Lowrance Ghost

I'm looking for feedback on the Lowrance Ghost. I was leaning toward the Garmin Force, but after talking to some dealers and Garmin customer service it sounds like a bunch (like 50%) of people who purchase them are having some pretty major problems. I can't find much negative about the Ghost. Thanks.

Had mine for 13 months now and the only issue so far is the 2 main bracket swivel bolts working loose 1 time. My big motor prop did seem to have some excessive vibration, so not sure if that caused it or if rough water bouncing caused it. Little thread locker on them and tightened back up, no issues since. If you have any questions, fire away. I’m not sponsored by them in any way, shape or form.

What’s your opinion on the noise level? Spot lock accuracy? Does it have a remote? Is the battery life good? Is the performance level ok? I’m sure I’ll think of more questions but that’s a good start.

Mine is pretty quiet and they had an update that seemed to have made it quieter, not sure how. The only time it’ll be noticeable, is when you zip it around at full speed with all the pedal. Then it’s a ZZZZZZZ type of noise. Obviously the slower you move the pedal, the less noise it makes.

Spot lock is great (when you have it calibrated). I’ve had to recalibrate mine 3 times since I’ve owned it.


Remote sucks, period. I don’t own one and wanted one, until I read guys complaints about it. So from other owner’s opinions, it doesn’t sound good.

Battery life is real good, I’m running mine on 2 Walmart group 29’s. I ran out of gas, (my gas gauge sucks) and trolled back 2 miles to the ramp on speed 5 to conserve battery life. When I got to the ramp, it claimed to still have over half the battery life on the built in gauge. I can’t swear that it was right, but the batteries didn’t die anyways.

Performance is better than my previous fortrex, but I honestly don’t run it above 7 very often, no reason for me to.

The pedal feels very similar to a cable steer, less resistance, but also easier to maneuver.

I will say, that I’m not using it’s fancy features that work with the new graphs. My graphs are older and I bought it for its spot lock, I was unwilling to buy an ultrex after owning my Terrova and fortrex, I was done with MK.

Now when you hit a stump or get into heavy hydrilla where it can’t move, it’ll make some god awful noises. For what these cost, I try to avoid doing that very often.


So far Lowrance has been good about sending out new units to guys that get a dud, been a few duds posted on bassboatcentral and they have been taken care of. (So far anyways).


If I had to buy a new TM today, I would buy either another Ghost or a MG Tour Pro. Unfortunately the MG hasn’t been out very long.

FIFY. Lol.

Just messin. I have an Ultrex that SHOULD NOT survive the beating I’ve given it. But it’s still going. Been in the shop once (my fault), and received a new motor and shaft. I’ve replaced bushing on it twice. The remote is GREAT. It PLOWS through Hydrilla and stumps. Never fails to over power the obstacle. Out of pocket ownership costs are still less than the least expensive Ghost over the 3-1/2 years I’ve owned it.

To each their own. I wouldn’t hesitate to buy the Ghost. It will likely be my next troller. Simply because I am a Lowrance fan.

The ultrex remote is nice, not sure why Lowrance made the pile of crud remote that they did, especially for the cost of the TM. I know some guys love their MK’s but man, I’ve wanted to rip mine off and throw it in the lake a few times. Lol All this stuff is overpriced now.

So overall which is better the Ultrex or the Ghost? I currently have an Ultrex and the only issue I don't like is when the wind dies and it is on spotlock the head constantly moves like if it doesn't know what to do. I was thinking about switching to the ghost but still not sure yet.

I have the Ultrex. I am going to switch to the ghost when I can. I don’t have any complaints about my ultrex, I just like Lowrance. I think the motor is quieter and much more efficient and I like the fact I can program the foot buttons to my liking. The brushless motor is what I want.

I dunno if I would take an ultrex off for a ghost if its working.

I mean the ultrex is nice, but I would lean towards the ghost, and I did on my current boat.

Quieter, more power, better battery life, the head turning when you stow is very nice. Love the fact that its not as bulkly on the front.

Ghost does it too, I forgot to post that above.

I agree, save the money, I’m sure Ghost gen2 can’t be too far behind.

I did take an Ultrex off for the ghost, had 3 of the Ultrex, they are great motors, I don't think they are as good as the ghost, now their new version could be every bit as good, who knows, they are both really good motors.

I just switched to a ghost and really like it. The Ultrex is a great tm, but I think the ghost is better for several reasons. Quieter, more powerful, more efficient, the head does not move, does not have a bulky cable, is 24v or 36v and has a spring to prevent the shaft from breaking to name a few.

Had Ultrex and sold it with the boat.

New boat I went with the ghost and am very happy I did for all the reasons stated above. Had issues with Ultrex kicking itself out of spot lock and it is very loud compared to the ghost.

Used my brand new Ghost for three hours on Saturday. It worked great until it broke. The cord is apparently anchored to a plastic piece. That piece broke and left me stranded with the trolling motor down. Not happy about it!

Sorry to hear about this but I would get on the phone with Lowrance and email them @ lowrance.tech@navico.com, ask for LaVar. They will get you taken care of.

I've bought my Ghost on 12/10/2019.

Over the past year the only issue I've had is that when I would pull the TM up to stow the self aligning feature wasn't working properly and I would have to physically turn the motor to stow it. After troubleshooting with Lowrance we discovered that there was another calibration called a bow/mount calibration that realigned the motor and that issue went away. Also one day I hit the top of the TM while casting and knocked off the directional arrow, Lowrance sent me another a couple days later for $20 and I was back in business.

Lowrance actually has a team of individuals that's sole purpose is to support the Ghost and they've been very helpful especially if you take the time to work with them.

I had two Minn Kota Ultrex's before I bought the Ghost and on both of them I had to replace the foot pedal processor cards because the motor quit allowing me to steer. Other than that it was a good TM.

I went to Lowrance because I also run Lowrance Live units and I wanted to use the integration features such as "go to cursor" and anchor there. I've done this many times when I break off and want to still fish the same structure from the same location so I will tell it to go back and anchor while I'm sitting on the deck retying.

It's proved that it's tough but makes a terrible racket when you run into a stump. Kind of sounds like R2D2 wigging out until it gets freed up...lol

I run it on a 24v setup with two RELiON Lithium 100ah batteries and I have plenty of power and have run multiple days without recharging.

As far a noise, it's definitely quieter than my Ultrex was but not by enough to make that your only reason to buy.

So for anyone looking for a tough and dependable TM (except for what happened to Houston Basscat) then I would definitely recommend the Ghost.

If you have any other questions then PM me.

hopefully it didn’t chip up your fiberglass!

I tried one and any time i got around grass or pads they would wrap around the head behind the prop and bog it down, have to pull it up and clear by hand. I've heard there is another prop that is "better" about it, but I'd say you absolutely need to try one around vegetation before you spend $2500, I wouldn't have one based on my 3 hours of fishing with one.

We usually refer to that part in the water as "motor housing". The "head" is at the top end of the shaft.....

I've had mine since January of 20, and mostly have been pleased with it. It is VERY strong, and fast. Much faster than an Ultrex - see Ken's video. But what's that speed really worth? No way to fish that fast. Nice for running across a cove I guess. It's also very quiet. Very little motor noise. The steering seems quieter than an Ultrex as well. They have had problems with the indicator wheel getting sticky, but readily replaced them with a fix. Mine started going completely crazy and would eventually shut off. Throwing a "3 quick blinks" code on the indicator. After what seemed like too long with representatives on the phone, being told to recalibrate this and that, I finally got someone that admitted that some of the original ones had a leak problem down at the shaft / motor connection, and determined that I had one of them. They sent a replacement, and asked that I put mine in the box to return. The motor rigs very clean - no cables everywhere, and direct connects to my Lowrance units. I agree that it may not be a good as others in the thick grass, but I'm running it really deep. Picking it up will probably help. I am probably going to keep it when I trade boats, and will remove an Ultrex on the new boat doing so.

Lowrance says they've never seen anyone break that part. They're gonna think up how to fix it and get back with me. I guess I'm a lucky son of a gun.

Tell them to think up sending you an entire new one.

If your a Lowrance Graph man defiantly go with Ghost. Garmin Graph go with Force. Hummingbird graph Ultrex or Ghost. The Ultrex has been out longer so their is more Bad comments than the others have due to the Newness of the others. I've been a Minn-Kota man since 1988 I still have one of the 1st Breakaway mount trolling Mtrs ( 48AT,,,You Need Some Sort Of 4Wheel drive To go in there). With all that being said the Lowrance Ghost People have been some of the nicest people Customer service wise I've dealt with. If you buy a Ghost DO ALL THE CALIBRATIONS!!! and get a graph that will communicate with it( Elite FS, Carbon or Live), FYI that constant on button can put you in a tight spot when you least expect it. If you don't have a newer graph you can put a small screw under the 1 button so an accidental foot swipe doesn't turn it on and send you dancing around the boat to stay in. LOL. I've always ran my other 24 volt TM's on High, My Ghost stays on 6-7 90% of the time. I will buy another Ghost over the Ultrex when and if the time comes.

I fixed my Ghost that broke and left me stranded. Fair Warning to new purchasers, the only thing anchoring that stainless steel pull cord is an 1/8" piece of plastic. Lowrance says they've never seen it break but I bet when that plastic ages a little bit and becomes brittle that will change.

what is the best prop to put on the Ghost? especially fishing in the grass

There is only 1 prop made for it, I keep seeing idiots say “there’s a weedless version”. Well, it’s the exact same prop that comes on it.