Courtesy Lowrance
Large information emerged from the 2024 ICAST fishing commerce present in Orlando, Florida. Each Lowrance and Simrad debuted bow-mounted, electric-steered brushless trolling motors designed for salt water, representing the primary trolling motors from both engineered to carry out within the brine; certainly, the Simrad motor is the primary ever from this long-established marine electronics model.
These motors be a part of a cadre of fashions from Garmin, Minn Kota, Energy-Pole and Rhodan all that includes GPS steering, rugged marine-grade development, subtle expertise and superior system integration. Amongst skilled boating anglers, positioning is all the pieces. And positioning is strictly what these motors are designed to realize. Let’s take a look at some examples.
Recon
The brand new saltwater trolling motors from Lowrance and Simrad share the identical mannequin identify—Recon—and possess the identical design, together with a brushless motor that operates on both 24 or 36 volts and produces 90 and 115 kilos of thrust, respectively.
These manually deployed, electric-steered trolling motors boast a singular joystick distant known as Freesteer. Incorporating a shade LCD display screen, the distant is light-weight and wearable, offering 360 levels of handbook steering, in addition to activation of automated features. With the Lowrance model of the Recon, the distant might be mixed with a wi-fi foot pedal with a programmable keypad and seamless show integration through a NMEA 2000 community. The Simrad model grants full integration with a Simrad multifunction show through NMEA 2000.
Recon trolling motors additionally characteristic a GPS-guided digital anchoring system that holds boats inside a 3-foot radius. A singular jogging operate permits anglers to execute diagonal strikes in eight instructions. There’s additionally the choice to maneuver digital anchor positions in nearly any course. The carbon-fiber-infused shafts carry lifetime warranties, whereas the motor carries a three-year guarantee.
The Recon motors have built-in sonar expertise and can be found with a sonar nose-cone possibility. The Recon fashions can be found in 54-, 60- and 72-inch shaft lengths, and begin at $3,499. To study extra, go to lowrance.com or simrad-yachting.com.
Courtesy Garmin
Kraken
The information popping out of ICAST 2024 is that Garmin expanded its Pressure Kraken brushless saltwater trolling- motor sequence (which was launched final yr) with a 48-inch shaft size to accommodate smaller boat sizes, together with flats boats and microskiffs.
Like the opposite fashions within the Kraken sequence, the 48-inch mannequin is engineered with a pivot-style mount for simple set up on boats the place bow area is restricted. With handbook deploy and stow, it provides anglers seamless, wi-fi integration with Garmin sonar methods, multifunction shows and smartwatches.
Now finishing its first season within the fingers of saltwater anglers, the Kraken encompasses a brushless motor and high-effectivity propeller to supply 100 kilos of thrust as a 36-volt system or 80 kilos as a 24-volt system. Anglers also can simply set up stay sonar because of a cable administration system that routes the transducer cable contained in the trolling-motor shaft. With the Kraken LiveScope Mounting Bracket (extra buy required), any Garmin LiveScope transducer might be put in and operated in all three modes: Ahead, Down and Perspective.
The included wi-fi distant offers anglers management of the trolling motor with exact digital anchor lock, autopilot performance, heading maintain and point-and-go gesture steering. The brand new 48-inch Kraken is offered in each black and white, with advised retail costs of $3,599.99 and $3,799.99, respectively. Different Kraken fashions characteristic 63-, 75- and 90-inch shaft lengths in white, and 63- and 75-inch lengths in black. To study extra, go to garmin.com.
Learn Subsequent: The Advantages of Brushless Saltwater Trolling Motors
Courtesy Minn Kota
Intuition
Minn Kota has set a excessive bar amongst saltwater anglers with its top-of-the-line Riptide Intuition fashions that includes Quest brushless motor expertise and push-button deploy and stow. Now finishing its first full season on the bows of saltwater fishing boats, the Riptide Intuition operates on both 24 volts for 90 kilos of thrust or 36 volts for 115 kilos of thrust. Shaft-length decisions embrace 60, 65, 87 and 100 inches.
It additionally has a beefy composite shaft and pivot factors, and the motor incorporates real-time battery monitoring with a “time till empty” indicator, which prompts anglers to change to Eco mode when reserves drop to twenty p.c. Constructed-in i-Pilot and i-Pilot Hyperlink GPS steering allow performance comparable to Spot-Lock digital anchoring and a Drift mode that works like a digital drift sock.
Management choices embrace a GPS wi-fi distant to drive the motor from anyplace within the boat. Riptide Intuition provides compatibility with the One-Boat Community for networking with and controlling through a Humminbird multifunction show simply. They’re obtainable in black or white and begin at $4,399.99 for a 60-inch-shaft mannequin. For extra info, go to minnkota.johnsonoutdoors.com.
Transfer
The Transfer PV sequence saltwater trolling motors from Energy-Pole characteristic pivot mounts, brushless motors, GPS steering, wi-fi controls and digital anchoring. The brushless motors are engineered to ship energy at decrease rpm. An excellent-strong titanium shaft carries a lifetime assure. Superior digital expertise contains built-in GPS navigation with options comparable to Anchor mode and Lively Vector Heading navigation. A wide range of user-friendly wi-fi controls embrace a ReelFeel foot pedal that gives the sensation of cable steering and the power to place it anyplace you want.
There are additionally wi-fi foot buttons obtainable to activate the Anchor and Lively Vector Heading modes. Energy-Pole’s ProNav app can allow a cellular system to turn into a controller. The PV sequence is offered in 45-, 52-, 60- and 72-inch shaft lengths, and is offered in black or white. It begins at $4,999.99. To search out out extra, go to power-pole.com.
Rhodan
The HD GPS Anchor+ saltwater trolling motors from Rhodan characteristic pivot mounts and digital pulse-width modulation circuitry to assist maximize effectivity and warmth dissipation, optimize energy and prolong battery life. A wi-fi and waterproof floating distant fob controls the motor from anyplace on the boat.
Obtainable in 12-, 24- and 36-volt fashions delivering 80 to 120 kilos of thrust, these trolling motors even have the distinctive potential to steer the boat whereas the principle engine is at low energy settings, permitting anglers to troll at greater speeds or to anchor in fast-moving currents. The Anchor mode robotically compensates for wind, waves and cross present.
Rhodan integrates with Raymarine’s Axiom MFDs to regulate thrust and the motor’s course, and activate Anchor mode. This permits anglers to make use of the touchscreen show to manage the Rhodan trolling motor when it’s lively. The HD GPS Anchor+ is offered in black or white in shaft lengths starting from 36 to 108 inches, beginning at $2,399. Go to rhodanmarine.com to study extra.