Pro's & Con's
Cable Steer
Pro's 1 You can fish and steer at the same time 2 All in one unit no accessories needed. 3 quick and responsive steering 4 Easy to adjust the speed
Con's 1 Broken cables ( ruins a day of fishing ) 2 Learning curve for operation 3 hard to control in rough water leaving the angler/boater in an off balance position for taking a swim 4 Foot petal & cable assembly takes up more space 5 you cant speed through timber
Hand Steer
Pro's 1 Generally a cheaper retail cost 2 precision control 3 less bulky, 4 Easier to use right from the get go
Con's 1 You cant fish and steer at the same time 2 Not all in one to take full advantage of motor extension handle ( preferably 360 ) and foot switches must be bought 3 you have to reach down to change speeds.
Electric steer/wireless
Pro's 1 Easy to use, 2 Precision steering, 3 Foot pad takes up less space, 4 Can be controlled from anywhere in the boat with a remote, 5 Some models are offered with the ability to be fully integrated where your electronics talk and can do all sorts of cool things
Con's 1 Highest retail cost of all ( even for non integrated models ), 2 A fully integrated system is quite expensive, 3 A remote even for a non integrated is still an added cost 4 The mount seems to be a tad bit more bulky, 5 and the steering is not quite as quick to respond vs. cable or hand steer.
This above mainly pertains to bow mount motors though there are some interesting transom mount ideas
Cable Steer transom mount MotorGuide's Bull Dog
360 steering MinnKota's Vector 3X
Plain old hand controlled with this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zIUIjzxP6WM and the website
https://procontroll.com/
Accessories for your trolling motor
If you go the hand control route like I did then I highly suggest using a ProKontroll, and a couple of foot switches ( I cant fish without it )
https://www.prokontroll.com/prokontroll.html You can fish just as well as a foot control with a little use your fishing will be just as uninterrupted and seamless as foot control without the worry of getting bucked overboard while fishing in windy rough water.
If your worried a cable might snap ending your day on the lake or costing you the tournament then a Dick Watsons Pro Stick might be the answer. I haven't seen one in years and last saw them advertised in the late 90's so here is the link to the patent on Google
https://www.google.com/patents/US5632216 just click on the blue print pictures and you will get the idea.
What it all boils down to is the users needs, preferences, and situation on which might be best for them. I hope I have provided some good information on this subject and what options are available, feel free to correct/argue against me or provide your own experiences as to what really works best in certain situations. I hope this helps sorry for the length I hope we can agree at least on one thing paddling sucks for fishing :LOL2: