Looking for insight on opinions to which one of these would be best. I fish open water brush piles which the spot lock would be nice. I also shoot docks and fish standing timber creek channels. I currently have a motor guide foot control and it is the hardest to steer.

I got an almost new mk max.70# foot control if your intrested.Works great and easy as pie to steer.Darrell

I recently bought a MG with foot control and find it very hard to steer. I have always owned MK and wished I had bought MK this time.

Bayoubob, the spotlock is not as advertised. It will hold you in about a 20-25' circle. I tried one on open brushpiles for 30 days and it would be great for schooling sand bass. But for crappie fishing with a Terrova the bait is always moving. Also the mechanical head on the Terrova is hard to use in timber or bridges because it moves to slow.

MinnKota Fortrex is the easiest to lift in and out of the water also and very quiet and very easy to steer. I've owned all 3 and the Fortrex is all I will buy.

I just posted this Fortrex today for sale. Let me know if you are interested. http://texasfishingforum.com/forums/ubbt...thr#Post9587984

Bob is correct spot lock is great for sandbass but will not hold you a brush pile. I love my Ipilot for open water Hybrid fishing but It wouldn't be good in timber or brush piles. Pat

Agreed on that! Not for crappie but good for sandies and hybrids, stripers.

I am personally running the fortex 80 US2 trolling motor and wouldn't trade it. I have run the maxxam in a 101 36v and it is a beast, but the fortex is smooth, quiet and easy to steer and lift up and down with the lift assist shock. Just my .02!

I think cable steer is the only way to go as far as staying on top of something. I'm currently using a Maxxum 80 and it's the best I've owned. I like the MG foot pedal a little more, but have gotten used to the MK now. It doesn't take very long. Anyway, the MK has the smoothest operation. The Minn Kota Power Drive V2 I have is just too slow to respond to stay on top of a brushpile. I never bought the IPilot because of this. I think the spot lock is really for open water fishing as stated above!

I bought a new Terrova I-Pilot this year, I love the remote I have never used the foot control. The unit works better in a light wind. I have noticed that when I spotlock it sometimes it will loose connection after 5 or 10 minutes and go to a blank screen. I have to re-enter spotlock to get it to start working again. Be sure you stop all the way before entering the spotlock , or it will take you back to the gps spot when you entered command. I like it overall.

I've got the I pilot but I don't exclusively fish for crappie. I've adapted to using it for fishing brush, but there's definitely a learning curve. The foot control works better for open water brush but in the grand schemof things I like my I pilot.

+1
There are pros and cons of every trolling motor setup.. Since I fish open water much more often than tight timber the iPilot works for me. Trust me, the first five trips I wanted to chunk it in the lake but I would always tell myself one more trip and after that it has grown on me.
More than a dozen times since I have had to help a coangler with something on the back deck and it's priceless to spot lock and not worry about drifting off our spot by 100ft by the time I look up again!!

News Update : I did a research on the I-Pilot signal loss . There is a feature in the center of the remote it looks like a light. If you push and hold it for two seconds after you hit spot lock it will lock the keys so in case you enter a key by accident it will not stop the spot lock command.

Well nobody else has said it, but I think hand control is the best (not 3x).. You never have to look at the trolling motor. But it's what I grew up using. I've been in several boats and have watched guys struggle with foot control in the wind, and I've never had that issue. Maxxum 80 lb, hand control is a pretty nice unit, just my opinion. I'd buy a riptide also.

Good Post, I have the fortex for my boat, but I have considered the iPilot with wireless foot pedal as an option. Does it not work well with the foot pedal? Good to know. My friend has an ipilot in Florida and it's an excellent application for staying on structure if your snapper fishing, but brush piles, you must be right on it.

i-pilot features are canceled out when utilizing the foot pedal.