Guys,

I am doing a little research for a friend of mine who just bought a 16 ft jon boat. He has a 30 horse merc on the back and wants to put a trolling motor on it. He will be fishing in the missouri river where the current is 5 to 7 mph. Typically 300 to 400 lbs of people and gear in the boat. What size of tm and should it be mounted in the front or back? I have told him that I would put it in the front but, I thought I would get some input from all the great experiences hear. So what say you?

Tia for your help

Rob

I have a 16 foot Tracker Grizzly, added an extension to the front deck, added a livewell, an 18 hp Tohatsu hangs on the back.

I currently have a 40 lb bow mount Minn Kota Edge and quite frankly it was not enough. I do fish the Allegheny River in this boat when the river is high enough to run a prop boat, the current would be just about the speed you mentioned. I am upgrading to a 55 lb Minn Kota.

I have owned 3 similar boats and 55's did the trick on them.

Oh, and if he wants a 40 lb Edge gimme a yell! It's the same one in which the shaft shattered, you posted a reply to my post in the outings section when I spoke of my Murphy's Law day.  I have a new shaft ordered, the rest of the motor is in good shape and only 1 year old, just needs the new shaft put on. It'll be a good deal

Buy the biggest trolling motor you can afford you will not regret it; where you mount it really doesn't matter if you have enough thrust.

Thanks for the replies thus far.  I think he is in agreement that he needs a 50 plus thrust, but the dilema is where to put it front or back.  Dealing with that much current, I would think it would be awful hard to control a jon with the tm on the back.  It would be a lot easier to mount on the back and would eliminate moving around so mcuh, if there were just one guy in the boat.  All my boats had them on the bow, so it is hard for me to say how it will perform from the back.

I find it easier to steer from the front. Especially when moving in and out of cover it is more responsive. When under way and up to speed it is second nature to steer from the back, but when idling at slow speeds turning the boat form the back is slow and cumbersome. From the front you just point the motor where you want to go and the bow follows immediately.

As for the speed, if your river really is at 5mph you may not be able to beat it with a trolling motor. The link below is someone's thread with a few comparisons of thrust vs. Mph via GPS. My 14 ft Boston Whaler only gets 2.3 mph with a 45 lb thrust. It's a heavier boat though.

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_forums/YaBB.pl?num=1176337488/3#3

I have a 14' Landau with a front casting deck, and I'm running a 40# edge on the bow.  As said previously, it's a strain under load in current.  I also have a 3hp Minn Kota that I occassionally use on the back.  For use on ponds & lakes, I like to use the bow mounted motor, but on shallow rivers, I use the stern mount because it will run in shallower water.

I have a 15' Tracker Grizzly with a 55# 12V Powerdrive on the bow.    It's plenty, even in wind.

I would opt to mount an electric motor on the bow rather than on the transom.   It will manuever and track better.   (Try pushing a rope in a straight line, then try pulling it, which is easier?)

I have a 50# thrust trolling motor for my transon but use it only on electric-only lakes and then only to get from dock to the general area where I want to fish.   Then I use the bow mount exclusively.