Trolling motor 55 on 17ft pontoon - What do I need to know

[bruce0359]

The 17' pontoon boat we bought used came with a Minnekota 55 thrust trolling motor. It mounts on the front and has a dedicated battery.

Never used a trolling motor before. What do I need to know? I know they're often used on bass boats.

How are they used on pontoon boats? Are they used for docking? For fishing shallow water? How shallow can a pontoon go? It has 17" pontoons on it.

I imagine my questions seem basic and pretty stupid, but I don't know if I don't ask.

 

[Silvertip]

How you use it and what you use it for is up to you. Trolling motors on pontoons are used in the same way they are used on any other boat. Fishing -- for holding position, slow trolling or repositioning whether that's skinny water or deep. They also work well for docking or moving about in a marina with tight quarters. The only issue with trollers is to charge the battery immediately after use -- not the next day, next week, or next month. Like anything in the water, you need to be mindful of the water depth. Troller shafts can be easily bent by hitting stumps, rocks and of course, the bottom. Common sense prevails here. As for how shallow your pontoon can navigate depends on the load and the boat itself. Move slowly into shallow water and observe how deep the water is before contacting the bottom. That's how deep you can navigate.

 

[gm280]

Trolling motors are used for basically fishing and there are two basic options to use them. First you can troll slowly over suspended fish and drag fishing lines (with bait of course) behind the boat to catch them. That is how a lot of folks use theirs. Then there is the slowly move down a bank and throwing bait to structure or the bank and retrieving the line back to the boat in different fashions to attract fish. So either method uses a slow quiet trolling motor to fish. The depth of the water is usually depended on what you are trolling for and the type boat and draft. Pan fish that follow the moon cycle (brim, bluegills, red breast and the like) can and do spawn in shallow water and folks easy up on them to catch tem. But that is limited by the boat's ability as well. Trolling motor batteries have to be charged and maintained to keep their power for their life time... And that life time is depended on so many variables that it seriously can't be predicted with complete accuracy. I personally have never ever used a trolling motor to dock at any dock in my normal usage. But obvious others have... Hope this explains a little for you. Ask more questions if you need further info... JMHO!