Types of trolling motors

A trolling motor is an independent unit with an electric motor and controls that allow the operator to have much more control over the fishing boat. This type of towing device is designed to reduce the resistance of the main engine of the boat and thus achieve a more versatile and light displacement and, in this way, avoiding spooking the fish. They are usually installed on the bow or stern of the boat.

The word “Trolling” is related to a fishing method that consists of carefully drawing a bait or decoy through the water to attract a bite of the fish that you want to capture. This process is generally used when it comes to catching fish that do not adhere to the bottom of the sea or make life near the coast; they are called pelagic fish, such as salmon, for example. From there, the name is given to the trolling motors, since they are specially designed for fishing.

There are two types of trolling motors available: the first one is the bow mount trolling motor, this one is usually located at the front of the boat and we also have the transom mount trolling motors that are manufactured for the posterior. Both types work according to voltage, they are even sold with different measures of electric potential, which means that the larger the motor, the more power will be generated and the more strength it will have at the moment of using it.

The power of a trolling motor is measured in pounds of thrust, which means that the higher the number of pounds is, the more power the engine will have. This is intimately linked to the size of the boat since it is not recommended to use very large engines for small boats or vice versa. For boats with lengths between 12 and 13 feet, an engine with 30 pounds of thrust is recommended; for boats between 17 and 18 feet in length, engines between 50 and 55 pounds are suggested; and for larger boats 22 feet in length, engines over 100 pounds are advisable.

Within these categories are the following types of engines. Manual motors: they are those that are installed in the bow or stern of the boat and are handled directly by hand. They are characterized by being much more maneuverable than any other type of engine, providing speed when operating or changing direction. In addition, it is the most economical type of them.

We also have mechanical pedal motors, they are easy to operate and consist of facilities that have a pedal that is placed on the floor of the boat, which allows the operator to have their hands free to engage in other tasks. Its system is composed of cables and pulleys that are directed with the foot and are very popular for boats. On the other hand, we have mechanical pedal motors. These are very popular ones because they provide smoothness when maneuvering and moving through the water, they also have speed control and are the most controllable in terms of direction.

As the last point, to achieve a better performance of our trolling motors it is recommendable to use marine batteries or deep cycle batteries as they allow more cycles of loading and unloading than those of acid. In addition, there are chargers for marine batteries or deep cycle batteries that allow increasing their operating time.