Need advice which trolling motor to buy for Coleman Crawdad

[Goldiegoo]

Hi guys, hopefully you guys can give me suggestions on what trolling motor to buy.

Here is my boat I just bought used off of Craig's list:

It is going to be stored and used exclusively at Lake Mission Viejo which is a private lake in Southern California. Gas motors are not allowed trolling motors only.

The lake has huge bass and the lake record so far is 19 lbs. I caught a 13 lb on a fly rod if you can believe it, and btw the bass get so large because the lake is stocked with trout from November to December

So these are the motors I am thinking about getting so far.

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Electric-Trolling-Motors/Transom-Mount|/pc/104794380/c/104716980/sc/104645880/MotorGuide174-Bulldog-Foot-Control-Transom-Mount-Trolling-Motor-40-lb-Thrust/701222.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fboating-electric-trolling-motors-transom-mount%2F_%2FN-1100546%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104645880%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104794380%253Bcat104716980&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104794380%3Bcat104716980%3Bcat104645880

https://www.cabelas.com/product/Boating/Electric-Trolling-Motors/Transom-Mount|/pc/104794380/c/104716980/sc/104645880/MotorGuide174-Bulldog-Foot-Control-Transom-Mount-Trolling-Motor-54-lb-Thrust/701504.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fboating-electric-trolling-motors-transom-mount%2F_%2FN-1100546%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104645880%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253BMMcat104794380%253Bcat104716980&WTz_l=SBC%3BMMcat104794380%3Bcat104716980%3Bcat104645880

The motor will be used on the bow and I like the idea of using a foot pedal but I have never used one. The battery will be put under the seat that is closest to the bow. Supposedly the battery cable length on these bulldogs is 80.5 inches and the cable from the motor to the foot pedal is 63 inches. I measured it out and it will be perfect imo with room to spare.

From a few people that I have talked to they say that if I buy the 40 lb thrust the 12 volt battery will last a lot longer, but I like the idea of buying the 54 lb bulldog for a bit of extra speed. Will there be that much if a battery drain between the 54 and the 40 lb? And does anybody have one of these motors? Does it have a battery charge indicator letting me know how much of a charge the battery has?

Do you think this type of motor would be a better choice rigged like this?

If the back end of the boat wants to spin from the wind I can rig up a rudder to the back if need be.....

Thanks for posting any comments or opinions...

 

[fish devil]

:twisted: You should be good with the 40lb but if you decide to go with the 54lb thrust, get two batteries and wire them in parallel for maximum time on the water.

By the way that is an awesome fish. =D> Good luck on your MONSTER bass adventures!!!!