Ultrex Pro/Con

Anyone willing to share their thoughts? I've heard and read some of the features the Ultrex does. I'm just curious about the negatives. Other than spot lock feature, it's just an expensive Fortrex. I'm in the market for a new TM and have narrowed my choices down to the Fortrex and Ultrex. I'm leaning towards the Fortrex, due to better deals. Have seen new Fortrex for $600.

Ultrex all the way.... All pros no cons! I would rather have it than power poles...

If you fish off shore, at all, the spot lock feature alone makes it worth every penny.

Spend the extra coin. You won't regret it.

all good for me. I've found nothing I would change.

+1

I haven't found any cons yet. Get the Ultrex

Just sold a perfectly good Fortrex and replaced with an Ultrex. The reason Fortrex is selling so cheap is because everyone is replacing them. Fish shallow or fish deep you will be hitting that anchor button.

Pro? It's the best....and it's what you want
Con? It expensive....and not what you want to spend

Get what you can afford.

The only con that I can see is when you push on the foot pedal to engage prop, if you're foot isn't on it just perfectly in that direction it's headed, it makes a little re-directional pivot and noise. Would that bother the fish when fishing shallow, I doubt it. I've just learned to step on it straight, engage prop, and then turn either direction.

The pros outweigh the cons by a million miles, though. I like to offshore fish.

The spot lock can get a little “off” at times AND I wish it had the capability of holding the nose of the boat in the same direction when hitting spot lock instead of letting the wind swing your back end around and having to fish from the rear. But those are my only negatives and I haven’t thought twice about buying mine. Worth every penny for those that like to fish off shore and re-tie.

Exactly this. If you get that fortex, what you are really doing is paying an extra $300 for the Ultrex. As soon as you fish in a boat with an Ultrex you'll realize how invaluable it is. Then you'll have to sell your brand new fortex at a 300 dollar loss and pony up and buy the ultrex anyway.

Comparing Fortrex to Ultrex is like comparing rocks to diamonds. You get what you can afford. I just bought a Ultrex and it's without a doubt the best thing that ever happened to a bass boat.

+1. Nothing else to say.

There's only one negative I've found. There isn't a spring in the mount like the fortrex to allow the shaft to bend if you hit something. So there's not really any give and you can break the shaft. I haven't yet and I have knocked it around pretty good but it still worries me.

I now have 3 trips under my belt with my Ultrex and had a Fortrex for 3 years. Ultrex all the way for me. My only learning curve so far with the Ultrex is attempting to turn a few degrees in choppy water can be a challenge when you accidently mash the petal due to being off balance. The resulting response is a super fast turn and I end having to make corrections in the opposite direction. Getting use to the remote in these conditions is a priority.

After you get used to the foot pedal, the only con is the price. Fishing anywhere is much easier with Ultrex. You will get off the lake after your first trip and wonder why you waited so long.

I've had my ultrex for a little over a year now. I can fish open water in 20+ mph wind and the spot lock keeps you within a couple feet of your locked position for as long as you want. No complaints with the ultrex.

Breaking shafts with the Ultrex in shallow stumpy water is the only negative I know of so far. As stated above there isn't the spring in the head of the Ultrex.

I've yet to find a con about the Ultrex. It's one of the best investments I've ever made on a boat.

Best money I've spent and don't regret it one bit! Makes fishing alot easier and doesn't wear you out fighting the wind all day.

So far the only con is the cost. But I sold my power poles and had $50 left over. I figure I have an infinite depth power pole now.

sort of.....but you can't beach the boat with an Ultrex.....well..you SHOULDNT beach the boat with it. I guess you could.

I was one of the first guys to buy an Ultrex....been saving up for a set of power poles ever since. These things all have a place. I want poles by spawn. .....and a push pole.

You can make a great 2 piece push pole out of PVC Steez that will fit on the front or back deck and use a bungee or just fit it in with your rods.

A good quality telescopic painters pole works well also

Great ideas guys! Thanks.

Broken shaft. Mine is getting replaced now. No give except in the shaft. Mine broke on a tree in 24 foot of water. I didn’t pay attention while fishing a c-rig and drifted into the tree and the shaft broke. I still think it is the best trolling motor. I now have a fortrex for stumpy lakes too easy to change between trolling motors.

yours must have had a flaw. I, honestly, have rammed into rip rap and hit dozens of trees at speed 10. Never an issue. Also, I'm on my 4th weedless wedge2 prop. Lots of scratches on the housing, but nothing more than cosmetics.

Power steering is very sensitive a light touch will turn a lot till you get use to it

Anchor best thing since sliced bread.... Broke a c-rig working a brush pile...Spot Lock...Tie another...Resume where you left off... no having to move and look for that hot spot cause you are still on it..

You can run the TM from the back of the boat or anywhere in the boat...

You fish North on Pines, Patman and Palestine and I guarantee you will break one quickly. Its why I don't have one. No doubt its the $%^% for open water. And yes, I have used one and it is nice, but until it has a breakaway mount, I won't buy it.

Cons: It's one of the "features" of the Ultrex. It stays where you left it last. I busted an ear off of the prop on Pines because it holds its position until you return and I drifted into a stump. It's nice not to come back to a motor that's rotated 180 but it is a reason to carry another prop with you. After using it for almost a year, it's still THE best TM I've ever seen.

Pros: Too numerous to list. It's worth every penny.

I got one in Feb 2016 when they were first available in Texas. Had problems with the momentary on reed switch sliding needing adjustment for contact with switch. Then had problems with the spot lock and cruise control not powering on I put a cable tie around the reed switch and corrected that problem. Minn Kota told me to take to service dealer for spot lock/cruise problem. Under warranty for 2 years. Boerne Marine was closest to me. Dropped it off at 0830 for repair and got called at 10:30 it was repaired. They found a flat spot on the armature so replaced with a new one. All within 2 hours. The most awesome trolling motor I have ever used! It does stir up mud if spot locked on shallow bedding fish by having to run to maintain spot lock. Spot lock, cruise control and follow the contour is super feature!!

I have a question on my spot lock
I have watched a few videos and their unit does not seem to be working as hard to stay on spot lock as mine
Mine has to move a lot to stay in position
I do have a light boat 18 ft but I was wondering if I do not have something setup right

No negatives.

Some listed above are the shaft which is lifetime guaranteed and has been changed from the first few released.

The pedal sensitivity can be adjusted some by adjusting the cable tensioner at the front of the pedal. I tightened Mine up so it’s not so easy to move.


To the guy w spot lock issues did you do the circles to calibrate. Do the again In high power and as small as possible I just Get it going pivoting the nose around the tail then hit start.

I have had problems with mine. If I am using spot lock and it turns all the way to the right it comes off spot lock and disables the remote, have to move the foot pedal to make the remote work...about once every trip it will randomly turn north FULL blast...nearly threw me out of the boat a few nights ago.

Humm. Did you calibrate it, ask Slade about that Cam, he got Sinkeys dialed in..spin 3 circles.

I have a habit of reading the manuals and trying my best to follow the instructions as to how to operate my electronics which recently have been a new Ultrex and a new Helix 10. The Ultrex is doing great and I love all the features. Helix is working great too but I needed a little help understanding the terminology which I got from David Edison at Shut-Up-And-Fish. The dude is magic with electronics. The habit of reading the manual and following instructions has served me well with the bible too but there again I need help with the terminology sometime. It's still a work in progress but I think I'm gonna be able to make it work.

Same for me, I hit a stump on fork the other day so hard I was sure it was gonna break, barley scratched it.
I still have my fortrex as a backup but I do not expect Ill need it very often.

Check under the front of the foot pedal. I understand there were a few that had a cable tie turned upside down that blocks the foot petal from going full stop. That interfers with the free movement and will take it out of spotlock. Any interference with the pedal will take it out of spotlock.

Install a second one on the rear of the boat and spot lock the boat exactly how you want it, front and rear.

Mine too.... if there's not much wind it's going crazy up there. Shockingly all of that hasn't zapped my batteries so it must be pretty efficient.

I’m personally not a huge fan of the power steering. I like the resistance. Good trolling motor but you’re really paying an extra 1500’ for spot lock is all. Anybody who can look at a graph and follow contour lines doesn’t need it. I couldn’t justify the extra money. It is a nice luxury to have if you have the money, but it isn’t essential to catching fish. If you have the money buy one. If not, it isn’t worth the hassle. Just my opinion. I’m a nobody.

I had a Triton with a new Fortrex up until a month ago. Bought a Skeeter and added the Ultrex and an additional pole. I was told by everyone how I HAD to have an Ultrex. that it would change my life in every way. Yeah right! Gotta admit, it's amazing! Where bass boats ARE luxuries already, thought if I was going to drop $60,000 on a Skeeter, might as well suck it up and get the additional pole and the Ultrex. I love having two poles. BUT, the Ultrex is my favorite toy I have ever had on a boat. I'd rather have the Ultrex than graphs almost. If you can afford it, get the Ultrex. You won't look back and wish!!

Only con to me is the reaction of the power steering. If you're not careful, you can sling yourself out of the boat. But, I'm old and I fall around already. Might just be me!

BWB, you probably already know this but just in case, you can adjust the tension on the peddle ( too loose ) with the Phillips screw on the front and bottom of foot control. If you're balancing yourself on one foot and have the other on the foot control it's easy to get off balance especially in windy conditions and traversing stump fields. The power steering does take a little getting use to. Might try tightening the screw a bit making the peddle a little harder to move heel to toe. That power steering is a hoot but it can at times cause unbalance in certain conditions. Congrats on the new boat.

I love my Ultrex so much I would let it sleep with my wife it asked me to.

Only downside I have found is that too many other people are getting them.

Sounds like you have an obstruction. The motor shuts off as a precaution if it cant move the way it wants to. Check it the peddle hits anything when you turn it full north manually.

set boat scale to "-2".

....in addition to the "obstruction " as stated above.

trying mine out for the first time this weekend!!!

If you don't have one, how can you comment on it?

Boats, motors, rods and reels and lures are not essential to catching fish either but they do help and make fishing more pleasurable. I bought what I could afford so I bought a Ultrex and it sure made fishing a lot easier. Haven't caught a new state record with it yet but I ain't through fishing yet either.

I just installed two Kingpin Shallow Water Anchors on my boat. I bought the out board mounts and mounted them to it. I have the 10 foot polls that unscrew in the middle and I can use it at both 5 feet and 10 feet. They are very high quality and much cheaper. I think with the everything I was around $500 total and you can install them yourself very easily. I have some money Im saving up to purchase the Ultrex. I figured Id spend the money on the Ultrex and save on the "poor man" power poles instead of the other way around.

Because I have used one on several occasions that my buddy owns and it hasn’t swayed me to buy one. There is essentially nothing different other than spot lock and power steering (which I didn’t care for). I couldn’t justify spending that kind of money when I’m perfectly capable of throwing out a little yellow buoy and staying on a spot to catch the exact same fish. It’s not near as useful to me as a good graph. So many people on here are basically saying without it you can’t catch fish and I’m here to provide my perspective and opinion. I wouldn’t buy one because I haven’t seen it out anymore fish in the boat. If you have the money and feel like you need the latest and greatest and all that. Then by all means. Get one. I however haven’t seen the benefit in the times I’ve operated one.

You are a rare guy, for sure.

In fact, you are the first to use one and actually say you don't think it's beneficial over a standard trolling motor. There are several reasons for choosing an Ultrex over a Fortrex. But, if you are good without one, then you're good without one. It also means there's one less person on the waiting list for the guys waiting on one.

What kind of boat do you have?

I’m far from rare. I’m just the only one dumb enough to post on here that I’m not impressed with it. I know plenty of folks who don’t care for the power steering and they can’t justify the price simply for the spot lock. Then again most of the people i fish around don’t need the latest and greatest equipment. A good graph is more essential to my success than a trolling motor. If I need to stay on a deep spot they make 1.50 buoys for that.

And a TR 21x.

I don't think your dumb for voicing your opinion. You like what ya like. That's good that you say it and back it up with reasoning.

I think a 21 ft boat is a waste of money for me, IMO. It's not stupid to own one, just not needed. The pros fished out of my class boat for years. 19ft Skeeter with a 150.

And I bet you catch just as many out of a 19 as others do with a 21. It’s all about perspective. If you think an ultrex ups your catch. Then it will because you have confidence. Does it really? Who knows. For me I didn’t see enough of an advantage. Doesn’t make me right or wrong. Just means I don’t need one to catch fish.

I agree.

Major Con.
I am unable to sell my 9 mo old forttrex for a reasonable price. Going to have to south of 8 to get a bite.

I have the ultera and have only used it a few times. I rather fish from a John boat with this trolling than a $100k boat without it. The only disadvantage I have seen so far is the unit sticks off the front of the boat which makes it easy to ram into things like boat slips. I actually broke mine first time out when my fly by wire did not go in reverse and I slammed into a dock.

Other than that, it's a dream for fishing in the West Texas wind. I fished a north bank the other day with 25-30mph winds, with spot lock on, on from the back of the boat for 3 hours.. I just would not have fished ithat spot with a manual motor. And I caught fish! What a game changer!

They tell me Ultera is easy to break compared to ultrex but I had already purchased it. I love to sit at the helm, deploy and command to go to a waypoint as I rig things. Real time saver.

I guess a better way to say it is, fishing in the wind is quite frustrating . This trolling motor removes most of those frustrations and allows you to just fish and enjoy it. Life is just better without those frustrations .

About 12 years ago I got the Terrova, I remember all the ole timers (cable steer guys) saying how it was a waste of money and couldn't be a "game changer" haha. Now that the ultrex is out people act like its new technology. its really funny. kind of reminds me when I got the Verado in 2005 and people were saying how much they sucked because they weighed 100 lbs more than a 2 stroke all the while they were hanging powerpoles, pumps, carrying 200 lbs of fishing tackle 78 lbs group 31 agms ect while I was cruising around with power steering, fly by wire electric shift, ultra quiet ect. and had spot lock years ago

Quick question for you guys that have made the switch - Do the mounting holes line up from a Fortrex to the Ultrex, or did you have to drill new holes in the deck?

The holes do line up Texan. You have to take off the starboard side plate, 3 screws, and the holes are exact. Call BBG Marine for the best deal.

For me, I used the exact same four holes without having to remove any of the Ultrex side plates. I guess it depends on your boat and who installed the Fortrex. I was also able to reuse the bounce buster from the Fortex.

Like many here I too used buoys and trying to stay on them in windy conditions after landing a fish or retying is not longer challenge. Especially when you're by yourself.
For shallow water I still use my power poles.

My skeeter had 6 mounting holes as did the Ultrex. The back two required taking off the bow panel ( easy ) and putting washers and nuts on the screws.

But it is new tech..... The main reason so many people hated the iPilot was because it took away from your fishing. You had to look down to see where it was pointed and then you could go. Spot lock was cool but we missed the "feel" of a cable steer because our brains knew where the motor was pointing without having to look. You couldn't change the rate at which you turned. It was a slow process and now all of that is gone with the feedback of the old school cable steer and the benefit of driving from anywhere on the boat, spot lock, jog this way or that or contour following.

Who has the Fortrex for 600$?

Nobody, you can't even buy a Maxxum for that. Some guy in classifieds had a used one for $700.

I was getting ready to buy one,you had to go ruin it!LOL

It's in the classified. I'll try to find it for you.

http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbt...LE#Post12600602

Fun n sun had some foretrex 112/52” for $600.

Better jump on that deal, cheapest I found online was $1359. Now those 112/52 motors are gonna be 36v so if you're now running 24v you'll have to buy another battery and possibly another charger but $600 is half price and a great deal.

On the ultrex are y’all going with the transducer or without? What about shaft length too? Thanks

I've got my Fortex for $600. PM me. It's the 101 and works fine. It's just sitting in the garage.

I'm using an external transducer, the one that came with my graph. Mine's on a ZX190 Skeeter and I got the 24v with 45" shaft and I got room left. 52" more than I need. If you have a 21' boat or a Champion I'd go with a 52.