Jump to content
  • GUESTS

    If You  want access  to member only forums on FM, You will need to Sign-in or  Sign-Up now .

    This box will disappear once you are signed in as a member.

Motorguide Versus Minnkota (Trolling Speed)


Recommended Posts

Does anyone know the difference in speeds when comparing the 2 different brands?

For example, the Minnkota I own has 3 reverse and 5 forward speeds with 27 pounds of thrust.

I'm looking at a motorguide with 2 reverse speeds and 5 forward speeds with double the thrust (54)It's used and priced good.

I'm also looking at the new variable speed trolling motors, specifically the minnkota one for $280 40 pounds thrust roughly.

What do I do, I can get a used Motorguide for half the price of a new minnkota. BUT I want to be able to backtroll and I don't know if the two speeds is enough on the Motorguide even with the 54 lbs of thrust?

Anyone's input will help my decision!


------------------
1...2...bam got him

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I had the Motorguide model you are referring to. You cant compare either of the models you are looking at to your old motor... 27 Lbs of thrust is sufficient to push a canoe, or a very small boat with minimal wind... thats it.

The main factor here is .. how heavy of a boat are you planning on putting this motor on? I had the same motorguide model mounted on a 14' Alumacraft and it would go too fast in reverse even on the lower speed when there was minimal wind for pulling live bait rigs. The speed was proportioned better in forward where super slow speeds could be acheived, but at a loss of boat control (forward vs. backtrolling). The motorguide was great for trolling crankbaits and casting, but it was not ideal for backtrolling.

The minnkota model would serve your needs well for back trolling if you have a small, light boat. If your boat is at least 16' and *rigged*, you will want at least 50 lb thrust with decent speed variation(forward and reverse) for most normal fishing conditions(winds to 15 mph)... but will leave you wishing you had 65 lbs on windy or choppy days. A 40 lb thrust would be fine on a 16' boat on *calm* days for just about all applications.

The best thing you can do for advice, is to give more information on the boat you plan to equip.. theres a huge difference between the needs of a *row boat* and a *Yar Craft*. Another thing to consider is if you plan on using this motor as a primary(inner city lakes), or if its strictly used for holding your boat on structure on smaller lakes .. or do you fish big water regularly?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yup, I got a 16 ft lund. 25 horse. I was worried about the reverse speed your referring to.

I plan on using the boat on big lakes, Minnetonka, LOTW, Vermilion,

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ok ... 16' Lund, 25 hp motor... so you have a relatively light boat. Assuming you dont have 3 people, 2 livewells full, concrete floors, and the kitchen sink.

This is what I would recommend ... I would forget about the $280 (40#)minnkota model that is double priced due to the built in maximizer. I would also pass on the motorguide because you seem to like to backtroll... and the speed control will limit your abilities (speed 2 is full throttle reverse, or way too fast). Another factor on the motorguide is the steel shaft, they bend easily if you bump anything(log, rocks, sand).

What I would do, Is look into a cheaper Minnkota model (Endura) which is carried everywhere (Walmart has cheapest price) and carries a 2 year warranty. A 50 lb model will cost you $198. If your not as concerned about the price, you can look into the higher grade minnkotas with *infinate* speed control and the maximizer in the 50 lb range. Infinate speed control can be nice, but not neccessary... Lets face it, if its not dead calm we are constantly changing throttle positions on any motor. A maximizer will not give you any better battery life at high speeds(windy/choppy water). In all reality, all Minnkota trolling motors run very close to the same amount of time at max speed on a battery charge (or 2 or 3 batteries for a single charge for the 24 and 36 volt systems). At lower speeds, the higher thrust motors will be more efficient than lesser thrust motors because they can propell a heavier boat at a lower speed setting... or a 50# motor is likely to push your boat at 1 mph for about 8 hours, where a 27# you would probably get 2 hours.

You would likely be happiest with a 65 lb model on big water, but price will likely dictate, and in your case... You have a 16' boat with a 25 hp motor.. Many 65# models are 24V (2 batteries) which will add a lot of weight... probably more than you want to add with your current motor if you still want any type of performance... especially on choppy water.

Sorry for the book .. hope this helps some.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


And the Wave Wackers?? lol

yeah, I'm basically gearin up already. To say I had equipment problems last year would be an understatement. I'm trying to master boat control.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

thanks Fisher Dave. They the minnkota variable speed does look a little overpriced.

Thankx! grin.gif

Link to comment
Share on other sites

GUIDO

GET THE MOTORGUIDE and REVERSE THE HEAD.
Then you have 5 reverse speeds and 2 forward.

I have that same trolling motor on a 16' Sylvan Backtroller with a 40horse, two full live wells and 500 lbs of fishermen in it. I backtroll with the electric when I'm fishing. Only use the forward gears for repositioning, so 5 reverse and 2 forward works great for me. I also got mine used for somewhere in the $100 to $150 price range from a friend who replaced it with an expensive variable speed. The only advantage he has is, his new trolling motor doesn't wear out the battery as fast as mine does.

There are two ways to acheive reversing the controls on a MotorGuide (and I've done both). Let me know if you buy the MotorGuide and want help with it.
[email protected]

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.


  • Your Responses - Share & Have Fun :)

    • leech~~
      Nope not me.  May want to go nextdoor and ask around?  
    • smurfy
      Looks to me like Leech brought his chair home!!😅😆
    • Brianf.
      I'm not there, so I can't tell exactly what's going on but it looks like a large area of open water developed in the last day with all of the heavy snow on the east side of wake em up Narrows. These two photos are from my Ring Camera facing north towards Niles Point.  You can see what happened with all of snow that fell in the last three days, though the open water could have been wind driven. Hard to say. .  
    • SkunkedAgain
      Black Bay had great ice before but a few spots near rockpiles where there were spots of open water. It looks like the weight of the snow has created a little lake in the middle of the bay.  
    • LakeofthewoodsMN
      On the south end...   Thanks to some cold spring weather, ice fishing continues strong for those still ice fishing.  The bite remains very good.  Most resorts have pulled their fish houses off for the year, however, some still have fish houses out and others are allowing ATV and side by sides.  Check social media or call ahead to your favorite resort for specifics. Reports this week for walleyes and saugers remain excellent.   A nice mix of jumbo perch, pike, eelpout, and an occasional crappie, tullibee or sturgeon being reported by anglers. Jigging one line and using a live minnow on the second line is the way to go.  Green, glow red, pink and gold were good colors this week.     Monster pike are on a tear!  Good number of pike, some reaching over 45 inches long, being caught using tip ups with live suckers or dead bait such as smelt and herring in 8 - 14' of water.   As always, work through a resort or outfitter for ice road conditions.  Safety first always. Fish houses are allowed on the ice through March 31st, the walleye / sauger season goes through April 14th and the pike season never ends. On the Rainy River...  The river is opened up along the Nelson Park boat ramp in Birchdale, the Frontier boat ramp and Vidas boat ramp.  This past week, much of the open water skimmed over with the single digit overnight temps.   Areas of the river have popped open again and with temps getting warmer, things are shaping up for the last stretch through the rest of the spring season, which continues through April 14th.   Very good numbers of walleyes are in the river.  Reports this week, even with fewer anglers, have been good.  When temps warm up and the sun shines, things will fire up again.   Jigs with brightly colored plastics or jigs with a frozen emerald shiner have been the desired bait on the river.  Don't overlook slow trolling crankbaits upstream as well.   Good reports of sturgeon being caught on the river as well.  Sturgeon put the feed bag on in the spring.  The bite has been very good.  Most are using a sturgeon rig with a circle hook loaded with crawlers or crawlers / frozen emerald shiners. Up at the NW Angle...  Ice fishing is winding down up at the Angle.  Walleyes, saugers, and a number of various species in the mix again this week.  The bite is still very good with good numbers of fish.  The one two punch of jigging one line and deadsticking the second line is working well.   Check with Angle resorts on transport options from Young's Bay.  Call ahead for ice road guidelines.  
    • CigarGuy
      With the drifting, kind of hard to tell for sure, but I'm guessing about a foot and still lightly snowing. Cook end!
    • PSU
      How much snow did you get on Vermilion? 
    • Mike89
      lake here refroze too...  started opening again yesterday with the wet snow and wind...  very little ice left today...
    • Hookmaster
      A friend who has a cabin between Alex and Fergus said the lake he's on refroze. He texted me a pic from March 12th when it was open and one from 23rd when it wasn't. 🤯
    • SkunkedAgain
      I don't think that there has been any ice melt in the past few weeks on Vermilion. Things looked like a record and then Mother Nature swept in again.   I'll give my revised guess of April 21st
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.