Talon vs Power Pole

[Bucky23]

I know this topic has been beaten to death on other sites but just wanted some of your guys opinion. I currently have an 18' Ranger Bass boat and really want to add one of these shallow water anchors. My questions are:

1) Pros and Cons of both

2) Do I need two or can I get by with one

3) What length would you recommend?

I apologize in advance if this topic has been covered before! Just need a little input before I purchase! Thanks for all your help!

[Hester]

A put on a new 10' Talon last year and love it. It may be a little bit louder than a Power Pole but I'm ok with that. You can install the Talons yourself with ease. I'm also not a big fan of having hydraulic fluid in my boat. I really like the look of the Talons as well, they are a lot cleaner looking compared to the PP imho. You could get by with an 8'er but a 10'er comes in handy at times, and I think just getting one is fine, you can always buy the 2nd one later if you think you need to.

I know I didn't really give any pros for the PP mainly cause I have not had one. I'm sure some other guys that run one love them as much as I like my Talon.

[Bucky23]

Hester:

Thank you for the information, I really appreciate! I am leaning towards the Talon! Do you have a jackplate on your boat? I do not and I think this is going to add to the difficulty of installing it myslef... Also, did you buy the tilt bracket for it? Thanks again for the help!

[Hester]

I do have a jackplate, and I used a sandwich bracket to mount it on.

I do not have a tilt bracket for it, I have the newer model Talon and it is only a couple inches higher than my motor. My buddy has the older model talon and they are a bit taller, he needed the tilt bracket to get it into his garage, he really likes the tilt bracket and it comes in handy on the water at times.

[gtfourmn]

I have the 12' Talons on my ranger r83 and love it. I have a jackplate so installation was a simple bolt on. I do not have the tilt bracket and it has not been a problem with my style of fishing, but I may get one eventually just in case.

The main reason I went with a talon is price. Talons tend to be cheaper than power poles if you shop around.

The only con I have about the talon besides the noise is that sometimes it can get in the way of the back boater, whereas power poles fold out of the way when deployed.

[frogtosser]

I am looking at getting a 12 foot talon this spring, I don't plan on getting a tilt bracket either. My only concern is that my jackplate is older so I'm not sure if I will be able to just bolt it on or if I will have to have a shop pull the motor off to put the bracket between the jackplate and motor. Do they use a lot of battery to run, I was gonna hook it up to my trolling motor battery.

[Bucky23]

GTfourmn:

Did you go with two 12' talons? That R83 is pretty much the same boat as mine!

Thanks for all the info guys, I appreaicte it!

[smduke]

i bought a new 12 ft last year and mounted it on my 618t. i bought the mounting bracket( sandwitch) for it but i did not move my motor back,instead i machined the bracket and mounted it to the side bolts that hold the motor on and it worked awesome. the talon has a great warrantee also, the pole is life time and the unit itself is 5 years. it uses little power to operate.

[frogtosser]

is there a big difference between the talon universal mount compared to a bracket designed for a specific side, and if I am only putting one side on which is the better side to use?

[Hester]

If you are putting it on a bass boat, you have to get a bracket that attaches to your jackpkate or a sandwhich bracket that goes between your jackplate/motor and transom. Other than installation location,they are basically the same functionally. I put mine on the port side, mainly to counter any weight when I'm in driver seat. Not sure where other guys have theirs.

[Gekhang]

i would recommend the 12ft talon. this will get you into the midrange anchor and be able to anchor in most fishing conditions. better have the longest and not need it than to have an 8ft and want to anchor in 10fow. i also got the talon for ease of installation onto my jackplate and lack of space in my boat.

[frogtosser]

I got my 12ft talon delivered today, whoo hoo, is one mounting bracket better than another?

[bassfshin24]

Lucky!!