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Posts: 118
Location: OSHKOSH, WI | I was planning on getting a kicker motor for my boat until I heard that these relatively new motors have been pretty hot and can even take the place of a kicker. My boat is Fiberglass Sylvan Viper 180 with a 135 Mariner on the back...I was thinking of getting the 24 Volt 80 lb thrust motor substituting for a kicker...I troll on Winnebago and anyone that trolls there knows it can get rough....so anyone have any opinions. FLY |
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Posts: 1382
| Shep fishes with some guys that use these alot, hopefully he will weigh-in. |
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Member
Posts: 701
Location: upper michigan | they work really great but they are limited to trolling with the wind or in calm conditions. The main reason they are limited with the wind is the amount of thrust it takes to push into the wind verses battery life. But if you troll with the wind the are the ultimate for pulling crawler harness's. |
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Member
Posts: 7
| They work great for pulling crawler harnesses at slower speeds, you can dial it in better than a kicker. For pulling cranks all day especially in a good chop, you would want the kicker.
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Posts: 1040
Location: Stevens Point, WI | I would agree also what the last two guys said there. There were a few guys I know on the PWT last season running them. They really liked them but were not the thing for windy conditions. |
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Member
Posts: 3899
| I've spent a lot of time in boats with these Engine Mount Minn Kota's. Dean and Pat both attribute their use to the last two FLW wins they had. One on Erie, and the other on Green Bay. As mentioned, they work best when going with the wind. Absolute precise speed control. If the wind is pushing too much, put it in reverse thrust, and it'll slow you down to the speed you want. Much quieter than the kicker, I also think you can run your boards closer to the boat. Makes for better control of your boards in the waves.
Why don't I have one? Because I troll with my AP up front. Most of the tour guys have Maxxum's on their boats. If I was a cable steer guy, I would definately have one. |
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Member
Posts: 2393
Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | Shep,
It may be worthwhile to also mention that most guys are running 36 volt systems too ............. Correct ????? |
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Location: Rhinelander | I've also spent some time in rigs with this setup. All were 36 volt, and all worked pretty well. |
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Member
Posts: 3899
| Yes, Dennis. Dean ran a 36 volt 101# prototype when he won at Erie. Pat ran a 24 Volt when he won Green Bay. Pretty sure they all ran the 101# 36 Volt last year. Pretty interesting to see only 4 on boats 2 years ago, then last year, lots of boats had them. I would expect more will have them this year.
Just another tool in the arsenal of the touring pros. Not for every situation, but definately works in others. I don't think you 'll ever see it replace the kicker on the boats.
Edited by Shep 4/2/2007 11:31 AM
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Member
Posts: 2393
Location: Waukesha Wisconsin | I agree Shep:
Battery technology is not there yet. That's why I asked about the 36 volt systems. I recall fishing the FLW Green Bay event last year and heard rave reviews from friends using this system. But a very close friend tried using it for the first time while trolling with cranks at faster speeds and was disappointed with battery life. For now, I'd say it's perfect for crawler harnesses going with the wind or on flat days.
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| Thanks for the opinions guys..it looks like I will be in the market for a used kicker motor as much as I am not looking forward to the work involved with it |
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| I just installed a 101 on my Ranger 621, I love it, I only fish Erie and only had it out one day last sunday from what I saw of it so far it's the best piece of the trollling equation I have, I took 2nd in the tourney and 1st on big fish on a super tough bite on Erie, did it have something to do with it, maybe maybe not but I sure love it. We where fishing in a hard SW wind 10 miles offshore with 3-4 the norm and still kept our speed at 1.2-1.4 with no bags with the wind pushing and we had control of the boat at all times, if that can tell you anything. I know someone who ran 3.0-3.2 for steelies for 5 hours and still had lots of battery left. I say go for it. i do have a kicker also, but have a feeling I won't be using it that much since I invented in this thing, someone else I talked with that is a FLW pro said they only used there kicker to handline and used this exclusively in 2006 |
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Member
Posts: 15
| This is not new technoogy, Panther Marine has had the Navigator for years. It does help catch fish in shallow spring water conditions as well as deep clear water conditions. The truth is battery life! The nice thing about even cranks is that you can start fishing as you kicker is warming up. It is a great investment, and well worth the advantages a fisherman will gain. I just put the Minnkota 80# on my new boat and I am looking forward to putting it to the test. |
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Opinions on Minn Kota Engine Mount Trolling Motors