Talon/Power Pole

Kickerfish

New member
Let me hear everyone's opinions on Talon vs. PowerPole. If you have them on your boat, are they worth it? Do you use them as much as you thought you would? Does anyone just run ONE and how does that work out for them?

I am looking at both. I like that Talon runs off of battery power and not hydraulics. I am really hoping that someone will say that one unit will do a solid job but I fear that I'll spin around in circles on the water.

I would appreciate anyone's advice!
 

derek81

Active member
I don't personally have any experience with Talon's but have a set of 8ft PP Blades on my boat and will not own another boat without them. Don't buy 1 though because you will instantly wish you had bought two. Windy days they are a must, especially on fall when you are fishing grass, they also make docking the boat a breeze.
 

FishingwithRusty

Active member
i have two 8' talons and regret that i didnt get them sooner. i use them every time i put the boat in the water, docking, stopping boat before i get too close to a target, to hold the boat while i fish an area over real hard or while working on tackle/re-tying. they are invaluable and wont have a boat without them.

i chose talons for a couple of reasons:
no pumps to leak/fail or take up space in the boat
no hydraulic system(hoses/fittings) to fail/leak
i prefer the straight up and down deployment vs sticking out behind the boat
easy to raise if the electric motor fails/sticks
 

Kickerfish

New member
Do you guys know of someone that sells these things locally that might offer a pretty decent deal on them? I would potentially need them installed as well.
 

FishingwithRusty

Active member
there are several groups on fb where you can find deals on them and installation of talons is pretty simple
 

BMANN

New member
There are pros and cons to each one. I have power poles and love them. The only issue I have with them is putting boat in garage you have to lower them down part of the way then raise them after you get backed in. Talons can lay forward on the rear deck of your boat. With that being said you also can’t get the talons out of the way while fishing and they are either up all the way or down all the way. With power poles you can lower them down and pick them up just enough to clear bottom to move the boat a little. I think you would be happy with either and once you get them you will wish you had done it a long time ago
 

Rob Lee

Member
I have power poles on my triton and love them. Additionally, customer service is second to none. They answer the phone and respond to emails.
 

on fish

Active member
Guys I have had power pole since day one. Love them. Very simple,new lines are great no problems,I understand everyone likes things for different reasons,but power poles are lighter in the boat, quieter and yes if you need them customer service that can't be touched and also I am local if you need helped I'm a pro with them and have been trained by Thier university so I can access and troubleshoot problems on them,just helped Mike Gnaster out. Please if I can answer any questions.s or help let me know, Darren
 

finbully

Active member
With the virtual anchoring the newer bow motors have, I think the Power Poles and Talons are obsolete. Think about it use your bow motor to hold a spot in any depth water, they correct for wind and current and will jog in any direction with your commands. This without pumps and the vertical obstruction the stern mounted poles cause. Most all of have bow motors and work around them with fish but why add more things on the boat that can cause you to lose fish?

Everyone around here knows about bow motors from MinKota and MotorGuide there is another manufacturer, Rhodan that makes heavier duty versions than the popular brands. In addition, the company started by an aerospace engineer makes these in the US (Florida). Every aspect from the shaft, motor itself to gel encased circuit board (for waterproofing and shock resistance) is more heavy duty than the mass-market brands.
 

FishingwithRusty

Active member
finbully - 10/20/2017 10:57 AM

With the virtual anchoring the newer bow motors have, I think the Power Poles and Talons are obsolete. Think about it use your bow motor to hold a spot in any depth water, they correct for wind and current and will jog in any direction with your commands. This without pumps and the vertical obstruction the stern mounted poles cause. Most all of have bow motors and work around them with fish but why add more things on the boat that can cause you to lose fish?

Everyone around here knows about bow motors from MinKota and MotorGuide there is another manufacturer, Rhodan that makes heavier duty versions than the popular brands. In addition, the company started by an aerospace engineer makes these in the US (Florida). Every aspect from the shaft, motor itself to gel encased circuit board (for waterproofing and shock resistance) is more heavy duty than the mass-market brands.

i agree that the "spot locking" trolling motors are great(and i will have one in the future) but they arent going to help you when youre fishing a bedding fish, flipping bushes or docks.

thanks for the lead on Rhodan(going to look into them), do you have one of their motors?
 

finbully

Active member
FishingwithRusty - 10/20/2017 10:39 AM


i agree that the "spot locking" trolling motors are great(and i will have one in the future) but they arent going to help you when youre fishing a bedding fish, flipping bushes or docks.

thanks for the lead on Rhodan(going to look into them), do you have one of their motors?

Yes and I couldn't be more pleased. I did a final side by side comparison at the Miami Boat Show before I bought mine and as I said IMO and experience it is a more robust product than the others from every aspect. They are little know around here but worth a look.

Not understanding why you think they are not good for the fishing techniques you mention - I've used mine in all of those situations with no compromises.
 

Kickerfish

New member
does the spot lock feature on the newer trolling motors stop the back of the boat from spinning around? I figured it would be like having one talon/power pole.
 

Hook1

New member
As finbully stated above I think they do auto correct for wind direction. If I had to guess it would keep the bow into the wind. This is something I constantly have to fight with on my boat so that’d be awesome.
 

Rob Lee

Member
Power poles will keep boat stationary. There have been occasions with high wind and unsuitable bottom structure that may cause minimal movement or require re-anchor (for lack of better words). After crappie fishing in windy conditions, I spoke with a guy at the ramp. He said now I see how you were staying put. He couldn't see poles while down. Got limit out of that hole.
 

silvertalon

Active member
FishingwithRusty - 10/18/2017 9:06 AM

i have two 8' talons and regret that i didnt get them sooner. i use them every time i put the boat in the water, docking, stopping boat before i get too close to a target, to hold the boat while i fish an area over real hard or while working on tackle/re-tying. they are invaluable and wont have a boat without them.

i chose talons for a couple of reasons:
no pumps to leak/fail or take up space in the boat
no hydraulic system(hoses/fittings) to fail/leak
i prefer the straight up and down deployment vs sticking out behind the boat
easy to raise if the electric motor fails/sticks
I second the above for all the reasons listed. I only have one on my 21 Triton and its fine for me. I built my own jack plate mount which was a challenge but is fine. You can always start with one. ($$).
 

silvertalon

Active member
Spot locking feature on T motors is fine if you are not worried about spooking fish in shallow water. IMO, they are mostly for offshore fishing and can be invaluable. I'd love to get one but wouldn't help me much in shallow water unless my target is away from the boat.
 

FishingwithRusty

Active member
finbully - 10/21/2017 7:13 AM

FishingwithRusty - 10/20/2017 10:39 AM


i agree that the "spot locking" trolling motors are great(and i will have one in the future) but they arent going to help you when youre fishing a bedding fish, flipping bushes or docks.

thanks for the lead on Rhodan(going to look into them), do you have one of their motors?

Yes and I couldn't be more pleased. I did a final side by side comparison at the Miami Boat Show before I bought mine and as I said IMO and experience it is a more robust product than the others from every aspect. They are little know around here but worth a look.

Not understanding why you think they are not good for the fishing techniques you mention - I've used mine in all of those situations with no compromises.

I would love to get together with you and try or test that trolling motor if you're available. I actually called and talked to the folks at Rodan about the trolling motor and their stuff really sounds great my only concern is that it only has a remote for the steering which means you have to stop casting to adjust the trolling motor to steer which is what I'm curious about and would like to get together and test it with you.

I don't think these trolling motors on auto would be good for those techniques because the trolling motor will turn and blow water and or dirt onto your area or fishing which is not good for shallow fish
 
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