wind drift / trolling motor

[stevejp]

I am glade to find this web sight because of my on going difficulty of controlling my boat from wind drift.
I have a 16 ft. crestliner s.c . This is my first boat and though it is well built , stable and comfortable. I just cant control the wind drift. At this time the trolling motor is a 55lb.thurst 12 volt. Motor Guide with a wireless pres button foot control
I fish for fresh water bass so holding a specific spot or location on the water is key for a pre determined target of water to cast to.
I cant hold the boat from wind drift. I tried having the big motor in and out of the water.
The bowt of the boat facing the wind, and stern facing wind. The use of a drift sock.
I spend more time looking at my foot hitting buttons than fishing. The more the wind blows the more times I hit the foot pedal the faster I fish. ALL NOT GOOD.
The boat is around 40 ? high and it takes around 2 1/2 feet to float so there is about 28 ? out of the water to catch the wind. The side s.c and wind shield is another 20 ?
It?s the same old story money is tight, but I love bass fishing .
I know bla bla bla . Well I guess my next step would be to upgrade my trolling motor.
What brand , model and fetchers of trolling motor is my Question.
I am thinking, going to 24 volt. With a 51 inch shaft , 3 blade prop, 75 lb thrust.
I don?t know if cable steering would be better for this application verses wireless foot pedal. I am also interested in the I pilot or auto pilot ,but I was told the g.p.s would hold the boat with in 5 feet of a given spot. I don?t under stand that statement. If the g.p.s holds the bow with in 5 ? the stern can be blown 20 ? away ?
I don?t know if this is a fetcher worth paying for.
Is it possible to place some type of device on the stern of the boat to aid the g.p.s giving it a second point of contact to help control location , and drift information .
There you have it, I am lost in the fishing fog of life.
I would be grateful for any information or guidance .
Stephe

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: wind drift / trolling motor

If the g.p.s holds the bow with in 5 ? the stern can be blown 20 ? away

That's because the boat pivots on the Ipilot. Just like tossing the anchor out on a windy day with changing wind direction and the boat swings around on the anchor. No experience with the Ipilot, but other forums I frequent have posts about it not working great in windy/gusty conditions. I always wondered if two of them (bow/stern) would work to hold a spot. Since they cost more than my boat is worth, not even gonna try to find out.

And welcome to iboats.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: wind drift / trolling motor

the i-pilot works AMAZING! I put one on dad's boat and it is just friggen awesome...... Yes the bow stays in one spot within a couple feet and yes the rear can swing BUT generally the wind is moving in one direction so the bow stays put upwind and the stern stays put downwind... He can also make a lap around the lake while recording a track and then set the tm to automatically follow that path at an exact speed ie .5 mph 1 mph 1.5 mph 4.5 mph etc... it's like having someone else driving for you so you can fish and If you get into the fish you simply hit the virtual anchor button and she stops and stays put...... It's $$$ but damn nice.... If it has a weakness it would be trying to troll downwind at a speed slower than the wind is pushing you but then no tm works good for that.... A drift sock would solve that issue but we simply run down wind and troll back.

 

[cjjjdeck]

Re: wind drift / trolling motor

the i-pilot works AMAZING! I put one on dad's boat and it is just friggen awesome...... Yes the bow stays in one spot within a couple feet and yes the rear can swing BUT generally the wind is moving in one direction so the bow stays put upwind and the stern stays put downwind... He can also make a lap around the lake while recording a track and then set the tm to automatically follow that path at an exact speed ie .5 mph 1 mph 1.5 mph 4.5 mph etc... it's like having someone else driving for you so you can fish and If you get into the fish you simply hit the virtual anchor button and she stops and stays put...... It's $$$ but damn nice.... If it has a weakness it would be trying to troll downwind at a speed slower than the wind is pushing you but then no tm works good for that.... A drift sock would solve that issue but we simply run down wind and troll back.

I can second smoke's post. He's dead on with his comments regarding this unit and technology. Park your butt up by the bow and you'll be in the sweetspot location on a windy day.

I also have to say that Bubba also brings up a great point, if technology fails to get you there, then there is always the "tried n' true" anchoring bow and stern.... and yes, I use that high tech method sometimes too!