Ok so what’s the best for the money tiller handle trolling motor?

Bow mount or transom mount?

Transom

Pawn shop Minnkota.

Minn Kota in whatever size you want

A used Minn Kota like mine. Used it three times now that I can remember. If you are thinking of trolling a long time in bigger water with waves, get a used twin cylinder four stroke Yamaha or Honda.

No this is for a motor less lake

Minn kota but I'd get the largest one you can find. Highest thrust. I've never, EVER been in a boat where I wished the trolling motor was less powerful.

Get a minnkota at least 55 lbs thrust and a good quality battery. They're all over fake book and craigslist.

And rig it up on 2 batteries. Will last a long time.

Wal-Mart has the Minn Kota Endura C2 55 lb. thrust for $195 and Minn Kota is offering a $20 rebate.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Minn-Kota-Endura-C2-55-Freshwater-Transom-Mount-Trolling-Motor-55lb-Thrust-with-36-Shaft/15686837?irgwc=1&sourceid=imp_0%3A5z%3AZ3UrxyOR6owUx0Mo3cjUki0qsQnPxcSQQ0&veh=aff&wmlspartner=imp_10451&clickid=0%3A5z%3AZ3UrxyOR6owUx0Mo3cjUki0qsQnPxcSQQ0


https://www.minnkotamotors.com/promotions#transom-mount-promo

Used 1950s-60s Evinrude/Johnson Lightwin 3 HP outboard. 2 cylinder. Water cooled. 2 stroke so you do mix gas. Self contained 1/3 gallon tank that will troll for almost a full day. 35 lbs. but built like a tank. Easy to maintain. Lots of new as well as used parts still available. Dependable and purrs like a kitten! Great for canoes and small (<14 ft.) boats on smaller bodies of water.

Many are still around, especially in the midwest, and many are still in nice shape. I've paid between $50 and $250 for the ones that I have had. My Grandfather's 1954 Evinrude still gets a lot of trolling use every year! Find you a nice olive drab "Ducktwin" and you will really have a nice piece. Those can bring as high as $1000 now for a nice restored one.

Will add: The electrics are nice and quiet but often don't do that well in the wind and you have to lug around that PITA deep cycle battery. The 4 stokes tend to be a little heavier as well, at least liquid cooled ones and they have no "soul". They are quiet and smooth trollers though. With the 2 stoke you get the exhaust and odor that many don't like. Too me it is almost like pipe smoke... I kind of like the smell in measured doses! Same reason I still like old Hodakas too... grateful I was around for the 60's and early 70's!!!

There is no such thing as a one size fits all situations, as in type of fish your targeting, or in the type and size/weight boat you are using it on. Problem with even the smaller gas outboards, is trolling speed control when very slow speed is required without dragging something behind to slow you down.
The largest size electric with multible batteries certainly isnt a requirement on every boat, nor is it advisable to do that.
I have 2 boats, one is a 17’ fiberglass center console Key West, and the other a 14’ aluminum jon boat made by Alweld Boat Co.
I have 55# thrust Minn Kotas on both of them with one 12 volt deep cycle battery on each. I primarily troll with live minnows or small jigs for Crappies, requiring a very slow speed of plus or minus 1 mph. You will not do that with a gas powered engine.
Think about this, how fast do you turn the reel handle when retrieving jigs when Walleye fishing, And why would trolling be any different?
I would be better served with an 80# set up with 2 batteries on the 17’ glass boat from the duration standpoint, but not the speed. The 55# will push that boat far faster than is required, just not for as long a time frame as the one on the lighter boat, and i could add a second battery. That said i have no problem getting 4 hours of steady trolling with it with a fully charged battery.

I fish with a 14' Crestliner, with a Merc 20, electric start. It will do 20mph, and troll slow. I like to keep it simple.

I have had Minn Kotas and Motor Guides. Minn Kotas have been more efficient and quieter. Motor guide of years ago used to be tougher can't say about now. I had an MK put on my new boat.

What do you guys like for Battery?

I put a 100 watt solar panel on the middle seat of my Alumacraft P14. It makes a decent table and what I use for a battery is almost irrelevant. A Honda sized car starting battery is as good as a deep cycle because I never use enough juice from the battery to run it down far and the charge current of the solar panel at max won't stress the battery. For Just under $90.OO I got the panel and the regulator that prevents over charge and provides a pulsed float charge which helps prevent sulfation. I suspect that a 12 volt 8 AH battery ( like goes in small UPS') might be enough. I am pretty sure that a 12 volt 18 AH battery would. The Honda starting battery that I have used is more than enough and physically, it is not much bigger than my lawn tractor battery.

I never have to hook up to a battery charger anymore.

There are some pretty good sized pontoon party boats being pushed around our little 40 acre lake place up north using 12 volt Minn Kota's. My first MK was a direct drive 65 if I remember right and on a small boat, it was actually faster across the lake than the planetary gear larger prop MK that replaced it. The direct drive was a little quieter as well, but not enough of a difference to matter much. We can't motor troll on our no wake lake, but casting with that slow turning electric we can sure work over the shoreline. Starting and stopping the outboard was a bother. I really like the long extension telescoping tiller handle on the newer Minn Kota units.

These 55# MK's have the 5 spd or the variable grip ? MB

9.9

I have the exact motor on my 14’ jon boat, and it is a very nice engine.
But it dosent perform nearly as well as the 55# electric for the slow speeds required for the type fishing i do.
And if recharging the batteries werent an issue, id be taking it to Canada for Walleye trolling.
As for the question on battery brand.
I used WalMart batteries for quite awhile and they worked pretty well.
Last few i got however i was lucky if they lasted for the year warranty period.
It is a pita removing batteries and returning them and installing the new ones even if they are still in warenty.
Even worse when they arent, but thats a personal call.
Lately ive been using Deka brand like many others do down here, and they are holding up longer.

Magnum Bob brings up another good point. My first MK had the five speed twist grip. The one I have now has the variable speed twist grip which I find is way better for my just slow moving the boat along the shoreline. It might cost a bit more for that variable speed and telescoping handle, but well worth it imo.

Windfall that was my line of thinking also as well as comments in user reviews saying the variable speed model was easier on the battery and made it last longer. The boat I wanted it for is an S-16 Lund 1984 model with the 15" transom. Cabela's had the 5 speed one for 235 and the variable speed one for 289 with $25 rebate from Minn Kota. So after some outdoor rewards credit and the rebate I'll be into it for $266.40 . I went to scheels first and they didn"t have the 55 #motor just the 50# ones and blew smoke up my butt trying to tell me it wasn't going to make any difference,user review comments indicated the opposite. I bought the 36" shaft because of my 15" transom should be ok. MB

Over the years, I've had trolling motors from Evinrude, Mercury, Minn Kota, and Motorguide. I guess I'm an unabashed fan of Minn Kota, but I am a little biased as they are made in my home state of Minnesota. I had one Motor Guide, and it worked fin, but I didn't like the handle on it- a big D ring kind of assembly. The on/off switch was in the D-ring kind of like a trigger, and that switch gave out. I bought a simple push button switch, drilled a hole in the bottom of the handle and wired it up. Never gave me any other troubles, and was still working well when I sold the boat. Gotta say go with as much of a Minn Kota as you can afford;. Keep your eyes open for a good deal on a used unit. If you need to save money on the battery, there's no reason you couldn't start with a used car battery from a junkyard. No, they won't hold up as well as a good deep cycle battery, but it would get you on the water.

Reminds me of one of the guys at work who saved money and didn't buy a trolling motor battery and used the one out of his car instead. He had to call the wife to come jump start the car because he used up all the charge out fishing.

Well i dont feel he was far off regarding the performance difference of the two.
I actually have 3 Minn Kotas, one being a 40# thrust i use mostly on a 12’ cartop type aluminum boat.
But i also use it sometimes on my 17’ fiberglass boat attached to a retractable bracket on the stern.
Reason being that i can sit in the back of the boat when trolling rather than up front where the other electric motor is.
And even the 40# thrust motor works well at moving that boat along at far more than enough speed.

I don't know yobuck, I never boated in the places you live but have done more than a bit on the big lakes ,reservoirs and the Missouri River here in South Dakota. When you are working the current or the wind blows the biggest you can buy don't all ways seem big enough. I have a 55lb MK bowmount on my 17' Sylvan and there have been times I had to pull it and crank the 90 OB just to maintain headway and steering in the wind. The new transom mt 55 MK with go on either my S-16 Lund or the 16" Alumacraft which of course are lighter than the Sylvan. Big thing to me was the variable spd instead of speed settings. That 50 they tried to sell me was a 6 spd. I appreciate your view point though and the benefit of your experience, good fishing! MB