Trolling Motors

A trolling motor is essential when bass fishing from a boat. There are basically two types of trolling motors. Bow mount and transom mount. Usually small boats without a front deck will use a transom mount style.

Trolling motors come in 12 volt, 24 volt and 36 volt varieties. Depending on the size of the boat as well as it's weight will determine what you should have as far as thrust is concerned. For example fiberglass boats weigh more in comparable lengths than aluminum boats. A rule of thumb is that you need 2 pounds of thrust for each 100 pounds of your boat rig.

Maximum thrusts are anywhere from around 24 lbs up to over 100 pounds of thrust. When choosing a trolling motor take into consideration the weight of your boat but also your capacity to carry batteries. Unless you are using lithium type batteries (quite expensive), a lead acid battery can weigh up to 70 lbs each.

Some of the newer trolling motors such as the Garmin Force and the Lowrance Ghost are brushless motors. The advantage of these is that they run quieter, have less electronic interference with fish finders and use much less battery power. My favorite is the Garmin Force.

Another consideration is the motor's shaft length. Smaller boats usually are good with 42-50 inch shafts. Bass boats normally will use a 50-55 inch shaft. If you plan of fishing big waters like the great lakes a longer shaft may be necessary.

Each of the motors pictured here will take you to the Bass Pro Shops webpage for that motor. You can read about the details and options there.