Poll - Preferred bow-mount trolling motor control

[onthewater102]

Just asking around a few forums what everyone thinks

 

[kofkorn]

For me, it's the Minn Kota with the I-Pilot. I use the compass feature and point it in the direction I want. Motor turns the right way, no matter what the wind is doing to the boat. Most of the time I'm creeping as slow as the motor will go and fishing the shoreline.

Now when I forget to turn the compass feature on, well I usually get about a quarter of the way through the circle before I realize what is happening

 

[redbug]

foot controlled cable for me I had the power steer and found it to lack the response speed I need to keep me out of the rocks

 

[onthewater102]

I have the power foot control on my bass boat and a hand control on the jon and I absolutely hate the hand control. Recently I acquired a 2nd hand 24v cable controlled TM that I plan on mounting on the jon as I think the cable will be quieter than the electronic steering, but I've never used the cable control pedal and I'm used to the power which can make better than a 270 degree sweep and I'm hoping the cable will be able to do close to the same.

 

[JoshKeller]

motorguide tour for me. foot controlled, dual cable. no torque at high speed, and all metal.

 

[onthewater102]

yeah - not a fan of the plastic internals i saw on the minn kota - especially the shaft-side anchor for the steering cables on the Maxxum are plastic...not cool...not cool

I hate to see a billion starving Chinese as much as I'd hate to see a billion other people starve, but I'm not throwing away my money on their crap plastic on charity...too poor to afford crappy purchases.

 

[onthewater102]

Interesting - the poll results here are not materially different than on my local club forum...pretty well even split

 

[pjcalla]

Hand control for me. I fly fish from the deck, and the fly line likes to stick and get tangled around everything. I had a cable foot controlled, but I got sick of bending down and untangling my line. I ended up trading that for a 1983 15hp Johnson.

 

[ccm]

Hand Control using a ProKontroll along with a couple TH marine foot switches. The push & pull of the ProKontroll handle gives me 360 degrees rotation vs. only 180 degrees with other extension handles. It really does make a difference vs. just having a regular handle extension.

 

[onthewater102]

That's quite the piece of hardware...the 360 degree rotation would take away a lot of my hate for the hand control...the speed control is another griping point - but that's because my motor is 5 forward positions & 3 reverse. I hear the variables have some gadgetry that lets them last longer too

 

[ccm]

onthewater102 » 09 Jul 2014, 19:50[/url]"]That's quite the piece of hardware...the 360 degree rotation would take away a lot of my hate for the hand control...the speed control is another griping point - but that's because my motor is 5 forward positions & 3 reverse. I hear the variables have some gadgetry that lets them last longer too

Variable control is nice. My dad gave me the control handle when he upgraded to a MinnKota Fortrex 101 foot control after destroying several motor guide shafts in timber. The handle I have is modified vs. the original arm that was straight. The newer ones are made from plastic & I've seen them in the Bass Pro Shop's catalog for about $70 they have an aluminum model for $150 :shock: but it will last forever. I have nothing against foot control as both major manufactures are offering dual cable steering in smaller thrust motors vs. the old rack & pinion that would snap steering cables. But right now I cant afford to upgrade so I'll keep my beat up motor guide for now. Here is a link to their website https://www.prokontroll.com/prokontroll.html if you click on the store icon you can see the Super ProKontroll version for $150 :shock:. It basically makes a hand control motor bearable to use.

 

[onthewater102]

I had a power foot control that came with my bass boat, I already had a transom mount hand control from my rowboat (which is now on my jon bow mounted) and out of no where I was given a 24v maxxum that needed some TLC (which it got) and now works great - so I'm not looking to "make a hand control bearable to use" or anything else bearable...I'm in the unique situation where if I could just ID the best I could install it & be done.

 

[ccm]

onthewater102 » 11 Jul 2014, 13:58[/url]"]I had a power foot control that came with my bass boat, I already had a transom mount hand control from my rowboat (which is now on my jon bow mounted) and out of no where I was given a 24v maxxum that needed some TLC (which it got) and now works great - so I'm not looking to "make a hand control bearable to use" or anything else bearable...I'm in the unique situation where if I could just ID the best I could install it & be done.

It's just mainly a preference on what works best for you & what you fish/how you fish. I prefer hand control but I can use cable steering too it's just my preference because I feel that I have better control in the thick/tight cover that I fish a lot. The MinnKota Maxxum is a good trolling motor with a heavy-duty 360 degree breakaway mount & dual cable steering along with a nearly unbreakable composite shaft. If you look at semi professional bass tournaments there is always a segment of the field that is using hand control & swear by them. Well now that you have used all three kinds of control pick the kind that you like the best go with it.