Trolling motor question...

[SilverBack4Jack]

I recently purchased an Xpress H22b from a buddy of mine. The whole package is a 2015 and had 100hrs on it. It has a 45” Minn kota 112# thrust 36v Foretrex trolling motor. I’m thinking of selling it to upgrade to a unit with spot lock. My boat has a Lowrance HDS 7 gen 2 touch on the bow and a HDS 9 gen 3 on the console. After talking to the guys at the Bassmaster Classic a couple weeks ago I’m trying to decide between Minn kota and Motorguide, since the motorguide will communicate with my Lowrance units. I know this is a personal preference but I would like to know if people here have had any bad experiences with the motorguides. I’m not sure if I will ever actually use all the added features but the motorguide is cheaper than the Minn kota and will talk to my units. Almost seems like a no brainer but it gets me nervous also.

I have a guy in Arkansas that has a 54” Xi5 that wants to trade but we would have to ship both units as he is 18hrs 1 way.

[Catdaddy]

What communications do you need between the two?

Sent from my XT1254 using Tapatalk

[Bownut]

The fish finder "finds" the fish and tells the trolling motor to take him to them.

[MDman]

If you are mainly fishing shallow water and don't do a lot of offshore fishing, go with the motorguide. The minnkota's with spot lock aren't built to beat up stumps and weeds.

[jws]

Motor Guide makes good trollers. I wouldn't hesitate to buy one after owning a few in the past.

[SWAMPLIFE z71]

Minn Kota all the way. There is a reason the you hardly ever see a boat with a motor guide.

[Griffin]

Minn Kota all the way. There is a reason the you hardly ever see a boat with a motor guide.

You don't get out much do you? I prefer minn Kota myself but I've owned both and motorguide is a a solid motor. there is certainly no shortage of motor guides on boats. It would help to know your intended use. Fresh or salt, deep or shallow? Weeds etc

[SilverBack4Jack]

Its mainly gonna be freshwater use. Some striper fishing on murray and some catfishing at packs. Of course gonna drown a bunch of crickets with it with my wife and son. As far as the communications go. The motorguide and the lowrance can communicate and hold you on a certain depth. If you were bass fishing and found the fish holding on a ledge say 10 foot deep you can tell it to follow the contour and not have to worry about doing it yourself.

[head hunter]

Minn Kota all the way. There is a reason the you hardly ever see a boat with a motor guide.

must fish a very small test area!

[BIGDUX]

I have both. Both are very good motors. I had a MG on my jon boat that I sold because it was loud and replaced it with a MK. This is the only MK that I have ever had and it is ~10 yrs old and still very quiet. I have a MG on my bass boat 15-20 yrs old and it works great. Have had to repair couple times because of stump damage. Just recently added the TH Marine G-force handle and the Eliminator prop nut. Along with a little lubrication occasionally (on the bracket), it is still a solid performer.

[Griffin]

Its mainly gonna be freshwater use. Some striper fishing on murray and some catfishing at packs. Of course gonna drown a bunch of crickets with it with my wife and son. As far as the communications go. The motorguide and the lowrance can communicate and hold you on a certain depth. If you were bass fishing and found the fish holding on a ledge say 10 foot deep you can tell it to follow the contour and not have to worry about doing it yourself.

I have owned both systems with the spot lock gps on them. I didn't find either of them accurate enough to do what I wanted. A gps puck with a heading sensor and foot control is the best I have found

[dox08]

MotorGuide makes a solid trolling motor, I would not hesitate to make a switch. MinnKota spends alot more $$$ on marketing, that's why people "think" they don't see more of them. If you want to interface your Lowrance go with MotorGuide, if you want to interface Humminbird go MK. Interesting bit of information from MK that I thought was something to be noted, when I was shopping for a trolling motor, I was thinking I wanted freshwater motor strictly for the fact that I fish freshwater 98% of the time, but MK said if you take a freshwater trolling motor in salt water and something breaks under warranty, it will not be covered because it was not a "saltwater" rated motor. Strictly for that reason when spending $2k and MK carries a 2 year warranty I put a damned white trolling motor on my boat.