Spot Lock Trolling Motor for Beginners

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Spot Lock Trolling Motor for Dummies

The Ulterra has a feature called Spot Lock, which is a game-changer in itself. This feature allows me to press a button on my remote and lock the boat in position. The trolling motor has an internal GPS that will save the coordinates and hold the boat precisely at that position.



When I began using Spot Lock, the first question I had was – how accurate is it? My answer is extremely accurate and in many situations it holds the boat better than an anchor because it eliminates the sway that is experienced from the anchor line scope. This can be largely beneficial when fishing for blackfish as they tend to hold very tight to specific areas of structure.

When a situation requires my full attention I have the ability to Spot Lock the boat in position safely while I handle the situation. Let’s say there is a tangle in a reel or a leader needs to be retied. I can press Spot Lock and hold the boat in a safe position while I re-tie.

7 Easy Facts About Spot Lock Trolling Motor Explained

How is this useful? When using side imaging I can mark a school of fish off to the side of my boat, drop a waypoint, press Spot Lock and the trolling motor will drive the boat to the school of fish and Spot Lock. Another benefit is the ability to shut off the main motor and use the trolling motor to quietly maneuver the boat without spooking fish.

However, on other days/nights I have seen the water turn into a mine field of spooked bass scattering because someone stepped too hard on the boat deck - spot lock trolling motor. My point is that there are times when starting an engine can scare stripers and having the ability to use the trolling motor to maneuver without scaring the fish is advantageous.

Fluke fishermen can use the trolling motor to increase their drift speed during a slow drift or decrease their drift speed during a fast drift. I have effectively used the trolling motor while albie fishing by locking in an area where the albies have bait pushed against the beach. Rather than chasing them around, which is frequently counter-productive as it pushes the fish further away and makes them more finicky, I stay put without spooking the fish and can fish them longer.

Getting The Spot Lock Trolling Motor To Work

Increasing and decreasing the drift speed and holding the boat stationary will have a drastic impact on the behavior of your bait or lure and how fish react or don’t react to it. Fishing a jig while stationary or at a decreased speed will allow you to use a lighter jig and get deeper in the water column.

While trolling motors are not the end all, be all of fishing, they absolutely have a place in saltwater fishing across the Northeast, mid-Atlantic and beyond. Freshwater anglers have been using them to their advantage for many years, now it’s time that we play catch up! . spot lock trolling motor.

There are several new companies entering the electric troller game—Lowrance, Garmin and some new lesser known companies too…But even amidst this cacophony of crowing companies trying to get your attention to spend a couple G’s for their newest widget, I’m talking to you about the trolling motor you already have on your boat.

What Does Spot Lock Trolling Motor Mean?

On your hand-held remote controller for official statement the Minn Kota, there is a button on the lower right labeled “N”. That refers to North and reminds you that’s the button for compass/GPS direction control (spot lock trolling motor). Currently, Minn Kota i-Pilot equipped trollers have two Autopilot settings and you need to select the one that works best for your fishing.

The second setting is “Advanced Autopilot” which is a new GPS enhanced Autopilot that is set as the factory default. But just because it’s the advanced mode and has GPS helping with accuracy doesn’t mean it’s the best setting for you. Note that on pre-2017 Minn Kota i-Pilot motors the settings were simply called Autopilot and Advanced Autopilot.

The Legacy version of Autopilot is what Minn Kota users have been familiar with for decades. When turned on, the Legacy Autopilot does try this what it’s always done…hold a compass bearing at whatever setting you last steered. So basically every time you steer the motor, whatever direction you point it towards it continues in that compass direction until you touch the steering which resets it to the new compass heading.

All about Spot Lock Trolling Motor

If you have a with the remote that came with the motor, you can jump out of Advanced Autopilot and into Legacy Autopilot (called Autopilot in the pre-2017 manual) simply by holding down the N button on your remote for 2 seconds until the circle around the N on the screen of the remote disappears.

Over the years that I used this system, I eventually just stopped toggling and always set it to the Legacy mode with no circle around the N.If you have one of the 2017 or , you’ll need to use your remote to access a more menu to make the change. I did this day-one with my 2017 Terrova and just followed the directions on page 24 of the online brochure.

On the display screen of the newer remote the Legacy Autopilot setting shows up as an N with an arrow underneath. The Advanced Autopilot setting displays the N and arrow bordered by two vertical lines…the imaginary lines I call them…You may have already experienced some of the challenges of Advanced Autopilot or it may be something you’ll encounter in the future.

The Best Strategy To Use For Spot Lock Trolling Motor

No problem. You really have to think about where to run your wires for the motor. Its best to go with 8 AWG or even 6 AWG wires. It really depends on how many amps your motor would require. Don't forget to add in a circuit breaker. I prefer the sealed ones similar to the ones shown below.

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