Trolling without ipilot

I've recently gotten into crappie fishing more specifically long lining. I'm fishing out my my 17ft boat aluminum Excel that is primarily set up to hunt in. I've got rod holders and sonar (no livscope) and a trolling motor however it doesn't have ipilot. I've been running 6 rods out the back and working the foot pedal by hand from midway in the boat. I've been catching fish but working that foot pedal by hand is aggravating and double aggravating when hooked up. I'm considering moving my rod holders more towards the front of the boat so I could sit in a set in the front deck, work the motor by foot and be able to run 3 rods off each side of the boat. For the moment that seems to be the best I can come up with until I can upgrade trolling motors. Anyone here have a set up they use to troll without ipilot? Planning to upgrade eventually but trying to make things a little easier now. I wish the Terrova would sit on the same mounting plate that the Edge is sitting currently. Aside from having to spend more money I also hate to have to put another mounting plate on and drill yet more holes.

Are you running typically in straight lines? There are switches you can use to keep the TM under power till you reset the switch. There is also the option of buying another hand controlled TM and hanging it over the side. That's what I use now when I'm side pulling/pushing

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Before we had the Terrova, my buddy and I would take turns running the TM. It was nice when my would go, we’d make him run it. [emoji16]


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I have a Minn Kota Powerdrive trolling motor.
It came from the factory with an 18’ cord connected to the (foot control) which like you i operated with my hand, and ran the motor from the back of the boat.
But eventually the wire failed due to coiling it when finished for the day.
For about $100 i bought a remote unit for the motor, which eliminated the need for the foot control.
It performs all the functions the foot control did, but now i just push buttons to do it.
I would be calling Minn Kota and talk with a rep about what might be possible for your motor.

I had a friend running a foot controlled motor. He was always on the motor with a few rods on thre front of his boat and his Dad fished 8 rods out the back. I never seen the two switch places. He eventually upgraded boats before he died from Covid at 52 years old. He was a good friend and loved crappie fishing.

I added the remote to my terrova quick and easy I think I paid $125 for the kit


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Originally Posted by wildcat3

I've recently gotten into crappie fishing more specifically long lining. I'm fishing out my my 17ft boat aluminum Excel that is primarily set up to hunt in. I've got rod holders and sonar (no livscope) and a trolling motor however it doesn't have ipilot. I've been running 6 rods out the back and working the foot pedal by hand from midway in the boat. I've been catching fish but working that foot pedal by hand is aggravating and double aggravating when hooked up. I'm considering moving my rod holders more towards the front of the boat so I could sit in a set in the front deck, work the motor by foot and be able to run 3 rods off each side of the boat. For the moment that seems to be the best I can come up with until I can upgrade trolling motors. Anyone here have a set up they use to troll without ipilot? Planning to upgrade eventually but trying to make things a little easier now. I wish the Terrova would sit on the same mounting plate that the Edge is sitting currently. Aside from having to spend more money I also hate to have to put another mounting plate on and drill yet more holes.

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Sounds to me that you have the best idea about moving everything up front, until you can upgrade your trolling motor.
Best of luck [emoji106]


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I appreciate all the input. Would running rods from more towards the front of the boat have any effect on depth or presentation?

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Originally Posted by wildcat3

I appreciate all the input. Would running rods from more towards the front of the boat have any effect on depth or presentation?

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No effect on depth, as that's determined mostly by speed.
Maybe a little effect on presentation, since you won't have any lines running straight out over the transom, so there'll be a little bit of a gap in your forward line of motion.

I long line trolled for a few years early on. I had a Tracker stick steering and a plain Minn Kota foot control trolling motor. We were pretty good at it after we learned a few things.
Put rod holders on each side of the boat. You can also use different length rods to spread your lures so they are not following each other.
Experiment with speed, weight of jigs, line size ect.


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It can be done but once I got I pilot I couldn’t go back, it’s a game changer for me. Especially when I’m taking kids or people who have never trolled before I can be all over the boat without worrying about being off track.


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