What would your choice be?

You have $1,300 burning a hole in your pocket. On your boat you have a trolling motor that you hate because it's big, bulky, noisy, but more importantly it ain't got I-pilot. You also have on your boat an old depth finder that pretty much tells you the depth and temperature of the water. SO, all things considered which would you buy with your $1,300?

A. Terrova/55/us2/I-pilot w/ foot control


B. Humminbird 898 Si combo .


I actually have found a refurbished Terrova /55/US2/I-Pilot w/ foot control for $1,000 but, the refurbished (only 1 yr warrenty) part kinda scares me.

I'd probably go with a PD V2 55# with autopilot and spend the rest of the money upgrading my df to whatever the left over money would get me (probably some kind of color 2D graph with GPS). Later on you can add an I-pilot and get a lake map chip for the df if you wanted to.

On second thought, I'd go with the factory installed I-pilot on that 55# PD V2. You'll still have money for another graph but might wanna save a couple more hundred for a better one.....or not.

how do u fish ,troll ,longline,spiderrig,jig ,might help determine what to buy

I long line troll alot. Going to try spider rigging this year. I cast a float and fly and I jig. In the spring I am moving quick sling shotting under trees. I also cast the banks for walleye in the spring. I dead drift jigging for sauger as well.

i would go for atleast an autopilot trolling motor and put the rest towards a fishfinder if i had enough.if u decided on the powerdrive ipilot u wouldnt have a footpedal unless u use canepoles maximizer and if u buy the ipilot preinstalled it dont even come with a footpedal.i have to have a footpedal sometimes ,while others dont,but u could still use footpedal with the autopilot powerdrive.the terrova u can use both ,but its more money,what ever u do make sure u get a big enough one,i have a 55lb and it aint enough i wish i would have went 70lb or 80 lb.

Go to Cabelas and check their trolling motor combos. They have some terrova hummingbird combos that might fit your budget. Might have to same a little more change over next few weeks but might just be worth it to hold off a little longer.

what Cray said......check cabelas for their tm/ff combos and get both. you could step down to the pd2 with i pilot and still get a pretty nice ff.

cabelas has the 55lb pd2 with ipilot for $659 plus $20 off of orders of $150 or more and free shipping.

i just bought a minn kota riptide 55lb w/ipilot for $789 ( riptide is the salt water version of the pd2 and terrova)

also bought a humminbird 587ci/di for $399

so for about $1200 i have a 55lb electric steer minn kota with ipilot and a humminbird combo unit with hd color, gps, 2d sonar and down immaging.

i bought the riptide over the regular pd2 just because i wantd white, not because i fish salt water.

First thing I would go with would be a good trolling motor. I love my terrova with the I-pilot,this has make my crappie fishing lot easier,doing spider rigging fishing. I also have the Humminbird 898 si,which I really like but these two items is not cheap. What help's me more than anything is buying from Bass Pro,buying on the flex plan where you don't have to come up with all the money at once. The payment plan is about the only way I could afford the expensive toys. Good luck maybe this plan will help you out.
LittleJohn

My best advise to you would be DONT ask what someone else would do!!! Nobody is going to be able to tell you what's best for YOU!!! You know how you fish, so I ask YOU, which one would be the most important for the way YOU fish?

One thought tho, if you can't find the fish, it ain't gonna matter what kinda TM you have!!!!!


BRM

Quote:

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Originally Posted by venomcustomrods

cabelas has the 55lb pd2 with ipilot for $659

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Do you have a link to the page on Cabela's site showing this price? The cheapest I can find is $950.

I have a HB 1197 and an 80# 24v Terrova w/ iPilot. If you made me give up one or the other, I'd fight you for the Terrova. SI's a good tool, but I could find plenty of fish before getting it. My previous motor had co-pilot, but after getting the Terrova/iP it became much easier to work the fish and my catch increased.

Another noticeable improvement was trips to the repair shop. Before the Terrova, my TMs made quite a few trips & my repairman kept pushing me to step up to a heavy duty 24v or 36v motor. As usual, his advice was spot-on. Sunday was the Terrova's 156th fishing trip and it hasn't been down for repair once!

It may seem like a small issue, but the shaft design of the PD2 forces you to make a loose attachment of your transducer cable (assuming you keep your working DF up front.) The Terrova's shaft has a slot that allows you to attach the cable securely (with some type of adhesive.) By keeping the cable stuck to the shaft, it can't wrap round-and-round until the wire breaks.

While we're on the topic of DFs, be warned that US2 only works with certain types of DFs and you'll need to shell out extra $$ for an adapter cable. Most notably, US2 does not support any unit with SI. If SI's in your future plans, skip the US2 feature if you can.

Anyone who longlines will LOVE the iPilot's 2 autopilot features (original and "advanced"), cruise control, and track record/playback. These features give you the equivalent of a clone who does nothing but run your boat! Spot Lock has been discussed in this forum extensively. The MK promos make Spot Lock look like a panacea, but users have mixed results. Those who specialize in jigging BPs are disappointed with the amount of drift--an inherent limitation of any GPS-enabled device. Those of us who drift corks, spider rig, or otherwise present a pattern of baits, find Spot Lock to be extremely helpful until the wind kicks up.

If you can find a clearance price on a 2011 model Terrova/iP, grab it. The "new & improved" version offers very little additional value at a higher price. Given the Terrova's toughness, I'd even consider buying a lightly used motor from someone who can't live without the "new" model or wants to step up from 24v to 36v. Unless the used motor is damaged, it should provide many many trouble free trips for years to come.

See if you can find a recon Terrova without US2, might be less than $1000. You can buy a pretty decent D/F only for $300 to $400.

Corker, i apologize i made a typo. those motors were $759 + $20 off, not 659....and they are sold out of them today. last time i looked was monday and they still had some of the 2011's left.

bass pro actually had them for $649 in store ( not on web) back before Christmas. they had 3 left but i chose to walk around for an hour and look at other things and when i came back they had all been spoken for. they looked on the computer and the st louis store still had a couple left but the stores wont ship.

if you look hard enough on the web you can find them for 700 - 750 but you have to jump on them pretty quick because they are the discounted 2011's so the stock is limited. here is a link to one at $729 PowerDrive V2 55PD V2/IP 48" Shaft, MinnKota PowerDrive V2, 228359:The Sports Center Store

Trolling motor. You will catch more fish with a good tm & cheap df than the other way around if you longline. Upgrade df later.

Get the TM you want and get the best DF you can with what you have left. The advanced features of the new motors makes fishing effortless.

Nothing wrong with refurb. I buy used and refurb stuff all the time. Nothing wrong with the V2. I have had one 7 years and no problem with it. If I found a good deal on a Terrova, I woun not hesitate to get it (after I saw it work). You can do that in the parking lot. Just follow Shellbacks checkout proceedure if you are getting one with Ipilot.

PS

I don't consider a 1000 bucks a "good deal". I am frugul. Still got my first nickel.

The Terrova w/ IP you can keep the foot pedal if you want or remove it. The PD w/ IP= no foot control/pedal. HB xducer wires fit in the groove mentioned above on the Terrova, but Low xduer wires don't fit.

The US2 won't work with DI or SI from what I've read, and make sure the US2 will work with the DF you have or the one you want. That is why I didn't go with the US2 as I was unsure what DF I was going to get. check out ebuyersworlddotcome, might find something you like there. I got my IP unit from them while I got my Terrova 55 from cabelas, total for mine was ~$850, both on sale/clearance back in Oct '11.