Power Poles

[Glenn]

We use our Power-Poles on every trip. Really impressed how versatile they are.
http://bit.ly/1VY3aTT

[warrior1]

having an aluminum boat, mine is a must LOL

[drc9805]

What's the max depth they will reach?

[CarolinaBoy4Life]

I have been thinking about installing one on my 18 ft center console just don't know how much of a headache it would be. I'm sure it would be a great tool though

[Glenn]

10 minutes ago, CarolinaBoy4Life said:

just don't know how much of a headache it would be.

Headache?  How?  Installing them, or using them?

On 5/17/2016 at 10:01 AM, drc9805 said:

What's the max depth they will reach?

Depends on what length you get.

Mine are 8' poles, and I find they're effective to about 6 1/2' deep.  Past that, it depends on the makeup of the bottom and whether or not they can get enough grip, and how much wind/current I'm in.

[CarolinaBoy4Life]

 

10 minutes ago, Glenn said:

Headache?  How?  Installing them, or using them?

Depends on what length you get.

Mine are 8' poles, and I find they're effective to about 6 1/2' deep.  Past that, it depends on the makeup of the bottom and whether or not they can get enough grip, and how much wind/current I'm in.

Installing it, using it I am sure would not be difficult. 

[Glenn]

Understood. It could get tricky if your installation doesn't go by-the-book, or if you need custom brackets, for example.  But those are rare cases.  The majority of installations can be accomplished in an hour or two without any hitches.

Here's a video of how my installation went:

 

 

[S. Sass]

1 I'd love to have one and two would be awesome.

2 If I had them I guarantee you they would be used every trip

3 they aren't for the poor fella that wasn't born into $ or that was fortunate enough to have that kind a dough for them. 

4 I'm jealous ?

Did you ever try the DIY pin system? I see a lot of YouTube and discussion about the fiberglass rods used to manually do the same thing. I'm considering trying these since power stuff is extremely pricy. 

 

[drc9805]

2 hours ago, Glenn said:

Headache?  How?  Installing them, or using them?

Depends on what length you get.

Mine are 8' poles, and I find they're effective to about 6 1/2' deep.  Past that, it depends on the makeup of the bottom and whether or not they can get enough grip, and how much wind/current I'm in.

Thanks Glenn! I hadn't done any research on them so I wasn't sure if they came in different configurations or not.

[beginningfisherman]

I understand how these could be effective, but why does nobody use the minn Kota talon? They seem to be much better from what I've seen

[iabass8]

2 hours ago, beginningfisherman said:

I understand how these could be effective, but why does nobody use the minn Kota talon? They seem to be much better from what I've seen

Lots of people use talons. It's pretty much preference. Powerpoles use a hydraulic pump while Talons run off your battery. The talon housing also stays stationary which could be an issue if you have to back into a garage with a lower overhead while the power pole can be lowered incrementally to get in.  I think talons to make a tilt bracket now though. 

Regardless, both do the same thing. 

[gim]

I'm not going to start a talon vs power pole conversation here.  Let me just briefly explain that the talon does not require an area in the bilge or back of the boat for a pump and hydraulic hoses that a power pole does.  The back of my boat is already completely full with a fuel tank, 3 batteries, and 2 chargers, so there's no room for the equipment needed to operate a power pole - thus I use a talon.  I have a tilt bracket that allows me to fold it down if I need to.

[beginningfisherman]

5 minutes ago, gimruis said:

I'm not going to start a talon vs power pole conversation here.  Let me just briefly explain that the talon does not require an area in the bilge or back of the boat for a pump and hydraulic hoses that a power pole does.  The back of my boat is already completely full with a fuel tank, 3 batteries, and 2 chargers, so there's no room for the equipment needed to operate a power pole - thus I use a talon.  I have a tilt bracket that allows me to fold it down if I need to.

That's kind of what my thinking was. I may be wrong and someone feel free to correct me if I am, but it seems to me that the talon has several advantages over the power poles. Maybe the power poles were just marketed better?

[gim]

Talon makes a model now that goes to 12 feet whereas I think the deepest a power pole will reach is 10 feet.  I think they're relatively equal in noise operation.  When the talon first came out, they had some problems.  Those seem to have been corrected with the newer 3-stage models now.  Iabass8 already indicated that the clear advantage of a power is that its literally out of the way when its deployed whereas a talon is still there.  That could be a problem if you have a second angler in the back deck fishing.  Power pole has just also been around a lot longer and their customer service seems to also be better.  But as I mentioned, you need room in the bilge for a pump and hoses if you wanna use a power pole whereas a talon just simply hooks up to the battery.  I think they are pretty similar in price too.

I have a 12 foot talon and it works great.  I fished with a single pole before several times in both saltwater and freshwater and it worked well too, so it may also be just personal preference.

[Bluebasser86]

I've heard of guys having issues with Talons if they're used a lot on mud bottoms. It seems that every time the pole is retracted into the housing, it pulls mud inside with it, which eventually cause it to be unable to stow or deploy. I imagine some of that mud dries about as hard as concrete if it's stuck inside the housing for an extended amount of time. I'd love to have either, but can't afford either