Help selecting new trolling motor/depth finder

JoeWally · July 21, 2019

Hey, so I bought a xi5 80lb thrust with a lowrance ti2 12 inch recently. I have a 24' pontoon boat on a lake that has a maximum depth of 50', and I plan on mostly targeting striped bass, walleye, trout and catfish.

This is the first trolling motor and depth finder that I've ever owned. I'm a fishing fanatic, so the large price tag ($3800) is worth it to me. However, I may downgrade to the 9 inch after seeing how huge this screen is since I can save $1000.

So, I have a list of questions to see if I should change my mind while it's still possible to return these things. For reference, the motor was about $1800 and the depth finder was $2000. This exceeded how much I planned on spending originally, but if for a little more money there is some feature that is absolutely worth it, I'd consider it.

• how does the xi5 compare to minn kotas offerings? I was looking mostly at the terrova and fortrex (?) motors. Am I missing out on anything significant by choosing motorguide over minn kota? Is there anything thr xi5 does better than thr two motors mentioned?

• I got the 80lb thrust. Should I have taken the 112lb thrust since I have a huge boat?

• did I pick a good depth finder? Should I maybe have selected a smaller, more feature rich depth finder than this one?

• if i downgrade to the 9 inch, will it make anything harder/more annoying to read?

I feel like I had other questions, but they're escaping me right now. I'd appreciate any input about my selection. Thanks guys, tight lines.

Shimano_1 · July 21, 2019

I'd say you selected some fine equipment. Most people seem to prefer minn kota motors. The fortrex is an awesome motor several buddies have them. Obviously the ultrex was the deal with its spot lock feature so lotta people made the switch. The bigger graph will definitely be nicer but as you said at more cost. You have to decide if the size is worth it. I've got 9 inch garmin's and I've never wanted anything bigger. Im also not a big lowrance fan. I'm sure they're fine but I prefer birds or garmin. For 1000 bucks I'd definitely take 9 over 12 if you can take the 12 back. I personally prefer motorguide over Minn kota. I like the foot pedals better and the ones I've had seem a lot quieter. Never had the xi5 so maybe someone who has will chime in. As far as the size of the motor, I'd say 80 would be sufficient for your boat. Of course like everything else, you're probably going to get several different opinions so ultimately you're gonna have to decide for yourself. They all make pretty good quality stuff. Good luck!

I bought a new Triton 18tx this spring that came with a 70 lb minn kota edge. If and when I upgrade it will be with an 80 lb ultrex or equivalent motorguide. I've heard so many horror stories of problems with the ultrex I'll wait a while til hopefully they work the bugs out. The spot lock feature is the biggest game changer to hit fishing in a while in my opinion

JoeWally · July 21, 2019

Xi5 has spot lock, right? That's a really important feature to me, and I'd like to have side imaging, auto pilot, etc. Are there any important features that I dont have access to with my current setup? The auto deploy from minn kota is nice, but I cant warrant spending that much extra for it. Fortrex doesnt have spot lock? I've also heard that motorguide motors tend to be quieter, this was one of the reasons for going the motorguide route instead of minn kota (originally planned on going the minn kota route) because I'm on a big clear lake that allegedly has very spooky fish.

What didnt you like about the lowrance units?

Scott F · July 21, 2019

Between the Motor Guide ix5 and the Terrova, personally, I prefer the Minn Kota. The remote on the MK has a screen so you can see what speed the motor is set to. Also, you can have 5 spot lock spots set on the MK that you can return to where the MG only has one. The wireless foot pedal on the MG is nice, but if you forget to turn it off, the batteries will die. No indicator to tell you the strength of the foot pedal batteries. Keep extra AAs on hand. I also prefer to use the left-right and momentary on buttons instead of having to keep your entire foot on the pedal. Having the electric steer on a big pontoon is a big plus because you can operate the troll from anywhere instead of being tied to the cable steer foot pedal of a fortrex.