Expected trolling speed with Minn Kota

[airshot]

Just another question about my recent purchase, the boat is a 16' Sylvan side console and has a Minn Kota 55lb thrust bow mount power drive. Previous owner claims up to 6 hrs trolling time with dual group 31 batteries. Thinking about using this for trolling for walleyes rather than adding a kicker motor. Estimated boat weight around a 1000 pounds, what kind of trolling speed should I expect from this motor??? Will need 2 plus mph typically, even up to 3 mph on ocassion to catch fish....is this doable?? Never actually trolled with a bow mount before, so trying to learn what to expect, thanks in advance for any insite you can give.........

 

[MrGiggles]

I have a 24v Terrova on a 17' side console. Top speed is 3.5mph thereabouts. It'll do 2mph on speed 5.5-6.

I'm sure that you will get enough speed out of the 12v, but 24v is the way to go for extended trolling. They are quite a bit more efficient than a 12v motor.

 

[GYPSY400]

I have a similar boat with the same TM.. my fastest speed on the TM is equal to my slowest speed on the outboard (3.5 KM/h). I usually run it at 2.5km/h ( speed 5 or 6) and it lasts all day on 1 group 24 battery

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[C&K]

I agree with the other two guys - it'll do fine. We don't have a Minn Kota, we have a Haswing Caymen 55lb with the wireless remote control. I prefer to the leave the outboard trimmed down so the boat tracks straight in the wind. With the outboard down and the prop windmilling on the outboard the Caymen will pull our Alumacraft Pro 17 at ~3.2 mph. Which is too fast for walleyes, IMO. When we're trolling a deep edge for walleye we usually run it at about .5 mph and work the bait with the rod to keep the bait on the bottom.

 

[airshot]

After testing the 55# thrust it will work but needs to run at 80% or more to keep pace, in rough water may need 100%..... I already have a little 2.2 hp Mercury 2 stroke for use on my pond jon boat. Was curious so tried this little motor on my 16' SC. Worked quite well I thought, was able to reach almost 5 mph. What this does is gives me thrust at the stern and then allows the bow mount trolling motor to run at 50% just for steering. This is a big drop in battery usage from the 80-100% I would use without the gas kicker. This little motor uses about a quart an hour in fuel so no big deal there. From my research this is used by quite a few trollers, having a motor in the back and one on the transom, with the I-pilot feature it can steer itself or steered with a small remote hanging around my neck....cant wait to try out the new toys !!!

 

[Hunt2871]

Just another question about my recent purchase, the boat is a 16' Sylvan side console and has a Minn Kota 55lb thrust bow mount power drive. Previous owner claims up to 6 hrs trolling time with dual group 31 batteries. Thinking about using this for trolling for walleyes rather than adding a kicker motor. Estimated boat weight around a 1000 pounds, what kind of trolling speed should I expect from this motor??? Will need 2 plus mph typically, even up to 3 mph on ocassion to catch fish....is this doable?? Never actually trolled with a bow mount before, so trying to learn what to expect, thanks in advance for any insite you can give.........

It ought to do fine. I have a 24 Volt Terrova 80 on the bow of my 1860 Jon Boat and when loaded for fishing with one other person in it has at least 1000 pounds in it and my trolling motor will keep my boat running 3 miles an hour for 10 hours or more on two size 27 batteries....cheapo everstart batteries from wally world. It will hold my boat on anchor for at least 10 hours in 10 MPH winds...when on spot lock the motor never turns off and is on the highest setting. I use it to fish at night and its in spot lock the entire night. I can drag crappie jigs at 1.5 MPH or less for DAYS between charges.....no kidding i camp three days at the time and drag crappie jigs 12 hours or more every day and do not have to charge the batteries until I get home....and I ain't sure they need charging then, but I do it anyway.

 

[GYPSY400]

Who trolls at 2-3mph for walleyes?

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[airshot]

Here in Lake Erie the typical trolling speed is anywhere from 1.5 up to 2.6 mph from all the reports I have read.

 

[LDUBS]

Is the trolling speed dictated by the species or by what works for the best action of the lure being used?

 

[airshot]

Not species as others from different areas have posted far different speeds. It must be the types of bait/ lures we use.. Crawler harnesses are typically 1-1.5 mph up to crankbaits at over 2.5 mph, some claim even higher speeds. Depending on season and bait types, anywhere from just drifting up to almost 3 mph...

 

[MrGiggles]

Depends mostly on the lure, species, and time of year. Many crankbaits can't be trolled much over 3mph or they'll blow out. If I'm pulling cranks I will usually run 1.5-2.5mph, slower in the cooler months and faster in the summer. Crawler harness are pulled much slower, .8-1.5 generally. You can go slower with butterfly spinners.

Guys up north may pull bucktails and spoons a little faster than that for pike and musky. But other than that I don't think it's very common, aside from saltwater.

We snag for spoonbill sometimes at 3-5mph, but not with the trolling motor.

 

[Flygaff]

With my 16 Sylvan and a 55 Minn Kota I was only getting 1.6. Too slow. I went to 24 vt 80 lb and went up to 3.4 wide open. I now use the motor on my G3 185 and still get 3.2

 

[BCEvans]

I have a 24v Terrova on a 17' side console. Top speed is 3.5mph thereabouts. It'll do 2mph on speed 5.5-6.

I'm sure that you will get enough speed out of the 12v, but 24v is the way to go for extended trolling. They are quite a bit more efficient than a 12v motor.

You mind me asking what kind of batteries do you have and how long can you troll at 2mpb or so? Thank you.

 

[BCEvans]

You mind me asking what kind of batteries do you have and how long can you troll at 2mpb or so? Thank you.

 

[MrGiggles]

You mind me asking what kind of batteries do you have and how long can you troll at 2mpb or so? Thank you.

Everstart 29DCs in the past, good for 8+ hours. I've got 40ah lithiums that will run for around 6 hours now.

 

[thill]

My 55# Terrova gets similar speed numbers. One 100AH TimeUSB will easily last all day at various speeds.

When I go on a long trip, I run TWO batteries in parallel for 12v, and I'll run it hard for 2 days in current.

2 batteries together run much longer than the batteries separately, for what it's worth.

 

[Robert DeLeo]

Thank you for the information. I am fairly new to the boating/battery world. I have a 17.5 ft Aluminum Crestiliner with a 24V MK Terrova. I have two 12V lead acid batteries (Group 27). I primarily troll for trout and landlocked Salmon. Wanting to troll consistently at 1.8 to 2.5mph. The first two times I took it out, I was lucky to get 2.5 hours with trolling 6-8.5 speeds on the TM. Trying to figure out if I need to go Lithium as I would like to get 5-6 hours per trip. What I am experiencing is quite a bit less than Mr. Giggles...wondering if the EverStart 31 group would do me better as a start??? Thanks again.

 

[airshot]

16' Sylvan SC with 55# MK but 12v...easy 8 hrs with 2 group 31 agm running 2-3 mph.

 

[Billy H]

It ought to do fine. I have a 24 Volt Terrova 80 on the bow of my 1860 Jon Boat and when loaded for fishing with one other person in it has at least 1000 pounds in it and my trolling motor will keep my boat running 3 miles an hour for 10 hours or more on two size 27 batteries....cheapo everstart batteries from wally world. It will hold my boat on anchor for at least 10 hours in 10 MPH winds...when on spot lock the motor never turns off and is on the highest setting. I use it to fish at night and it’s in spot lock the entire night. I can drag crappie jigs at 1.5 MPH or less for DAYS between charges.....no kidding i camp three days at the time and drag crappie jigs 12 hours or more every day and do not have to charge the batteries until I get home....and I ain't sure they need charging then, but I do it anyway.

Wow, I don’t get anywhere near that with my 80 pound terrova running group 27 batteries.

 

[Robert DeLeo]

Thanks you for the information. Those are crazy hours and I am now a bit baffled. I am thinking my boat with two people and gear is pushing 2000 pounds, but that is a big difference in what you are getting out of the Terrova and what my experience is??? I know that at setting 10 the Terrova is suppose to draw 56 amps. I am thinking the Ever Start batteries have 114 ah rating. at setting 10 you would get just over 2 hours of trolling time? Do you have them wired in series or parallel? What setting do you use when running 3 mph?