Is a 24v 80lb trolling motor with spot lock enough thrust to hold a 16ft aluminum V hull boat still in the current on the river below the river park? Looking at a new trolling motor and would like to use spot lock but don’t want to spend the money if it’s going to just run the batteries way down. I’ve heard spot lock can drain the batteries. I don’t need it to hold in the super heavy current right below the dam. I normally fish down river a ways but there are still some areas that have decent strength current where I fish. A 36v system is out of the question for my boat. Too many batteries and I don’t have the money to spend on lithium’s in addition to a new Trolling motor. Thanks in advance for your opinions.
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Best size trolling motor for river current
- Thread starter Whjw
- Start date
FishingwithRusty
Active member
get the biggest you can afford, you can always turn it down but when youre maxed out thats all you got.
31airborne
Member
I'm with Rusty - if you're gonna be fishing in current get the strongest TM you can afford. I agree 80 lbs should be enuff for the rig you describe but it'll get a workout. You'll want some good batteries powering it.
N2Ratfishing
New member
I have an 18' aluminum with an 80 pound Ultrex. It works fantastic everywhere I've used it. I fish the Cumberland River all the time. I swear it uses less battery holding in the current with spot lock than I can manage manually controlling it. The electronics work! I've had the Maxxum 70 that came off sitting in the garage for two years. I kept it in case I got a bad Ultrex. I have two Duracell AGM31s and have yet to wear them down in a day.
stratos21xl
Active member
Depends on the amount of current and how long you plan to fish in it. 80lb troller with two group 31 batteries might get you 6 hours max if you keep spotlock on all day. If they are pulling more than 50,000 cfps no trolling motor other than MAYBE a 36 volt with 3 100 ah lithiums will last. Not to mention if you keep it on spot lock and the trolling motor stays at full power the entire time the batteries will get weaker and weaker due to the discharge properties of lead acid/AGM batteries. Lithiums maintain basically full power until you have nothing left at all. Either way if you fish down there a lot and in heavy current, the easiest and cheapest option is to buy an anchor. I learned this lesson the hard way wasting money on high dollar batteries to only get another 30 minutes to an hour more fishing time.
N2Ratfishing
New member
A drift sock does no good in current, but. They work excellent on the lake etc...when the wind is blowing. They are good for drift fishing.
I have a 17ft triton aluminum boat. I have an ulterra 80lb and have never lacked for thrust. In the current below the dam I usually run between 5-7 on my speed. I havent had any trouble with my batteries running down and I run group 29. The key I believe is to have the proper wiring size. If the wiring is too small the amperage draw will be higher. I went with 6 guage wiring for my setup and have never had a dead battery after fishing all day. Also for a devils advocate scenario, if you over power with your trolling motor you better be careful. Mine on 10 will pitch you out of the boat if you arent careful of the motor direction.
ChooChooSnakeMan
Active member
I think this is good advice. I have a 17' Lowe tin boat with a 75 lb MG trolling motor. It doesn't have spot lock so I can't comment about how much spot lock saves or uses. I can tell you that if you are down past Chatt State and the flow is less than 50K that my 75 lb motor does just fine. It isn't the funnest fishing fighting all that current but my motor has 1 through 5 speed setting, it is 24v and I use (2) Walmart size 29 wet cell batteries. If I'm right in the current I have to set it on 4 if the current is 50K but when it is around 20 to 25K which I like then I can use 2 and 3 speed settings and fish all day with no problem. As JJ said above, make sure your wire size is correct and that your connections are clean and tight.
I'm going to be upgrading to the lowrance ghost. You can run it 36V with 120lb thrust or 24v with 97lbs. all in the same motor, gives you the option to bump it up in the future. I currently run a Motorguide xi5 80lb, and have never had an issue on the river. I can get a full day out of my old lead acid batteries in the current. It does ok on my 21' Nitro, but i do want a bit more grunt. I will be selling mine in the near future if you are interested. Its only a year old, and not a ton of use on it. Will let it go for a good price.
I’ll definitely keep that in mind. Now I’m second guessing and may get livescope instead. I already have a comparable garmin unit. Do you all know if it works well in current? I can’t afford both so what would be the best option in y’all’s opinion? Spot lock trolling motor or keep my 55lb powerdrive and put livescope on it? I’m still leaning toward a spot lock trolling motor because I know where the fish usually are already and I think that will give me a better immediate return on fish catching more than livescope.
ChooChooSnakeMan
Active member
I agree with this. The greatest electronics money can buy won't do you any good if you can't get to the fish and stay on them, and stay on them for the whole duration of your trip. The trolling motor is the motor I use way more time than the outboard. It is what I depend on. To me to choose electronics over the trolling motor would be like investing in an expensive GPS mapping / guidance gizmo at the expense of fuel. Again, if you can't get there you don't need the map
