Trolling motor advice

I have a 20' Skeeter bay that I really like. Easy to fish out of and I bass fish 95% of the time. Wish it had more rod storage, but with a bad back not getting up and down all day is nice. Issue is leaning out to drive the trolling motor handle (pic attached) also hurts my back so I steer with my feet pushing the handle more than anything. Really want to upgrade trolling motor to spot lock with foot pedal. I'm just worried there isn't enough room for a foot pedal. Right now all I have at my feet is the on/off switch. Anybody seen anyone deal with this and what were the results? I guess I could drive it with the remote but then you have to use a hand which seems inconvenient.

Only other option is sell the boat and get a true bass boat. But my boat had super low hours when I bought it 2 years ago so hard to replace with anything near as reliable for what I could sell it for


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I'm running a 22' bay boat with a Motor Guide Xi5. I almost always use the hand control but do keep the foot control on the deck just in case. Couldn't be happier.

Pro Kon Troll 360

dallasdawg, what a great idea. Thx for sharing.

I use a Pro Kon Troll 360 and absolutely LOVE it!!

I have a 20ft bay boat as well and upgraded to the Xi5 last year. I had to get used to using the remote control but I've adapted. Other than when I fish lakes like Rayburn where I'm constantly moving in and around cover, I find the spot lock feature covers most of my fishing.
I do more bay and offshore than bass fishing anymore but it really is a gamechanger as compared to my hand control minn kota I got rid of.

I have a Skeeter 22 Bay and I use a Minn Kota Ulterra and use both foot control and remote. I use the remote now more than the foot control. I am 75 and had back surgery and knee replacement within the last year. Had bass boats for years but as I got older went to the bay boat and would not go back to a bass boat.

I thought some of the newer models have the option of a wireless foot pedal, so you can locate it wherever is convenient. You might look at the Ulterra since you have back issues. That TM has auto deploy/stow and the spot lock feature you are looking for and that pedal has a long cord so you can move it where you want on the deck. The Ultrex has lift assist to help with deploy/stow, but might be an issue with your back. Just wanted to point out a few options as you start looking.

Motorguide has wireless foot pedal. Ulterra/Terrova has a wired one, but smaller than the Ultrex so it might fit better with very thin wire over an Ultrex.

Previously had a 18.5' Nitro bass boat, now have a 21' Triton bass boat and haven't used a foot control in years. I had a MK powerdrive with copilot remote before (still somewhere in the garage) and now use a MG Xi5. I like to fish from all over the boat and use the remote or my graphs that are linked on the console and the bow. No foot control or wires or cables to trip on and lots more deck space. I do carry the wireless foot control for the Xi5 in storage....

I have the exact same boat and use a foot pedal driven MG. I seem to have plenty of room with the foot pedal on the bow. I stow it in the front hatch with the anchor. I would also like to upgrade, and a movable or wireless pedal would be ideal.
Nathan

Have use the pro trol for many years, will only take about one trip to get use too. Then you wonder how you did without it.

Nathan, good to know it's all working for you.

I run an old MK Powerdrive. The Copilot remote control on a lanyard allows me to leave the pedal stowed away. You might look at any of the electric steer models on the market with a remote. Absolutely get a spot lock of some type, I wish I had one every time I go out.

I have a 17.6’ champion and I don’t have a lot of room up front for the foot control but from the picture it seems to be a little more than you. I had the terrova because of the spot lock but deploying and stowing was harder on the back. I now use an ulterra so I have auto stow/deploy and I love it. I use the remote 95% of the time so I don’t worry about foot pedal much but it has a long cable so you can remove it if not needed or move it around the boat. The nice thing with the remote is that you can fish anywhere in the boat and have the same control. They are expensive but once you use one with spotlock you will be upset that you waited this long. Fishing is much easier on my back now

Thanks for all the advice. Got a good deal on a NIB Ulterra MDI for $1650 + $185 shipping. So $1835 for an Ulterra is a pretty good deal. Cheapest I could find on ebay was $2215. Now I gotta upgrade graphs and I'm good to go. I may see if I can move the bracket for the butt seat back and that would give me lots more room.

Gonna Spend alot but id wait to get the new products that just came out some time because they are gonna have some issues once they are used all the time...

I store my foot control in the front triangle hatch and set it out in front of th seat when fishing and have plenty of room.

Yea, I'll play with it. Worst case, I think I can move the butt seat back if I need to. It would be on top of that storage door, but I rarely get in there except to get the butt seat out. That would open up the entire front end. Only reason the butt seat is so far forward was to drive the hand held TM. Would need to be more careful not to snag a rod on the back swing though if you were farther back. But did decide to upgrade everything. Have new graphs and new TM on the way. Get it all setup early January.

thanks again for all the advice. This place is great.

I think you'll love the Ulterra. You'll probably have to drill a couple more holes because of the type of mount it overhangs the front of the boat a little. If you fish alone it makes it nice for solo launching and calling the boat back to you. I also like the ability to be at the console searching with SI and seeing something I want to fish I don't have to run up front to drop the TM, just hit the button and take your time. If it is really windy and I am in a bad spot I don't have to manually stow the TM then run back to crank up the motor before I get blown into something. Just go back get yourself situated, crank the motor and when you are ready, hit the button and drive away. Your back will be thanking you.