If you were buying one Power Pole which side of the boat would you put it on and why?

I put mine on the starboard side just because I already had more weight on the port side. With that said, it didn't take just a few fishing trips and I ordered that 2nd pole.

It doesn’t really matter 1 does you no good. You’ll either be ordering a 2nd or hate the single regardless of what side it’s on

What is it about one pole that is bad?

When I had just one on my bay boat I would spin.

The boat will spin even with a slight wind.

Nothing bad, just not as good at holding in place as 2. With one in the wind you're still having to get on the trolling motor pedal some. If you're only using it to beach a boat you don't need 2.

2 for sure....or don't waste the money....

it is impossible for a boat to spin with one pp unless you are in a tornado it will swing a little one way or another an keep in mind if you get 8 footers they are only effective in about 6. 5 ft of water on the flip side you do look a lot cooler at the boat ramp when you pull up there an put 2500.00 dollars worth of pins down to go back your truck in.

Impossible?? Negative. I can remember many times putting an anchor out the front so the boat didn’t turn completely around.

I found that I use my talons way more than my trolling motor now (used to have a GPS trolling motor and no shallow water anchors on my old boat). I enjoy pitching/flipping and frequently fish with kids in my boat. The ability to use the shallow water anchors to hold the boat in one spot no matter what the wind is doing is what (and line the boat up to the shore or to structure so the other people in the boat can fish easily) makes it worth the investment for me. Trolling motor anchoring has gotten better but the boat still spins in the wind so not nearly as easy to use as the talons. I have 12' talons and usually fish in 10' or shallower of water.

You can get by with one pole, you just need to anchor down strategically, I have done it but two are more better.

A boat will rotate with the wind with 2 power poles as well...

Power Poles or Talons are not effective if you are trying to fish 'INTO' the wind. Doug is right, the boat will rotate as close to down-wind as possible given the conditions. That is where your strategic decision on how you anchor comes into play. I use BOTH the Ultrex and my 8' poles. If I am fishing shallow enough, and I am not trying to fish into the wind, it is PP all the way. If I am on the edge or trying to fish a drop-off, or just need to nose into the wind, the Ultrex is indispensable!

A little tip.....when deploying the power poles make sure you are standing in the bow. If you're at the console when deploying poles and then step up on the bow your weight raises the back of the boat just enough for the poles to lose contact with the bottom.