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Thinking about new trolling motors for Livescope. I would really like to have Spotlock for casting to fish or tying equipment etc. As far as Minn Kota goes I don't know which would be smoother to operate with Livescope, The Ultex or the Foretrex. My son runs the Foretrex and doesn't need Spotlock. He says the Ultrex can be a little tricky to operate with Livescope mounted on the shaft. Any comments or suggestions?
Ultrex for sure
Livescope mounted on separate pole and not on trolling motor. IMO
Chuck
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Curious as what he means by tricky . About to buy one or the other myself in a few months and adding live scope .Quote:
Originally Posted by slabbandit
The Ultrex although still cable steer is very sensitive. I think they call it power steering. Just takes a few minutes to learn to operate.
Takes little to not much effort to move pedal.
I’m sure you will like it.
If you get heading sensor set up correctly it will move less than 3 ft while in spot lock.
The jog feature is great also and you can go to your waypoints if networked with your hummingbird graphs.
I’m sure Garmin and Lowrance have good products but I’ve never owned those brands.
Hope this helps.
Chuck
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Hummingbird has great customer service
I would suggest Garmin Force to use with Livescope. having experience with MK and Garmin with Livescope.Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck Adams
I used Ultrex with Livescope on my previous boat. I quickly found that I did not like the transducer mounted on the trolling motor and went with a separate shaft. I recommend a separate shaft for Livescope if you mainly jig brush piles, etc., regardless of which trolling motor you chose.
So with my new boat I went with Garmin Force and find it a better choice with Livescope for several reasons.
First reason is I am able to control the trolling motor with my Garmin 126 unit with the Force trolling motor. So I am able to create way points and spot locks on the 126 unit and use goto on the 126 to tell the trolling motor to take me to that spot to fish. I could not do that with the Ultrex. I could only use the limited number of spots on the Ultrex remote or the goto on the Huminbird on the console. I do my fishing from the bow, not the console.
Second, I have found that the Force anchor lock is more accurate than the Ultrex spot lock. I don't have the constant movement of the Force trolling motor that I had with the Ultrex trolling motor. Nor does the Force need as much power to stay on position. The Force anchor lock is much more stable under bridges.
Third, the Force trolling motor is more powerful than the Ultrex trolling motor. I use a 36 v system on both systems. The Force will move my 24 ' pontoon over 4 miles per hour. The Ultrex would only move my 20' pontoon 2.8 miles per hour. I have been told by a friend that uses 24 volts for his Force unit that it is as powerful as the Ultrex on 36 volts.
4 mph is moving for that big of a toon with a trolling motor. Impressive
I have an Ultrex and it works great with the Livescope.I have the transducer mounted on the shaft and mainly use the footpedal when scoping.I will hit the spotlock when I am getting off fish,retying,getting a drink,etc and it's a nice feature to have over the Fortrex.I have never used the Force but it seems like a nice motor.
If between the two I’d chose the ultrex. I have it and love it. I have livescope mounted on the motor shaft. I’ve had it on stand alone pole which had its pros and cons but prefer trolling motor as one thing less I have to mess with. When it was on stand alone pole I constantly had to adjust by hand and deploy which interferes with my fishing especially when I’m two poling. I don’t use spot lock much and don’t sit in one spot too long. If I had to get another motor I’d probably get the Garmin.
I have always liked Minn Kota until I got the Garmin Force it's well worth the money.
I bought this Minn Kota spot lock trolling motor for my brother for his birthday and he absolutely loves it! Not only does it have the remote stow but he really enjoys the anchor feature. It keeps the boat in place, even in the wind. I no longer worry about him leaning over the front of the boat putting the trolling motor in the water and taking it out!
With its auto-deploy function, it’s the right equipment for solo fishing trips. This spot lock trolling motor pulls the boat around without giving me so much trouble, and anchoring becomes a breeze as well. Based on my observation, it’s ideal for flat water.
My 2 cents: I just received my retirement boat last month and had it rigged at the factory (22' vexus 1880 loaded) coming from a Tracker with Lowrance units and a Motoguide Xi5, I wanted a better graph as I read and here from many and of course wanted the whole boat system so the graphs would talk to the Tm. Well 1st thing I noticed is the Ultrex is much bigger and noisier than the Motoguide plus the remote is huge and heavy, I cant imagine hanging it off my neck all day. Last time I was out I decided to pack up and head back to the ramp, I believe I had the Tm on spotlock but pulled the Tm up and the motor didn't quit it beat the Heck out of the bow of my boat, every other Tm I've had in the past quit running once you pulled it up. I am seriously thinking of selling it and going back to a Motoguide.
What made you decide to go with Garmin? I recently got a Garmin UHD 93sv and love it. Should upgrade my Tm and was thinking about the Force. Wondering if it’s worth the extra money over MK? (Current [and only] Tm is an older Minn Kota)Quote:
Originally Posted by ezgoing
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Update.....After having my 24 volt Ultrex in action for a few months I feel like I can give a few comments on it. I love the ease of deployment. I really like the spot lock feature for dealing with a fish, tying on tackle, or just eating a snack or something. I have even caught a nice slab, spot locked, and then came back and caught his buddy he was hanging out with.
I have found that if I spot lock on a brushpile or stump with at least a 5 to 10 mile and hour wind, the motor will hold me within jigging distance and slowly scan the brushpile like a flashlight shining back and forth. Yea, the brushless motors like the Garmin Force might be quieter, and I definitely spared no expense on my new boat, lithium battery, 12"screens, perspective view, I just couldn't see the extra money for the Garmin Force at the time. May wish I would have later. I'm sure it's worth the money to the folks that have them.