Are any of the elites using. The electric steer t.m.'s? 

There isn't a Elite walleye or crappie tour.

I watched a show that Shaw Grigsby was on.  It might have been One More Cast.  He was fishing out of a boat that had a trolling motor that had a feature called "anchor".  At least that's how I remember it.  That feature kept the boat in the position he wanted.  They were fishing in some wind and that kept the boat in exactly that same position.  When I looked up that kind of trolling motor that feature was included in some kind of electronic steering.

Oh, by the way, he is on the Bass Fishing Elite Tour.

By electric steer do you mean one controlled with a remote, or auto pilot, spot lock? I would think they all have trolling motors equipped with these options.

Unless something has drastically changed I dont think any elites use it. The feel and precision of cable steer is far better.

Most guys beating the banks aren't using them

 

13 hours ago, IntroC said:

By electric steer do you mean one controlled with a remote, or auto pilot, spot lock? I would think they all have trolling motors equipped with these options.

Ya pretty much all of those options. Pretty much not a cable steer i.e. a fortrex which had non of those capabilities.  Guys I've talked to either like them or hate them. I fish alot of flooded timber and like how responsive the cable steer is. I've heard the electric steer is slow. 

I have only seen one elite boat with the electric steer on it. He had swapped his out for practice, I believe on the great lakes. I don't remember looking to see if he used it for the tournament though. I haven't seen any other pro's use one in tournaments either.

No Bass Elites use them.  I have Marshaled several BASS Elite events and the delayed response in steering and the less than rigid mount would not stand up to the Elite tour.

They are a PITA for me to get used to after using cable steer, and making quick last minute changes of direction if you have screwed up in your boat control or postioning around things like boat docks, and laydowns  to avoid disaster are almost impossible. But out in open water, teamed with GPS they are very effective. As some one who jumps between deep and shallow water often, I'll take the versatility of a cable steer. If I fished nothing but open water I might opt for the electric steer, and if I fished nothing but shallow weed choked water, I would choose a hand steer.........they are still the kings of blowing through the thickest of thick stuff, especially with the "reverse thrust" feature.

On January 18, 2016 at 9:00 AM, clh121787 said:

I fish alot of flooded timber and like how responsive the cable steer is. I've heard the electric steer is slow. 

I went from cable steer to motorguide xi5.

I loved it.....and hated it at the same time.

Went back to cable steer.

i think it turned very fast......but I HATED the noise it made when it turned. I don't think it bothered the fish.....but drove me nuts.

so back to the cable steer....do miss the features of the electric steer.