Exactly bobcat... I love the ipilot and would not trade it for anything...but for working brush...its the pedal for me...wish it wasn't but I can't seem to do it the other way..

As said for open water...I use the spot lock more than anything on the boat.

Chase,
First...just say NO to minNOw. You don't need them and Jigs are better but that is a subject for another thread.
Next, Tie on a jig and put a Crappie Nibble on the hook.
Put a 1/8th oz #8 split shot on the line 8 inches above the jig.
Then look at the depth of the top of the pile.
Go to where the water is the same depth to bottom as is to pile top.
Hold the jig just above the water and let it fall. Count the seconds it takes to get to the bottom. (learn how far your jig falls per second)
Go back to the pile Count it down then click the bail.
Work all over the top of the pile and if you get hung up DO NOT PULL ON IT!
Take a 1/2 Oz. bank sinker and thread a small paper clip thru the eye of the sinker (do this at home) Tread the clip with weight onto your line. Let it fall vertically down the line to the hung jig. Bounce it up and down until your jig comes free. Remove weight and go back to fishing. This method gets me apx 9 out of 10 hung jigs back to fish again.

To others above, IF you must stay right over the sweet spot as yes we sometimes do...then use the Terrova just like you would a cable steer motor.
GPS will never be accurate enough for that purpose. Dept of Defense will not allow it.

CK, I tried that too and the response time was too slow to suit me. The mechanical head just will not react as fast as a cable steer.

I guess that is why they make all kinds to suit everybody though. I am glad you like yours.

I guess to each his own. Me and Quick have spider rigged brushpiles and have tore them up with an i-pilot. You can catch fish all over those piles without hanging up too much. Your right about timber fish with it though not enough reaction time to accurately navigate stumps.

You know spider rigging (which I have never done) could be another great way to use it too Zack now that you mention it. You can set your speed and path and it will hold you on that path. The Spot Lock was the only reason I bought it. I bought it on the Terrova so I could get the foot control for Timber and Bridges. The Spot Lock was for Brushpiles. Just wasn't what I expected.

Ya..I just hate "unfullfilled expectations". Glad I don't have any.

BTW I find that the head turns too fast using the rocker pedal. SO i use the toe buttons and just tap them.

To Each their OWN>

And what is it they say about opinions...and A$$holes...everyone's got one and they all stink.

crappiekyle... i REALLY appreciate the info! thanks!!

I have used the spot lock on brushpiles with great success. Yes, there are times that heavy cloud cover/misty rain can impact it's view to the sky (there are those that will argue that this does not effect it, my experience says otherwise). It will not work under most bridges due to no signal.

Like anything else, there are a few tricks to get it to dial in to the "sweet spot". It will work best with a STEADY 10-15 mph wind. Gusts and winds changing direction change the game and I may reset several times to get dialed into the zone.

I have fished with folks that can take a cable steer and do an outstanding job of HOLDING on a spot in gusts/changing wind direction etc... Unfortunately, I am not that coordinated. With the spotlock, even when a gust does move me off the spot, it reacts and gets it back on the spot quicker than I would be able to get it there with the foot pedal 90% of the time.

From a Guide standpoint, It allows you to take better care of the client (baiting, retying, netting, taking fish off, etc. etc.) and stay on the fish. And then there are those times that Frogger is catching the fish while I'm playing in the cooler finding him another Dr. Pepper.

Yes, the I-pilot works great for Spider Rig trolling using the advanced auto pilot feature WITH the cruise control to maintain consistent speed even in the wind.

I have not used the "track" feature much but I plan to play with it this summer trolling cranks and longline trolling jigs.

Sorry for the long post... The I-pilot is not perfect by any means, but I have no plans to remove it from my boat anytime soon.

I had one for about 6 months, just could not get uses out of it. May be good on a heaver glass boat, I had it on an 17' alum.. In high wind, it would blow out side the lock, them troll hard to get back to the lock and overshoot it, then the wind would take over again. I was constantly trying to stay in the boat only. Sold it at a loss and would not go thru that again in an Alum. Boat. I just stay at home when winds over 15 mph.

The I-Pilot is awsome in every way. I use it to stay around a brush pile and to troll or long line. You need to try that. Both my boats are set up to troll one with 8 rods and one with 10. It is nice just to sit back, turn the seats around and not worry about running the trolling motor. The cruise controll is awsome for this to keep you at .7 or .8 mph.

I ditched mine and went back to a tiller handle trolling motor and yes it's work,but once I get them turned on on a pile I need to stay either on top of the pile or just on the edge where the pocket of the pile is.It does sound nice to have,but once I've got them feeding I'm in a two foot zone and Hammering them.Plus I just paid off my 997 & 695.I would like to go out on a boat that has one "Before" I buy one.