Article by Capt. Steve Katz
When we think about trolling, most anglers envision a large tournament sportfish, with a cockpit full of anglers, cutting across the fishing grounds at a smooth 8 knots. For many other anglers, trolling means using a bow mounted electric trolling motor in their center console fishing boat to aid their fishability.
Over the past few years, the trolling motor marketplace has become filled with stronger and longer trolling motors, with new manufacturers entering the marketplace. An electric trolling motor is a secondary source of propulsion for a fishing boat, usually a center console boat. The trolling motor is used to help maneuver the boat while fishing or to take advantage of the stealthy quiet population that does not alert the fish to your presence like a gasoline outboard. Over 60% of the trolling motor market sales for a bow mounted trolling motor with the balance stern installed. Minn Kota is one of the most popular brands of mass-produced trolling motors, Rhodan is a small manufacturer of popular trolling motors and makes one of the longest trolling motors at 96”. Lowrance and Garmin both offer their own trolling motors, the Lowrance Ghost and Garmin Force are both popular, partly due to the integration into the associated multifunction displays.
The biggest change over the years for trolling motors is the increased size and power, allowing trolling motors to be used on larger and taller fishing boats. There are three key specifications that define a trolling motor:
Thrust – This is the amount of force that a trolling motor can produce and refers to the power of the motor, usually rated on pounds of thrust. The weight of the boat helps determine the minimum amount of thrust needed, a good rule of thumb is to have 2 lbs. of thrust for every 100 lbs. of fully loaded boat weight (people and gear included).
If things like wind or current are major factors where you fish, you will want a little extra thrust.
Voltage- Indicates how much battery power your trolling motor requires. Trolling motors are available in 12-volt, 24 volt and 36 volts. A while back you would need one dedicated battery for 12 volts, two batteries for 24 volts and three batteries for 36 volts.
With lithium style batteries becoming readily available, much smaller and lighter batteries are available, and single 24v and 36v batteries are available that are in one compact case. The most significant example of a new battery offering for trolling motors is a single 36V lithium battery that is the same size as a BCI group 31 battery and weighs 33 pounds. In the past, boaters would have required three deep cycle batteries at over 150 lbs. total weight and much more room.
These lithium batteries allow boaters to install most any trolling motor and are not constrained by battery requirements.
Shaft Length - Choosing the proper shaft length of your trolling motor is important—if it is too short, the prop will not be sufficiently submerged. In general, it is recommended that the center of the motor section is submerged by at least 12 inches. Larger boats or boats with taller bows can now find a trolling motor that works for their boat since most manufacturers offer much longer trolling motor shafts.
Rhodan offers one of the longest trolling motors at 96” and Minn Kota offers an 87” Shaft Riptide Terrova trolling motor.
With the advent of these new higher voltage and more powerful trolling motors, the associated wiring needs to be considered. The small cigarette lighter size electrical plugs and receptacles are no longer capable of conducting the high-power requirements to the trolling motor. As an example, Minn Kota now makes their own heavy-duty connector, the MKR-26 trolling motor plug and receptacle provides continuous power rated to 60 amps and up to 48V, this will meet the requirements of most trolling motors offered today. The wiring and circuit breaker also needs to be capable of carrying the electricity from the battery to the trolling motor. For example, the popular 112 lb. thrust Minn Kota requires #8-gauge wire run from the battery to the trolling motor and a 60-amp circuit breaker.
Mounting – Some of these trolling motors weigh upwards of 100 lbs. and require special mounting brackets. Most boaters choose a quick release mounting bracket. A quick release bracket consists of two pieces, one part that bolts to the trolling motor and one part that bolts to the boat. This allows you to remove the trolling motor when not in use. Mounting a trolling motor takes some planning, since when in the stowed position the motor and shaft rest horizontally, often encroaching into the deck space on the boat or worse over the gunwale, exposing the unit to potential damage while docking etc.
Features – there are many features and options for trolling motors, the option list seems endless and new features are introduced regularly. The most popular feature is a GPS position system incorporated into the trolling motor control, allowing the trolling motor to automatically keep your boat in the same spot, therefore compensating for wind and current. Other features include auto deployment, where the trolling motor moves automatically from the stowed horizontal position to the vertical use position. Many trolling motors can incorporate a sounder transducer, some internally, allowing you to get an image of what is under the water near you trolling motor and for the “live view” type sounders, rotating the trolling motor gives you different views around the water beneath the boat.
Trolling motors and associated components have advanced quickly in the past few years giving anglers lots of options when selecting a new trolling motor for their boat. §
