Minn Kota lovers talk to me.

Wife said I can get a new trolling motor to replace the MotorGuide that came with the Basstracker boat. I am thinking about getting this one. http://www.basspro.com/Minn-Kota-Ter...1083105011618/ . Questions.
1. I like to brush fish with jigs so I will need a foot control. Can I leave the Ipilot off and just use foot at times?
2. I also tightline with grandkids and wife so footless control would be nice. Track control and using the hand device nice.
3. Would like to learn flatline so above features is nice.
4. I have a Humminbird 597 ci HD on the existing TM. I notice this comes with a Sonar built in. How is that Sonar that is built in? How does it hook up?
5. How durable is the motor. Seems that a electronic turning system can wear out much easier then the old type manual turning foot pedal.
6. Ay tips on how you apply this to your type of Crappie fishing? You see I will be covering 3 different types.
I know there is a special forum for this but I just enjoy the Carolina boys opinions. You guys are great.

Thanks

Bought one last year.............................should have bought one long ago. I have never hooked of the pedal attachment. Fish timber single pole, spider rig and longline. I am a Lowrance guy currently and the connection is a plug n play. Track control very nice, and the North bearing feature is great. Company now makes a universal bracket that is slick to take trolling motor off and on the boat. I use the same trolling motor now between my two boats.

From the north.....but opinions are opinions!!!

Thanks plateboater. Your opinion matters. Sounds like you are versatile like me. Sound like this could work.

Get the ipilot. Worth the money. Mine has a foot control and hand control. never used the foot control. Setting the course North with the gps adjusts for the wind some and the cruise control is my most used feature. set it at .08 for longlining and don't worry about it. Its not perfect, but better than I can do. The anchor function works best for me in light wind. Too much back and forth when its too calm. Tightlining or longlining is much easier with the ipilot.

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Originally Posted by lightnin

Get the ipilot. Worth the money. Mine has a foot control and hand control. never used the foot control. Setting the course North with the gps adjusts for the wind some and the cruise control is my most used feature. set it at .08 for longlining and don't worry about it. Its not perfect, but better than I can do. The anchor function works best for me in light wind. Too much back and forth when its too calm. Tightlining or longlining is much easier with the ipilot.

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Thanks,
I guess the cruise control when set at a speed will adjust for the wind. I guess the anchor can keep you close to a brush and then use the foot to dial it in. if you catch a fish and don't pay attention drift away the anchor function will bring you back close to it. Starting to see how this works.

If you are using the anchor function and then manual override by using the foot control I'd suspect that you'd cut off the anchor lock. Atleast that's how the PDv2's work when overriding it's functions. And to be perfectly honest, alot of guys have stated the electric turn motors are much harder to steer than the manual steer motors when using the foot control.

Now, that being said, when longlining there isnt a better option for your boat than the I-pilot. It IS the cream-of-the-crop for longliners. Cruise control does regulate the speed by the amount of headwinds and tailwinds. With strong tailwinds you would want to deploy driftsocks so the troller can continue controlling the boat. The I-pilot also does great for spider rigging running at a snail's pace.

Love my MinnKoto, can't say nothing bad about them. I also have the V2 and do miss the foot control when dock shooting but you are going with a great unit.

I got a Minn Kota with co-pilot.It has done well for me. Will upgrade to the I-Plot soon as I can save enough pennies. Go for it. And if you dont like it you can always give it to me and I will use my pennies to buy one of them fancy floating nets.

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Originally Posted by gabowman

And to be perfectly honest, alot of guys have stated the electric turn motors are much harder to steer than the manual steer motors when using the foot control.

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I hope it will not be to bad for those brush fishing times.

Thanks all for the advice on each situation. John glad to see you are doing well on those night trips. Went fishing Monday with wife and was trying to teach her brush fishing. We ended up with 16 in the grease.

I have an IPilot on my Tracker as well. I also recommend the MinnKota quick mount bracket. Not only does it make it a snap to install and to change to another boat, but in my case I need to set it back into the boat to put the cover on it. The motor does stick out over the front due to the nature to the mounting, so have to be careful around docks and stuff so you don't bang it into something.
On the brush fishing, I did some for the first time last week and I had no troube staying over the brush. I've learned when using the anchor lock to approach upwind slowly and set the lock at the high end of where you want to fish. I found that the drift you get from the lock was ideal to fish around the brush. That ,of course, depends on how hard the wind is blowing.
As for the foot pedal, I also have never used mine, except to verify that it worked when I first got it. The first time I tried to use the foot pedal on an electric steer and it drove me crazy. The response time is so much slower than a cable drive. However when I went in a boat with the Ipilot with all the features plus being able to run it from anywhere in the boat I was sold.
I think you will find it is one of the best investments you will ever make for fishing and boat control.

I use the pedal when longlining to make small changes to my course when I'm sitting up front in my tracker. If I'm sitting at the console watching the sidescan, then I use the remote as needed.

Thanks SeaRay and Jimp. That is the advice and all of previous I am grateful for. I am taking notes so the learning curve will be quicker. One thing no one has mention about how good the built in transducer was or should it be a concern. 2d not a problem since my upfront Imager is 2d.

CK, you will not go wrong with this Tm. You will need to get a cable to connect your DF to the Tm. Minn Kota Has the listing for each DF. You can get your answer about transducer troubles through the Fisherman's friend, 1401 S Ridge Ave Kannapolis, NC 28083 @ (704) 934-2122. Hope you get it you will enjoy the stop lock and record a track long lining...

Come on out to the dark side with us sometimes.. Ron

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Originally Posted by BigDawgg

CK, you will not go wrong with this Tm. You will need to get a cable to connect your DF to the Tm. Minn Kota Has the listing for each DF. You can get your answer about transducer troubles through the Fisherman's friend, 1401 S Ridge Ave Kannapolis, NC 28083 @ (704) 934-2122. Hope you get it you will enjoy the stop lock and record a track long lining...

Come on out to the dark side with us sometimes.. Ron

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Ron,
Would love to try the darkside. I would have to join someone since I am not setup for it.

Ok thanks all, I am going down Thursday afternoon to Bass Pro Shop. :biggrin They have 3 in stock :biggrin

Give Brian a call at BBG (one of our sponsors) and you can probably get it cheaper.

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Originally Posted by barnacle bill

give brian a call at bbg (one of our sponsors) and you can probably get it cheaper.

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x2!

I believe we can work you into a seat one night. Also as mentioned above shop around and get a better price. Look at The Digital Oasis they have free shipping it's a good cheaper place to shop too! I got mine at $1249 with everything remote and foot control. Some are sold without one or the other so be careful.

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Originally Posted by BigDawgg

I believe we can work you into a seat one night. Also as mentioned above shop around and get a better price. Look at The Digital Oasis they have free shipping it's a good cheaper place to shop too! I got mine at $1249 with everything remote and foot control. Some are sold without one or the other so be careful.

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Just got mine for $1249. Now looking at the daunting task of installing it On a basstracker 17.5 Crappie master. I want to keep the quick disconnect so figuring this out.

Have fun. After it's done you'll love how it works out when:fish

You'll love the minn kota, when i bought my tracker in 09, i worked the salesman to a great deal.... then told him i would walk away if he didnt replace the motorguide with a minn kota powerdrive v2, got what i wanted, just added a i-pilot to the v2 this yr and loveit.

Went back to Bass pro Shop and got a Female and Male 8 gauge disconnect. Male should install and replace the one I had Installed earlier in the console of tracker. Motorguide was a 10 gauge so I was not warm and fuzzy on that. Friday I start the install process and cant wait to try out this flatline thing.

My plug on my Tracker was right in the middle of the front deck and I was always knocking it loose with my foot, so I moved it to the far left side so it out of the way. Replaced the hole in the center with a cigarette plug and run my minnow bucket aerator off it.