've spent on my boat next to electronics. Spot lock is incredible, except under a bridge!

I just saw you have a fish n ski, a buddy just put one on his fish n ski, he catfishes and crappie fishes a lot, he is in love.

I am getting ready to buy a spot lock trolling motor in the next couple of months. I have been told that you do not have to have a compatible graph as the trolling motor itself has GPS. I have a hook 7 and don't care to use a graph to talk to the TM and can do it all from the remote. Is this the case that you only need the compatible graph if you want them to talk?

Torn between a powerdrive V2 with the ipilot upgrade and the XI5. I have heard good and bad things about both. I need it stay on my brushpiles as I mainly crappie fish.

I had a 1st Generation Terrova on my boat for several years. Made fishing in the wind much easier, but as someone else said, the SpotLock only kept me close to the spot. Just installed a new Ulterra and the newest version of GPS keeps me locked onto a spot. I can also "jog" five feet in any direction with the push of a button.

Speaking of push of a button, I am really enjoying the auto-deploy/stow function of the Ulterra. Besides SpotLock, you will also find using other functions, such as AutoPilot, to make fishing in the wind much easier. You do not have to have a Hummingbird to use the USB ducer, as I have a Lowrance Ti on the front deck. You would need an applicable Hummingbird to use iPilot Link, but I do not have that.

Fishin aholic 2 - You're right, your gps TM can work independent of electronics.

Per MK, if you have i pilot on powerdrive you can't use a foot pedal - remote only. Have to go terrova or higher to have both. I know lots of guys use their remote exclusively but don't think i'd be comfortable with that.

Thank you for the help! The remote isn't an issue as I will be using the spot lock feature 95 percent of the time for 10 months out of the year. I have been told the spot lock isn't as tight as some of the others. I am leaning towards an XI5 as I hear it keeps you on the spot better and comes with the foot pedal for the 2 months I would use it.

My Ulterra spot lock is great as said by most of the posts it is worth every penny and keeps my boat where I want it. I don't know what you mean about locked as tight as others but mine will keep me within less than 10 feet of where I lock it in. Now remember if you are moving when you press the spot lock it will back you up to the spot that you initiated the process. Mine holds well enough to fish windy points and docks on all the area lakes. Try retying in 15 MPH winds without it and you'll be sold.

Good luck with whichever model you choose but after using my MK and seeing MG in person, I'm glad I went with MK. Oh one other point is the stow and deploy with the Ulterra is a great option no matter what type of fishing you do.

I was meaning how far it sways when on spot lock. Why are you glad you went with MK after seeing the MG in person?

I got to admit . Spot Lock has been a great valve to me. I spend 99% of my time sitting in one location. I like the fact that it will keep me when sitting retying. Everything about. It. I have only seen the Motor Guide version being used 1 time and he was having a hard time staying anywhere close to where he put a marker. It could have been cloud cover, or to small a motor. I just know,, that but the time he finished fishing he had to be wore out.

First, for OP. I had a Gen 1 Terrova, which sounds much like the poster who stated it 'roamed' or something like that. I found this to be true too; drove me nuts. When the Xi5 came out, I got a friend to show me his and was immediately sold on what I experienced. I've had two Xi5 - the first was replaced by insurance because of a wreck - no fault of the TM. I have found the 2nd Xi5 doesn't stay quite on point like the first one but it is still basically 'spot on'. The first Xi5 stayed dead-on so I got spoiled by its accuracy.

It sounds like you are budget conscious so I would go with either brand that suits your needs but I would up the power due to boat length and boat style. I would purchase 80lb minimum. Also, good advice was given earlier to jump aboard someone who has the one you're thinking of buying and see for yourself.

Anthony - I don't know if the Lowrance Hook can be connected to the Xi5. If interested in the connection (which I would strongly advise), I would first check with Lowrance to make sure. I really like having the access to the TM thru the FFs. When I was pre-fishing the Crappie Masters on Truman in Sept of last year, I created a trail thru a cove that was stump mine field. The trail was in the shape of a "U" so I could test how the auto follow the trail would work when the TM had to change direction and the effect of the wind on it. I took this time to eat my lunch and have a refreshment. I stayed up front on the bow 'just in case'. It passed with flying colors. I even stopped it somewhere along the trail to allow the boat to drift and then commanded it to resume, which it did to the nearest marker on the route. Pretty cool. It wasn't real windy but breezy enough to impact the boat so I thought it was a pretty good test. The trail I created was on my FF. But this can be done independently on the remote - you just have to create it first, then store it on the remote.

I have yet to use the foot pedal, no matter how I am fishing. This was true when I had a Terrova also. My tournament partner wishes I would use the foot pedal. There's probably merit to using the pedal, especially fishing timber, but the bow platform on my Triton 186 isn't as large as newer boats are and it is already crowded with the TM, FF unit and Bee Ready's when in use so I choose to not use it. It's on the boat as backup if something happens to the remote.

I had the first generation Ulterra. Spot lock was great.

Second generation Ulterra is even better! Really impressive. Be sure to mount the bearing sensor. It improves accuracy tremendously.

I had the foot pedal. Was unimpressed and used the remote all the time anyway. Sold the foot pedal. I am the boyscout be prepared type so i had spare batteries and spare remote.... THEN i discovered the Minn Kota app which can allow your phone to be used as a spare remote. Nice to know i can have that as backup.

I dont like the MG because there is no display on the remote and the way it mounts sticks out too much.

Is spot lock worth it? Answer is YES

I appreciate it insight Jimmy! I have a bass tracker heritage 16 and a half ft I believe. I have a 45 lb thrust motor on it now and it handles the wind ok but I do have to have it on 5 a lot when the wind its up and can't lift my foot off of it for a second or I'm gone. I was looking at the 55 lb thrust XI5 which gives me 10 more pounds of thrust. My boat is smaller so even if I got the 80 lb thrust, If I needed the 80 lbs of thrust I would probably be getting beat to death and probably not able to stand up. I am mainly just wanting to stay on brush while being able to help my grandpa with taking fish off, retying and baiting his hooks and not drifting half way across the lake every time. As far as linking it to the Hook 7. I already know it is not compatible. Even though the guy at Bass Pro told me it was at the time of purchase as I told him I was wanting to upgrade the TM in the future. While being able to use the screen to tell the TM what to do would be great, its not a necessity for me.

You're welcome Anthony. A 55lb should work for you. I had a 55 MK on my Nitro 17.5' and it worked fine. When I mentioned the 80lb, it was intended for the OP. You definitely don't need the 80. I had to chuckle about 'half way across...'. It brought back memories of years gone by - the reason I switched to the 'Spot on/Anchor' TMs.

If you want to connect a X5i to a graph find a used Elite 7ti, don't even need a transducer.