Minn Kota Terrova for bass fishing

[dk2429]

I currently have a hand controlled Minn Kota RipTide on my boat. 97% of my fishing is bass fishing the lakes here in Texas. That small 3% I’m chasing trout/redfish on the gulf coast. Im ready to move on to a new trolling motor with spot lock and foot control capabilities 
 

I’ll start by saying this… As much as I would like to get an Ultrex, it just isn’t a feasible option for my boat. I run a 22ft Majek Xtreme. It’s a fantastic bass boat/bay boat, but the front deck simply isn’t configured to realistically permanently mount the Ultrex foot pedal. Plus on top of that, I’d like to be able to remove it on a quick release mount that I can reinstall my Riptide on if I decide to go hit the bays. That wouldn’t be possible with an Ultrex. 
 

With that said, I do believe my best option is going to be a Terrova with the foot pedal. I can get a Riptide Terrova that I can use in both fresh and saltwater. 
 

Im just curious if any of y’all on here use a Terrova for bass fishing. My main concern is steering with the foot pedal. I haven’t used a cable steer TM a whole lot, but I have heard that the Terrova isn’t nearly as responsive to steering commands as an Ultrex. My biggest concern is coming in hot up to a bank/dock/stump and not being able to swing her around in time. Wondering for those that use the foot pedal on the Terrova how well y’all can run a bank line. Is it something that’s just terrible no matter what, or is something you adjust to? 
 

Also, I do have an echoMap up front with a GT52 transducer. I’ve seen that absolute mess of wiring people do on the Terrova to mount a transducer to the bottom. Is there a better method of doing this yet? I do NOT want those ridiculous aluminum bracket things hanging off the ends of the shaft. Trying to mount a transducer to one of these things just looks and sounds like a giant headache, especially with spot lock engaged. 
 

Sorry for the long read. I’d just like to hear y’all’s experience with bass fishing on a Terrova before I ultimately made a decision on one. I put a pic of my front deck to show the current setup. That trolling motor is already on a quick release puck. 
 

 

[Scott F]

True, you can’t turn the motor on an electric steer as fast as you can a cable steer, but if you are paying attention to where your boat is going, it’s not hard to keep yourself out of trouble. I cruise the banks with my Terrova frequently with no issues. When you consider all the advantages, like being able to spot lock, automatically follow a heading, being able to put the foot pedal anywhere in the boat or use a remote, having a slower turn speed shouldn’t be a deal breaker. I’m not familiar with the depth finder you are using but I use the built in transducer on the Terrova. If that doesn’t work for you, you might consider mounting your GT 52 on the back of the boat and running the cable to the front. Just a thought. 

[IYAOYAS]

As of right now I am still running an ancient Maxxum that I have pretty much completely replaced in parts over the years(its an 06 model) I plan on going with a terrova when i upgrade. The only reason I haven't upgraded yet is because I have to make sure the wiring can handle a 24 volts motor. My old maxxum is only a 12v 55# and I want to upgrade to a 80# 24 volts.

[casts_by_fly]

I nearly put a terrova on my new boat.  I'm coming out of an autopilot kayak which is a short powerdrive with no foot pedal.  I'm used to using the remote to drive it around so the terrova was the natural analog for the new boat.  However, I knew i was adding mega live and there are limited ways to get an add on transducer on the TM shaft with an Ulterra/Terrova.  There are two aftermarket mounts and both are about $350 so I put that money on top of what I'd spend for a terrova and that made an ultrex.

 

For your scenario, I think you'll struggle to add a garmin transducer without it being a mess.  Best bet is either using US2 down imaging from the built in transducer or swap to a humminbird and get mega down also. 

[dk2429]

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

I nearly put a terrova on my new boat.  I'm coming out of an autopilot kayak which is a short powerdrive with no foot pedal.  I'm used to using the remote to drive it around so the terrova was the natural analog for the new boat.  However, I knew i was adding mega live and there are limited ways to get an add on transducer on the TM shaft with an Ulterra/Terrova.  There are two aftermarket mounts and both are about $350 so I put that money on top of what I'd spend for a terrova and that made an ultrex.

 

For your scenario, I think you'll struggle to add a garmin transducer without it being a mess.  Best bet is either using US2 down imaging from the built in transducer or swap to a humminbird and get mega down also. 

The built in transducer won’t do down imaging though correct? 

[casts_by_fly]

57 minutes ago, dk2429 said:

The built in transducer won’t do down imaging though correct? 

Not with your garmin. 

[dk2429]

Is the 2D sonar good with that built in transducer? 
 

Also, what about the LiveScope transducer? I’m guessing on a separate pole..

[casts_by_fly]

1 hour ago, dk2429 said:

Is the 2D sonar good with that built in transducer? 
 

Also, what about the LiveScope transducer? I’m guessing on a separate pole..

 

I haven't used the terrova built in 2D transducer.  I'd suggest googling for others that have hooked up a garmin to a minn kota via US2.

 

Live scope on a terrova is either a separate pole or you need an aftermarket mount:

 

https://cornfieldfishinggear.com/product/panoptics-transducer-trolling-motor-mount/

[gim]

Sounds like a Terrova is really the only viable option here.

 

If you haven’t been using a cable steer bow mount, then you probably won’t see any difference. IMO if you go from a cable to an electric or vice versa, you will notice a difference. I went from a powerdrive to a maxxum and I’m never going back to an electric steer again. Even if it means not being able to utilize certain features like spot lock. Responsive steering is just more important to me.

[Hoosierman]

The skag on the Terrova TM is too big for a bigger transducer.

https://www.fishingspecialties.com/ (pole that holds the transducer) is what went with. I've already broken the original composite mounting plate and now have the solid aluminum mounting plate.  

[SC53]

@dk2429 well I’ll give you some real life experience.

I have a Terrova with the foot pedal on my Action Craft 1820 flats boat.
I probably fish 95% for bass with some crappie and saltwater thrown in.

The foot pedal is slower to respond than a cable one but I got used to it.

 

I also have a Garmin 9” up front with both the standard down and side scan transducer and the forward facing transducer mounted on it. 
I don’t have any special ducer mounts, they are both mounted to the motor housing. 
There is a video out there that explains how to rig it that I followed and so far,it’s worked great for the past 6 months.  I’ll try to find it and post a link.

But a quick description of how it is set up is the down/side is mounted to the bottom and the forward on one side.  The cables are fed through a rod sleeve material and taped with electrical tape at each end.  The sleeve is secured at the top of the motor head where it meets the shaft. The sleeve/cables are wrapped around the shaft just above the motor in such a manner that when on spot lock, it’ll have enough play to not bind.  The video explains all of this. 
I can take pictures and post them as well.

 Here’s the video:

 

[SC53]

@dk2429 here’s how mine looks. 

[dk2429]

1 hour ago, SC53 said:

@dk2429 here’s how mine looks. 

Same way for the transducer on the bottom? You got them running in the same sleeve? 

[SC53]

3 minutes ago, dk2429 said:

Same way for the transducer on the bottom? You got them running in the same sleeve? 

Yes. Both cables fit in one sleeve. 
Make sure you use a long rod sleeve or buy the material off Amazon. 
 

[Alex from GA]

I used an electric steer for years before I got a cable steered motor.  You get used to the delay and anticipate your movements.  That said cable steering is much better.