Minn Kota CoPilot

[vikes40for60]

Over opener it was the first time I had the chance to use my new MinnKota 74 PD AP Univeral Sonar with Co-Pilot. WOW!!!!! The Co-Pilot is one of the sweetest things I have used while fishing in the past 10 years. It has improved my boat control and fishing techniques in just one weekend. I hate to say it, but now I will probably use my Vantage less. Hmmmmmmmm. Anyone have one of these and has the same commentary?

[Guest]

I agree with you, I got one last year and just love it. It makes boat control a lot easier.

[RonT]

I couldn't agree more. I bought one last summer and will never go back to the foot control. An added bonus is if you have a friend with a co-pilot you can set your remote to the same frequency and move his boat around too!! Cheap entertainment when the bite is slow or he is fishing on your "favorite" spot.

[fishin magician]

I purchased one this spring and just love it. I was going to go with the auto pilot but decided with the co-pilot. Now we will have to see the life span of this excellent tool by Minnekota. Anyone know the range of this baby. Curiuos to see if I can sit on the dock and drive my boat around the bay with no one in it.

FM

[joshb]

i got one and love it. the one gripe i have with it is that it is too small to control comfortably with one hand. so i mounted the remote on a piece of one inch pvc about 5 inches long using the rod mounts the remote came with, put a lanyard on it so i can clip it to my jacket. that way i can just drop it anytime i need an extra hand. and it's just like holding the tv remote!

[LocalGuide]

I really love the thing when I am fishing for walleyes. Its nice to just set the auto pilot and just fine tune the settings instead of having a foot control and that stupid cord getting in the way.
But I will use the foot pad for casting for pike. It just so much easier that having two hands available instead of one. And when you are fighting a fish you change ur direction if you have too.

So its a 50-50 deal. Over I do like it a lot though.

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And keep those hooks sharp!

[zepman]

Don't know much about the co-pilot but have heard nothing but good things about it. One question: Can you use the hand remote AND a foot pedal. Could someone please explain real quickly all the different options you have with this. Thanks.

[LocalGuide]

No, that is kind of a disappoitment. I also wondered the same thing until I got one. Its either the foot pad or the remote.

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And keep those hooks sharp!

[Guest]

Why can't you use it muskie and Pike fishing? I used mine all year for all species including ski's and haven't pulled the footcontrol out yet. The rod clips are awesome just take some time to place them in a comfortable location. Some may have to learn to position their hands a little different but it is a great unit.
And unless they changed them since mine you can use the corded foot control also!

[LocalGuide]

For Pike/Muskie fishing, I would need 3 hands instead of 2. I need two when in setting the hook and gaining on some line. And thats normally when I change my speed/direction of the boat. So I have 2 hands fighting a fish and a foot controlling a boat.
Also its nice to use the foot control when chasing down a fish into the weeds. (Given I am doing all of this by casting and not trolling.)

The co-pilot is nice for trolling/still fishing. You can move about the boat and still be able to change directions. Instead of running back up to the foot pad to change a direction. And have the cord from the foot pad dragged all the way to the back of the boat and being in the way.

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And keep those hooks sharp!

[Hubcat]

A buddy of mine has a co-pilot and it works great. They make a mount that you can put on your fising rod and or where ever you would like to mount it( wrist, steering wheel, seat).
The only problem that I can see after running the co-pilot for a couple of hours is you do not have as much control over the speed of the trolling motor as you do with the foot control.
When jigging I like to try to get my jig as verticle as I can and still be moving, but with the co-pilot when you push the button the speed just switches to the next level where with the foot control you can set it between levels.

In any case I think the co-pilot in a good thing

[Rainman]

Why can't you use both? With mine I can use either at the same time! Just to let you know!

Rainman

[LocalGuide]

How do you do that? I cant (darn), I dont have 2 plug-ins for one. Its either one or the other.
Is there a adaptor you can get or not? Which one "over rules" the other when you are using both?

Hubcat, I also have the same issue you have but I can deal with that most of the time.

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And keep those hooks sharp!