Advice On Trolling Motor Mounted Fishfinders

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[Ranger375]

Why use a portable depthfinder? Almost all depthfinders haveor you can get bracket to mount to your trolling motor. You might need to run 12 volt leads up to the front of your boat but in most boats that is fairly simple. As an example go to the following
http://www.eaglegps.com/Downloads/Ma...651_091902.pdf
Look on page 8 of the manual and it shows the mounting. I refer you to Eagle because that is what I have on my boat, but H-bird and Garmin are similar to Eagle/Lowrance. Would make it a lot simpler than having to have extra 'A' batteries all the time. Simply run the cable from transducer up the shaft of the T-motor and attach with either electrical tape or cable ties. You can place depth finder where ever it is convenient and viewable.

Hope this answers your question and does not confuse you to much.

[Barnacle Bill]

I've got a Garmin 240 on my console. I used to have a Pinpoint trolling system but had so many problems with it I had to tell them where to put it. I now have a Minnkota with the built in xducer and a Lowrance X-97 with it. I ordered a X-87, but they sent the 97. Who am I to argue.

[Moose1am]

I mounted my Humminbird LCR on the front deck and the steering column using some oak shelving and industrial Velcro. I glued the velcro to the bottom of the depth's finder's bracket and then to the top of the oak wood. Then I screwed teh oak wood to the top of the aluminum steering column deck and the front deck of my boat at the very tip end of the bow. I can move the trolling motor to either spot in about 20 seconds. It will stay put on the steering column while I am traveling at 75mph down the highway so that velcro holds it pretty darn tight. It's easy to get off and on and holds good.


As for a trolling motor transducer well humminbirds sells a transducer for the trolling motor. All I did was mount it to the bottom of my Min-Kota Trolling motor adn run the wire up along the trolling motor's shaft. I use those plastic ties ever six inches or so to keep the electrical cord up tight on the trolling motor's shaft. I can then plug that transducer into my LCR 8000 when I move the LCR8000 up to the front of the boat when I am using the trolling motor.
While running the gasoline motor I leave the LCR 8000 mounted to the bow and just take the rear transducer cord and plug it back into the LCR8000. Hummingbird makes a switch that will let you hook both the transducers up to the switch and have only one line going to the depth finder. Then you just throw a toggle switch one way or the other way to connect either transducers to the depth finder electrically. I have not got that yet so I manually will unhook one cord and plug in the other cord depending on which transducer I want feeding the LCR.

Or you can just get a seperate depth finder and transducer from Humminbird just for the trolling motor and the front of the boat.

I did it my way to save me money and to make the LCR8000 last me a bit longer.

The trolling motor tranducer was about $60 bucks and I could have almost purchased a new depth finder for that amount.

Someday I am going to replace the LCR8000 when it goes bad.

I want to get a transducer mounted to my trolling motor because I troll jigs with it and am getting tired a straining my neck to look back at the fishfinder mounted on the drivers side of my boat. What type of setup do you guys run?

I have a humminbird wide 128 on the back and am thinking about getting the piranah humminbird portable with the 8 a batteries. I need something more or less for depth and to see if I am running over any brush or structure before my jigs get there. What type of setup do you guys run?

Thanks for the help.

[fishin3]

Does anyone get any type of interference when running the trolling motor with the transducer mounted below it? I like the idea of just running 12v leads to the front and getting an extra mount and transducer but I like the idea of having a portable unit so I can stow it and leave it at home when I'm not trolling. The batteries wouldn't be too much of a problem because I have several sets of aa rechargeables for my gps unit and digital camera. It said on the humminbird piranaha that the unit would run 30 hours with the backlight on. I am going to shop other brands but wanted to know how you guys had it setup on your boats for some good ideas and what brands might be better than others for the price. Thanks again for all the input and ideas.

I have a pirranha on the consule and one on the trolling motor as well. I got the one with duel cones for the trolling motor since that is the one I will do most of the fishing with and the others is for running or with the big motor. I don't have any problems running both of them. You can also take them both off when you get home and not have to worry about someone else using them on their boat.LOL

[Darryl Morris]

I want to get a transducer mounted to my trolling motor because I troll jigs with it and am getting tired a straining my neck to look back at the fishfinder mounted on the drivers side of my boat. What type of setup do you guys run?

I have a humminbird wide 128 on the back and am thinking about getting the piranah humminbird portable with the 8 a batteries. I need something more or less for depth and to see if I am running over any brush or structure before my jigs get there. What type of setup do you guys run?

Thanks for the help.

You can purchase just about any make or model of F/F with a puck transducer. The puck transducer should have two slots in it's cap that will allow you to use a basic ring clamp to afix it to your trolling motor. Interference isn't too bad, but if you do get some, just turn the gain up a little. Just be careful not to pinch your transducer cable when putting out or taking up your trolling motor.

As for seeing the brush before your jigs are in it is a little more difficult. Normally, your transducer will be mounted and pointing straight down. The cone of coverage is only limited to the depth of the water your pinging. If you're trolling out the front of your boat your jigs (rod tips) have already past through (or hung up if it's me) the brush when you see it on your F/F plus another 15+ seconds of delay.

To do this, you will have to mount your transducer in a forward angle. The depth reading will be not be accurate but you will see cover before your right over the top of it. Nothing simple.

I have read of some who mount a transducer on the shaft instead of the motor. The transducer is pointing straight forward and will display a horizontal line on your screen when it marks a stump or other cover. This line will gradually moving up in depth (as indicated on the screen) as you get closer to it.

[whizkids]

The PiranhaMAX 10 is $40.00 cheaper than the portable model PiranhaMAX 10
at Cabelasan features an "Easy On-Easy Off Mounting System ", it comes with either a Inside Hull or Transom Mount transducer. A trolling motor transducer is $59.95 at the Hummingbird site. If you talk to a local tackle shop or boat dealer they may be able to switch the packaged transducer for the trolling motor transducer for less total money.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/te...276&hasJS=true

An Eagle® Cuda™ 128 has about the same features as the PiranhaMax 10, is about the same price and comes with a transducer that can be clamped on the trolling motor.
http://www.basspro.com/servlet/catal...rTarget=browse

[tarfu]

howdy; when i got my boat it already had a h-bird wide portrate. but it was mounted on the transome. went and updated that to one with gps. got on computer found h-birds website. always liked talking to human-beings better so i called the 800 phone number there. those people KNOW what they're talking about. also use thier adapter to mount to trolling motor. the one i got from cabela's. one of those "universal" types didn't fit. glad they have a good refund policy. I got an extra power cord and one of those small 12 volt batteries that cabela's sells (with it's own charger) eliminated the interferance. my next move is to get one of the wide views that one looks out to the sides 120 ft. and sorry to say ,it only has a 9 degree down view. but i figured that most of the fish are out to the sides of me not just under my furry butt. plus it let me see the slope to the bank or whatever.

[Kenny]

I have 2 Humminbirds..one on the transom and one on the trolling motor...the one on the trolling motor is a fixed mount I installed myself and ran the power leads all the way back to the battery..with an inline fuse...no interference of any sort...works very well.

[Tim The Lippa Rippa Mon]

This is a little back yard engineering that has worked out well for us. My partner & I drilled a small hole through the skagg of our bow mounted trolling motor. We just used the regular transducer bracket, and a long bolt with 4 locking nuts(2 on each side iof skagg) to attach to the trolling motor. Works awesome. Never get any "noice" from running the trolling motor, ever! We use the portable Eagle 320 in the front. You can put it wherever you want, has it's own battery fitted to it's carrying tray, and it stows in a heart beat.

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