Talon or Power Pole

[SeaCrow]

Hi fellow fishers. Eventually I plan on having a shallow water anchor system and would like to have some advice/opinions on the 2 mentioned.  Pros/cons?  I know it'll depend on what boat it's used on, I would just like to know which is prefered and why. Thank you for your help.

[Jig Man]

To get the most they need to match the depth finders.  Power poles..... Lowrance.    Talons.....Humminbird.

[SeaCrow]

Just now, Jig Man said:

To get the most they need to match the depth finders.  Power poles..... Lowrance.    

Do Garmins sync up to any trolling motors or no? Thank you for the info 

[NHBull]

I looked at both for a while a couple years ago and decided on Talon.

I would do it all again.......my back-seater also appreciated it

[gim]

I have a one 12 foot talon.  It does not hold the boat in an exact position when there's current, wind, or waves.  Rather it acts more like a pivot point when used in conjunction with my bow mount.  In order for it to stay in one exact spot, two is required.

 

I've had the talon since 2015 when I bought the boat.  It has never failed on me.

 

The primary difference is how they operate.  Poles use hydraulics/pumps and are more of a crab leg style, whereas talon is battery powered and strictly a vertical deployment.  Talon has a model that is 15 feet now, and I think the deepest pole model is 10 feet?  Minn Kota is also introducing an anchor called a Raptor soon, which I think is more like how a power pole deploys.

[Born 2 fish]

Get 2 of whatever you chose so they will hold you wherever you want.

[RoLo]

 

I've had a 12-ft Minn Kota Talon in my last boat, and now run a 15-foot Talon.

In the dishpan lakes of Florida, "shallow-water anchor" seems like a misnomer.

In brief, it's the cat's meow.

 

Roger

[slonezp]

I have a 1st generation 8ft Talon, about 7 years old now. Easy to install. No pumps to take up storage. No worries about hydraulic leaks. Still works.

[Gfd63]

I agree with slonezp. I had 2 8ft Talons on My Ranger 188VS. They work like a charm. Plus they're electric servo motors vs Power Poles which are hydraulic & susceptible to leaks. Definitely get 2 of which ever you decide to go with so you won't turn in a strong wind with only one anchor.

[A-Jay]

On 7/15/2020 at 1:26 PM, SeaCrow said:

Hi fellow fishers. Eventually I plan on having a shallow water anchor system and would like to have some advice/opinions on the 2 mentioned.  Pros/cons?  I know it'll depend on what boat it's used on, I would just like to know which is prefered and why. Thank you for your help.

Hi Chris,

I'm going on 4 seasons with twin 12 ft Talons - Really like them.

Being able to hold up in most situation in 10 ft or less, stop on a dime & stay there quietly, has helped me put more plus size fish in the net. And while spot lock is a very effective feature (one I do not have, but may have sooner rather than later) it may not be the best method of holding position in shallower water, silty bottoms, in weedy or shallow water cover or any situation where running that trolling motor may burn a spot & spook your fish.

One Talon may be better than none but you'll spin around on it in some windy or current conditions.

Bottom Line, Talons are a tool that suits the way I fish and they do come in handy launching & recovering my rig solo. btw - I highly recommend installing the Tilt brackets as well.

The Talon spikes occasionally will get stuck in soft bottoms and the tilt brackets make rectifying that less of a hassle.

A-Jay

[gim]

30 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

The Talon spikes occasionally will get stuck in soft bottoms

Mine has a soft bottom mode so it won't continue to pile into the bottom.  Instead of continuing to try and push into the bottom like it does on normal mode, soft bottom does one thrust so it doesn't stick too far into the muck.

[A-Jay]

6 minutes ago, gimruis said:

Mine has a soft bottom mode so it won't continue to pile into the bottom.  Instead of continuing to try and push into the bottom like it does on normal mode, soft bottom does one thrust so it doesn't stick too far into the muck.

I have that mode as well and use often.

However, I will admit that when going from a more solid to a softer bottom,

several times a day, I'm not always as proactive as perhaps I could be,

when it come to actively selecting the exact proper bottom setting on the two talons. 

So we sink them in the softer stuff now & then.

It's all good though

A-Jay

 

[TOXIC]

I have 2 first gen 8ft poles.  My main considerations were weight (talons are heavier) and reliability/customer service.  I do not have the electronics nor the model of poles to interface or the Trolling motor interface.  If I had to do it all over again, with today’s trolling motors and with my style of fishing, I may have forgone the poles for an upgraded TM with spotlock and the other features.  I do use my poles on a regular basis, I put them on 6 years ago, they are not even the Bluetooth model and they have been reliable and trouble free.  I have a Fortrex for my TM and will be upgrading that soon once all of the new TM models have been on the market for a while and I can see that any bugs are worked out. 

[gim]

1 hour ago, A-Jay said:

I have that mode as well and use often.

However, I will admit that when going from a more solid to a softer bottom,

several times a day, I'm not always as proactive as perhaps I could be,

when it come to actively selecting the exact proper bottom setting on the two talons. 

So we sink them in the softer stuff now & then.

When I first got the talon, I was super paranoid about it deploying and then not coming back up because it could possibly get stuck.  I had also heard horror stories about it deploying while you're driving down the highway and then it hits the road while you're going 65 (all unconfirmed rumors online).  And yet I was also worried about it not deploying back up because I would run out of battery power.

 

I've been able to mitigate all of these potentially catastrophic issues.  1) I'm always aware of the bottom and try to use the one that works best.  2) I use a power switch that turns off power to the talon while I'm driving down the road. 3) I make sure to use a battery that has adequate power and keep a power pack with me in the event I need a boost.

 

Even after all those, I called Minn Kota and asked them if there was a way to retract the talon manually in the event of an emergency.  They said there is a ratchet screw on the outside of it near the top of the tower that you can turn and the talon will ratchet up manually as you turn.  So now I carry a small ratchet set in the boat...just in case.

 

I can say that after 5 years of use, I have not run into any of these three serious problems once.  And the talon has deployed and retracted every single time I press the button.  Maybe some day they will come out with a remote that has a button so you can change the deployment strength rather than having to manually change it on the tower.

[Dirtyeggroll]

If weight is a concern, powerpoles. About half of the weight of Talons when you include brackets. Also, the powerpole can be half deployed when fishing with someone in the back to give them back the space. You can't do that with powerpoles.

 

If wanting to hold in deeper water then Talons. Also, take up less space inside the boat and probably easier to install.

 

Bottom line. Both will hold you well in up to ~6 ft of water. Since the Talons are made in up to 15' models you can likely be held well in up to 13' of water.

 

I have powerpoles because I have a small boat and only run a 125 hp motor.

 

Humminbird has also released that they are making their own version of the PowePole called the 'Raptor'. Not sure what that means for service support and future availability for the Talons.

 

If I were buying a new boat with adequate power. It would be a tough decision. I would probably go for 8 ft power poles/Raptor and then use a trolling motor with spot lock to hold position in anything deep than 6'.