Trolling Motor Question

[Guest]

Hi,

I need a new trolling motor, but can't decide between the Minn Kota Powerdrive 40lb or the All Terrain 40lb. The Powerdrive has the electic foot pedal with the long cord, and the maximizer thing that is supposed to make the battery last longer. The All Terrain is about $20 cheaper and has a cable operated foot pedal.

Do any of you guys have any experience with either of these motors. I like the maximizer function, but I worry that the electric foot pedal won't hold up as well as the cable operated one.

Any advice ??

[MT Net]

I bought the 12V Power Drive before the opener, works great. Nice thing about it, you can get the Co-Pilot for it. Almost everyone I know has the Power Drive version, some have older versions and still work great. The Auto Pilot would be a neat deal.

My cable is coiled up and shoved behind a cargo net in the bow when I'm up front casting for muskies. When trolling for walleyes, I uncoil it and sit in the back and control the boat. More confortable and versitle that way, especially when having a lunch and pop break.

[Guest]

I have had both and would not use anything but the power drive. I had my first one for 7 years without a problem. There is some maintenance you can do to the pedal to keep it from sticking. This is the only issue I had and was solved with some lubricant. The nice thing is you are on two feet except when you want to change the direction for a brief tap with your foot. With a cable you seem to be on one foot a lot and get tired. I would also strongly recommend the autopilot. On my new rig I added did the co-pilot and now would be lost without it. Spend the $20 and if you can make sure you get 10-20lb's more of thrust than you think you need and auto pilot.

[Scott F]

The advantages of the cable type steering is that you can turn them MUCH faster than the motorized ones, and they are overall much less likely to have problems. If you have a Minn Kota repair place nearby, stop in and talk to the guys who fix them. You'll learn a lot.
I now have a powerdrive. The only thing I like about it better than the cable type is that I can control the motor from the back of the boat. Using my foot, I thought the cable model was much easier to use than the powerdrive. You'd probably have to spend some time using each one to see what I mean.
I think the co-pilot feature is a total waste of money. How is it possible to hold a rod, turn the handle and use a hand operated control all at the same time? You'll find that you don't use the hand control very often while you're fishing.

[HansB]

Better yet, get a PinPoint system and have the best of both worlds, PLUS other features like the magic of being able to follow a certain depth breakline automatically without your attention.

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Hans

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[united jigsticker]

I just want to welcome Jordan, Scott F, and 76k20 to Fishing Minnesota. Welcome aboard folks!

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Good fishing,
UJ
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[76k20]

i thank you united jigsticker im glad i found the forum

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Give a man a fish and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and you might not see him till winter

[76k20]

hmmmm pinpoint? what sorta price tag does this come with and would it work with a garmin gps 72?

[EBass]

It depends on what you fish for or how you fish. I fish for bass so in my eyes it's a MUST to have cable driven.

If you fish outa the back of the boat then the power drive would be the way to go.

My .02
EBass

[marine_man]

Although I could be wrong (And someone please correct me if that's the case) Pinpoint was bought out by Motor Guide... and they have yet to release a new pinpoint model / produce a pinpoint model. Supposdly when they work they work great (following depth contours, etc) but when they don't work they don't and that's about all there is to it... if I recall there was a thread a month or two ago in this forum about pinpoints.. do a search and see what you come up with..

On another note, no, your Garmin won't work with it, they required their own brand of depthfinders to work with the trolling motor.

Welcome to the forums!

marine_man