Does anyone know of a really good trolling motor battery. I used Duralast last year and was wondering if someone had a better choice. I have used the Optima batteries and was not impressed with them. Also, how often do you switch out your TM batteries. I'm getting a little over a year.

If you are only getting one year out of your battery than you need to read this.  It will save you some money.  Maintenance is more important than brand name.

http://www.batterystuff.com/tutorial_battery.html

I really don't know how long they last.  I replace them after 4 hard years of service.  Get large reserve amp capacity and maintain them and they go a long time.

Thanks, Surfer and Jig, I have been told that for the amount of time that someone like me spend on the water that it's normal to replace batteries once a year. Wan't to know if that is accurate?

i like the AGM's from Cabelas,great reserve capacity.

http://www.windsun.com/Batteries/Battery_FAQ.htm#Lifespan%20of%20Batteries

This is a lot longer read than the prior one I posted. But if you scroll down to Cycles vs. Life a little more than half way down the page it shows 1000 cycles for any lead acid that is well maintained. At one cycle (discharge and charge) per day that is almost 3 years.

Now I don't think it is possible to perfectly maintain and not abuse a battery so I would expect much less.  But I also assume you don't fish every day.

I have a battery that is just over a year old now.  I have done what I can to maintain it, but I do abuse it some times.  I can tell it's not as strong as when I bought it, but it was a generic $80 deep cycle and it still trolls for an 8 hour day.

No, I don't fish every day, only about 1 to 2 times a week. Over the course of the year, i will abuse it. The current on the river here can be strong and with old batteries you want last long. For the past 6 to 7 years I have had to replace batteries each year.