Trolling motor mounting a transducer

[Trent Bryant]

I'm thinking about putting my transducer on my trolling motor for deep water fishing and finding that underwater cover.  I fish a lot in small marsh channels running aground with my trolling motor.  I'm thinking of mounting it on my trolling motor but spinning it to the top of the trolling motor when I go shallow.  Does anyone suggest doing that?  Otherwise, talk me out of it.

[DaubsNU1]

Just picked up Garmin Echomap 73SV...and will be doing the same, mounting my transducer on trolling motor. I want it secure and non-moveable. I think they are pretty tough.

[Johnbt]

I vote for put it on and don't worry about it.

 

I had a Lowrance transducer for an Elite 5 HDI on a Maxxum 70 bow mount from 2014 until this year. I fish small dark water for the most part and have hit so many stumps, humps, logs and a few rocks that it's a minor miracle it lasted as long as it did. And honestly, it could be the unit that started reading the wrong depth half the time and not the transducer.

 

Four or five years ago we were in an electric-only reservoir with the 70 wide open and the 35 on the transom wide open. Yeah, we knew the water level was drawn far down, but what the heck we thought we knew the channel after all these years. We were out in the middle and hit a sand bar so hard we stopped in 3 or 4 feet. Everything went flying. The shaft of the 70 bent all the way back until the prop and the motor housing hit the bottom of my 1648. I had to have the motor rebuilt with a new armature for a couple hundred bucks, but the prop didn't break and the motor is still running fine today. And the hull survived with a few scratches. Those Minn Kota shafts are pretty sturdy, too.

 

The transducer survived it. Didn't even crack the little housing or bend the clamp.
 

___________

 

edited to add: I also had to replace the bottom half of the control box. That's the piece that sits on the top of the shaft. I guess the flexing shaft cracked it around the hole. It wasn't too hard pulling the gears and the cables out. I took lots of pics. That was $11 or $12 and I did it myself.

[slonezp]

Look up Transducer Shield and Saver