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Am really considering getting a I pilot after xmas or the start of the year. I have a nitro x5 and have a minnkota edge 70 on it now. Would you buy the I pilot again or save your money? I have been having trouble with my legs and arms over the last 7 months, I like the idea of being able to use the remote. I mostly vertical jig and do some spider rigging. Thanks for the help.
I love mine.....and yes I would definately do it again. I don't know how I ever did with out it.
I would definitely buy it again!!!! It has really helped me get a lot more time to fish, instead of messing with the TM!! If mine disappeared, I would go get a new one the next day!
They are great for spider rigging but everyone that I fish with or watch while I was fishing useing my cable TM move much too much while jigging, would be good to get on a boat with someone and throw out a marker any see if you are satisfied with the results for jigging before you buy, remember that most people will try to make you think what ever they have can't be beat. Not intent to argue but want you to know all information you can get, and may others give their views as well
Genev has a good point ,here in oklahoma with the wind it does have to work at it, but it does as good a job or better than I can do! However it would be good if you could go with someone that has one for a demo ride.
Same here...you'll love it.Quote:
Originally Posted by "G"
I have had mine since March and it has made a world of difference especially when I am by myself and the wind is blowing. It is almost like having a person in the boat running the motor while you fish. I got the Terrova because I was concerned that I would need a pedal when I fish Santee Cooper's flooded upper lake having to move around and among cypress trees. After getting used to the hand control I have not hooked up the foot pedal in months.
I guess I don't understand the knocks about the spot lock when the wind is blowing. Last week I was out by myself and had about a 7 to 10 MPH wind and the spotlock held me over a brush pile in open water. Does it move around?? Of course it does as the wind blows it takes the GPS a few seconds to realize and correct the postion but so does running the motor yourself and if you get a couple of fish on and have to deal with them it is about impossible to do all that and hold yourself in position. The spot lock does at least as good if not better than I could with a manual motor and trying to watch the depth finder or marker bouy.
I love mine and could not ask for a better piece of equipment. It is really good at tightlining and pulling jigs or cranks.
SeaRay
Everything Searay said, until a few weeks ago I had been wearing a brace on my leg from foot to knee. Impossible to runFt control with right leg and being right handed running with left was not good. Got a Terrova this past spring and it made it enjoyable just to go fishing again. And now that I have become more comfortable with most of the options I don't know how I could ever fish without it. With the Terrova you have the pedal option but if your having trouble with your legs the remote is only way to go. I am fortunate to have a large enough pond in my back yard that I can put my boat in. When I got mine mounted I spent an entire day just riding around with the book practicing all the different functions until I was comfortable with using the motor. I would suggest the same for any who just accuires one. Put on boat and go run it with no tackle in the boat. Won't make you a expert but get familiar with the remote. I keep my manual in the tackle tray right at my elbow.Quote:
Originally Posted by SeaRay
I have a Riptide with I Pilot on the boat i have now and I love it. It is the second IPilot I have had and the third remote controp TM. i had a Motor Guide before the IPilot. It takes a little getting used to but when you do it is great. Last week in the wind I ran a channel ledge and recorded the track then ran it back it was great and the IPilot keep the boat in the channel even with the wind and I could fish without having to control the boat and fight the wind.
I love mine If i could have anything differnent I would have the IPilot compatable with the Lowrance HDS as it is with the Hummingbirds.
It gets a little windy on Sam Rayburn especially on a pontoon boat and I went from a 70# Edge to a 101# Terrova and I am happy as can be. It does make fishing more enjoyable and when you are unhooking your wifes fish and trying to catch a fish yourself you don't loose your spot and end up 1/4 mile away from your marker. I still have to learn all the features but the SPOT LOCK and transducer capabilities to change from H'Bird to Lowrance and back is soo sweet. Enjoy it if you buy one. Ferdi aka Fred
One word of advice; the universal built in transducer is an option on some models. I feel it is well worth the money to get one with the built in transucer so you dont have to figure out how to mount it and worry about twisting the cord up in the TM shaft. You have to buy an adaptor cable to interface your unit with the TM. They run around $45.
While I am spending your money, I also strongly recommend the quick disconnect mounting plate as well. It makes intallation a breeze and you can remove the motor in seconds. I have to keep mine outside under a cover and the I-Pilot mount sticks out beyond the front of the boat so being able to slide it back into the boat so the cover fits snuggly over the bow is nice. This also is a good feature if you have to leave your boat out overnight and are worried about someone stealing the TM. It comes off in a jiffy and you can lock it in your vehicle or motel room if you are on a trip.
SeaRay
Do some research on the I-Pilot Link. I got my I-Pilot last April and think it's the greatest thing. But now I wish I would of waited for the I-Pilot Link to come out next month. Just my :twocents
One more thing, definitely wait on the I pilot link if you run HB fish finders!
Genec has a valid point. I do the same type of brush pile and dock shooting as he does. The "spot lock" feature lets me drift off about 18' before correcting which is a pain in the neck. In some cases I will be heading in the opposite direction & sometimes my boat will bang against the dock when it corrects.
I seldom use spot lock as I have found that I can point my boat into the wind, hit the AP(GPS) and adjust my speed to stay there. Works a lot better, for me, than the spot lock feature.
I have fished with Gene and he has mastered the art of staying over a brush pile with very little effort using his foot control.
Spot Lock is a good feature if you have to pee or tie a jig on.:ThumbsUp
My fishing is so much more productive, efficient and enjoyable now. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat. I spend more time fishing than fishting the cable steer which I never realized how much fishing time I was eating up and wasting trying to control the boat.
Using a cable steer TM takes practice. I don't have an i pilot and since I do not troll or spider rig I feel the cable steer better suits my style of fishing. I have a friend that has an older unit and unless they have made a lot of changes, to me they are slow and do not perform well in tight situations. I can see they would work for spider rigging or trolling, but for dock shooting. vertical gigging, casting or fishing in tight areas where moving quickly is required, I'll take my cable steer unit. You have to use what best suits your style of fishing.
Again it is what style fishing you do,but if you jig your boat will move 15 to 18 feet in each direction ,We check it on land hook up to truck and for jigging with one pole you are going to stay hung up most of the time,on cable one should master using it with either foot, now if you are going to use minnows then it would be ok over brush because you would fish a little higher than brush and moving around the brush would be good with many rods out,but for my style moving 20 to 40 feet in brush would drive me crazy ,tried it with a frirnd and had to go back to camp and get mine to keep from going insane,LOLwith no joke I was very uncomforable, so get in boat and fish your style a few minutes wiyh him before buying one,whats great for one is bad for another
I have my second PD trolling motor, neither is an I pilot. I just felt the need to offer some input on the versatility of the base unit. I now have a co-pilot and auto pilot Riptide, which is a good part of the way along to an I-Pilot. I shoot docks, fish emergent timber, troll jigs and cranks, slow troll shorelines while casting points of interest......You name it. I had cable steer motors and didn't care for the hands on , full time operation of them. True, in tight, fast conditions a cable steer can get to business in a hurry. I learned to pay attention to the situation at hand and have no trouble fishing everything that I could with a cable motor, and get the benefit of the hands off for much more. The auto pilot makes trolling alone enjoyable, impossible with any cable motor I have been around. this motor was no giveaway and I will upgrade it to ipilot one day. If I had the cash at the time, the full boat Terrova would be in it's place. In my opinion, there's nothing above this for ALL that we do. There is a learning curve, but I believe you're up to the task.
I bought mine in Jan. of this year.I use mine for panfishing and bass fishing.I like the fact that i'm no longer standing like Capt.Morgan all the time , on my last boat I had the recessed foot pedal well.It still was uncomfortable, now my front deck is completly open.I have zero foot pedal (remote only with my model).I too bought the built in transducer,but I feel I should buy an extra remote just in case of failure on water. I'm 100 percent sure I would buy again! Like the others I'm not sure how I fished for 40yrs without one.There is a definite learning curve, but once you retrain yourself it becomes second nature to reach for the remote instead of using your feet....One safety thought: though it may never happen to you, It's happened to me if you fall out in cold weather and can't climb back in because of heavy wet clothes or whatever, your remote is with you and waterproof and floats to pull you to shore....maybe.In my case my fishing buddy pulled me to the bank. What if your alone? Just a thought.......tinsmith
I agree! By far the best trolling motor for crappie fishing. If need to vertical or dock fish get a terrova and use the foot pedal it responds the same as a cable drive. It just takes practice. The older models were slow the new ones are so fast you over compensate. The I-link will be an added help as it can keep you a required distanc from the docks or bank.
If you troll alot I do not reccomend the US2 as it acts up at high speeds.
MK- The short answer to your question is: yes, I already did buy another Terrova/i-P!
You only asked one question, but you really need the answers to three:
1) how does i-Pilot compare with other automatic navigation systems?
2) is Terrova worth the difference in cost compared with PD2?
3) compared with traditional TMs, does the sum of the first two choices add up to a great enough value to warrant the price tag?
I moved up to Terrova/i-P from an original PD with Copilot. Copilot is good, but i-P has several more capabilities. I don't use all of them all of the time, but in the appropriate situation they're all outstanding. My decision to go with a 24v Terrova was heavily influenced by my repair man. For someone who fishes a lot, he explained, you need a TM that's tough. He pulled out the cases from a few junk motors and showed me the heavy construction of Terrova compared with cheaper motors. He said the cheaper motors will show up at his door several times while the heavy duty Terrovas are still out fishing.
My original motor started making noises after 188 trouble-free trips. Knowing that day would come, I had already bought another of the exact same motor so I could pull the old one off, take it to the shop for repair, and drop the new motor in place. Unless the repair is prohibitively expensive, the old motor will serve as the backup. Based on the time from installation until the first trip to the shop, that motor cost $6.70 per trip! That's less than the cost of bait and a launch fee.
Almost exclusively, I fish TMO lakes. That means the Terrova has to stand in for a gas motor & get me to/from the fishing spots as fast as possible. When I reach the destination, it must then run and position the boat so I can fish (mostly floating corks with minnows.) Terrova/i-P does both jobs better than any motor I ever owned. I use the Spot Lock feature in some situations, but not all. You have to recognize that GPS-driven positioning systems have limited value if you shoot docks or vertical jig down into BPs. For other fishing situations, nothing beats i-P.
Those who do a lot of longline trolling absolutely love the i-P's features. Spider-riggers and cork pullers also get good value from some of the i-P features. For dock shooters and precision vertical jiggers, i-P seems to be a toss up.
Given the trouble you're having with legs & arms, i-P may breathe new life into your fishing schedule--it runs the boat so you can fish. If at all possible, ride with an experienced i-P owner before making a decision. I think you'll be sold when you see what i-P can do.
US2
This feature was bundled with my motors, but after buying the expensive cable to hook it to a HB-575, I realized that US2 does not support Quadrascan. Normal sonar worked, but not the wide scan. Same thing with side scan. If you have or plan to add a sidescan unit, forget US2--you'll have to mount the transducer under the motor and run a wire outside the shaft.
I like mine but wish I had the Terrova. There are certain situations that I would like to have the foot pedal. I have the PDv2 and it is a pain to get in the water. If iI had it to do again I would get the terrova.
I have i pilot on a Rip Tide SP (Power Drive) and would buy it again, and again , and again. Although, I will be upgrading to I Pilot Link as soon as it is available.
To those folks that say the i pilot will let you drift 18', 1 of 2 things is going on. First, it is broken/defective and needs to be serviced. Second, you are not getting 4 signal bars for the GPS, this may be due to issue 1 or something blocking the signal. The 5' hold is only with 4 bars (mine normally is around 2'), with each bar less than 4 the hold radius increases by 5'-8' in my experience. This is not to hijack the OP's post but to make sure he understands how i pilot works.
I prefer the Power Drive because when stowed and not unplugged the GPS stays spooled up. This means that when I move to a new spot with outboard and drop TM I instantly have all gps functions and do not have to wait for gps to get a lock. The Terrova has a built in switch that disconnects power to the GPS when stowed. I have no need for foot pedal though and power drive does not offer that from the factory with i pilot.
carolina jim ,you have some good points ,however ALL GPS have a verring range,if you turn it on setting on the bank it will move some ,I have a lowrance,a HB, and setting on bank they will move. I also tested spotlock on land on trailer with truck and move truck till motor started turning then measured where it stop ,then did it going the other direction and when you add all tha up waS NEAR 40 FEET,THEN YOU HAVE TO TAKE INTO ACOUNT THAT THE BOAT IS STILL GOING TO MOVE A LITTLE AFTER PROPELLER STOIP TURNING. the problem most have is on water they do not relize how far the boat moves but I challedge some of you to try it, the guy said he fish brush much so my point was to get in a boat with someone who has one and drop a marker over brush and site the marker with object on land and jig in brush and see if line stays straight down for that is the way to keep from hanging much
Genec, you are right in open water it is very hard to tell how far you move. Also, my HB 998 and Eagle SMap 350 both show more drift over time than I get on spot lock. I fish a lot of creeks and small rivers with a lot of reference points to determine movement. First week of Nov, I spot locked next to my buddy that was on anchor in the river and we were talking face to face and the drift was no more that 2'. I experience this good of hold most of the time with 4 gps bars showing. I have also experienced 15' or so of drifting, and I always check my GPS signal when this happens and it is never 4 bars. This has occurred even after holding very well in one spot, sometime the gps signal lowers for one reason or another (atmospheric conditions, GPS Sat position, WAAS Sat position). For me the poor performance is always when less than 4 bars are showing. I wonder if my having the gps powered when running to spots helps it get a good position fix? Seems to me the GPS filter algo's would be tailored for low speed performance.
Again, not to hijack OP's post but make sure he gets the info he needs to make his decision. What is a little more difficult is to get it locked on a very precise point with the boat in a position you want to fish from. I determine the dominate force (wind,current,tide) acting on the boat and approach the position bow in to that force. I get to the spot going as slowly as possible stop the prop while watching the remote and when speed indicates .1 or less I hit the spot lock button twice real fast. This may take a couple of tries to get where I want it.
I pilot has an advertised 5' hold, if someone is buying it for spot lock that is all I would count on.
The question was would you buy it again, and for me the answer is a resounding yes. I'm going to spend 750.00 to upgrade to i pilot link and I have a perfectly working i pilot.
carolina jim ,I am glad you mention weather because I have notice when its windy or bad weather that my gps sometimes miss BP by a little bit,didn't know anyone else had saw that,thanks, knew it was not me, seen it happen too often, and I usually have very little to no problem
Let me know when you are ready to pull the trigger on a motor mkeller and I will work you a deal....Quote:
Originally Posted by mkeller
David @ shut-up-and-fish
Your One Stop Shop
I've bought and used the Auto Pilots since they came out around 92 or so. The IPilot is the stuff. Never gonna go back to the foot control cable steer stuff. If you jig timber, or spider rig piers or pole timber, the cable drives turn as fast as you move your foot, and that's the only advantage to them. Other than that, it's IPilot all the way for me!!! If your legs are getting bad, just let your fingers do the work!!!! There is a small learning curve to convert tho.
Big River Marine
Bill Burnett
870-635-0202
We sell XPRESS, EXCEL, and ALWELD Boats. Yamaha, Suzuki, Evinrude, Mud Buddy, and Tohatsu/Nissan Engines.
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And...if (like me) you're moving from transom-mounted motors to your first bow mount, you totally avoid the learning curve for the cable-steered units.Quote:
Originally Posted by BigRiverMarine
Had I-pilot for over a yr now, the spot lock stinks.....rest of the features are awesome.....great if you like to troll....would prefer cable steer for single pole fishing.....over all like mine pretty well, but miss my ft pedal at times (mainly when single pole fishing).......invaluable when trolling