Disclaimer: Also known as Pinpoint GPS, Anchor Mode, Anchor Lock

 

Yes, the purchase price is like taking a kick from a Doc Martens work boot to the "please don't kick me there" area, but once that's healed it's been a love fest ever since. I know we're still in the honeymoon phase and being part of the early majority means the product hasn't been perfectly refined, but I am pleased to no longer be a part of the luddite demographic (at least in this particular regard).

 

Not only has it made fishing in places and conditions I normally fish much easier and pleasant, it's made it possible (and pleasant) to fish in situations I would have previously avoided due to wind, waves and/or holding on an offshore spot. 

 

Another thing I like about this particular one is that the trolling motor stays pointed in the same direction with my foot not being on the pedal, even at the highest speed setting. I imagine they all do, unlike the old-school purely cable driven ones we've used for decades.

 

It's hard for me to put a price on how it has enhanced my fishing pleasure, but the trolling motor companies have done that for us, and it ranges from around $1,500 to $5,500 just for the trolling motor (installation and accessories are extra), LOL. May this honeymoon never end.

I also think the spot lock is great on my Ulterra.  The jog feature really makes it versatile.

 

All I have to say is I am sorry for those of you who don’t have it.

Yep and it wouldn't be possible without GPS.  There have been many debates on here about the impact of technology on fishing.  I maintain that nothing has changed the way we fish more than GPS.

I'm still a peasant. I run a maxxum on my Stratos. This year however the wife promises me that we will budget for an upgrade to a spotlock motor. 

45 minutes ago, IYAOYAS said:

I'm still a peasant. I run a maxxum on my Stratos. This year however the wife promises me that we will budget for an upgrade to a spotlock motor. 

I still use a maxxum too and I have no intention of getting rid of it. The immediate response of a cable driven foot pedal is a must.

 

I do use my talon quite a bit though.

I’m with you.  My kayak had spot lock and navigation with a power drive based unit. When I moved to the boat, spotlock wasn’t optional, it was mandatory.  I was to used to fishing with it and the things it could do.  There are a lot of little things that it just makes easier. Need to rig up?  Stop where you are and anchor with it.  Need a break to have a coffee and watch the world go by?  Anchor down.  Going down the bank with a buzzbait or something else covering water?  Navigation and constant motor.  And none of that is even traditional spot locking off an offshore thing and fishing.  

I still run the old tried & true Fortrex.

Going on nine years now.  While I can certainly see where a spotlock could change some things,

I just have a hard time ripping off a perfectly good unit simply for a single feature.

If I wasn't getting a few, that'd be one thing.

But I bump into one a two every now & then.

If It croaks I'd seriously consider it.

But until then,

I'll keep doing left legged pedal dance. 

A-Jay

 

 

Spot Lock improves off shore bass fishing in wind 1000%👍

Tom

 

18 minutes ago, A-Jay said:

I just have a hard time ripping off a perfectly good unit simply for a single feature.

Nailed it. Absolutely nothing wrong with the maxxum on my boat either. I can’t justify removing a fully functioning reliable piece of equipment “just for the sake of it.”

 

If something major failed and I needed to replace it, now that would be completely different.

Spot-lock is awesome - in both my bass boat and kayak. Except one thing - the noise when the heads spins, establishes position, again and again.
 

Big fish are smart fish and have been caught before, some many times, but less so as they get older smarter and bigger.
 

They get conditioned to many things when they get caught. I would bet the bigger ones have all heard the Spot-lock sound and whining of the trolling motor steering and we are at a disadvantage to catch the biggest and best the more that motor engages. 

58 minutes ago, gim said:

The immediate response of a cable driven foot pedal is a must.

 

That's exactly why I chose the Ultrex (Quest). The thought of having no feedback and the lack of response time of the steer-by-wire of the other models was a no-go for me too.

 

32 minutes ago, gim said:

Nailed it. Absolutely nothing wrong with the maxxum on my boat either. I can’t justify removing a fully functioning reliable piece of equipment “just for the sake of it.”

 

I get that. I have been running my old Edge on a Lithium battery, which is not recommended unless you keep it at 85% or less power, I am also on my fourth transducer cable (although I think I have that one figured out to an extent), having the means to do so at this time, currently having access to some 'friendlier' pricing, and some uncertainty of where prices are going these days added to the inducement. I went with the built-in transducer and a new Xplore head unit too.

  My Terrova Spot Lock has without a doubt increased my catch versus fighting my Jon boat. Jog is another great feature( hit the button and move 5' in that direction per touch). Go To is also very nice, if you have your TM linked to your FF. I'll come of plane a couple hundred yards from a Waypoint and touch a spot on my FF a cast or so away from the Waypoint and hit Go To. My Terrova will sneak up on that spot and hold while I rig a bait, eat a cracker, tie a new leader,etc..

I use an 8ft pond prowler to fish small (80-150 acre) watershed lakes.  Always used a manual motor but bought a MG Xi3 for kayaks when they came out.  Love the spot lock in the wind but found electric steer poor for fishing close quarters in thick cover.  I always wanted both so I did.  Have a Min Kota hand steer and the MG on the bow and just switch back and forth as the situation calls for.  Switch the plugs, slide the MK up or down and deploy or stow the MG.  I thought long and hard before I did this as I like to keep things simple but spot lock is too valuable to go without.  Switching while on the water was simpler than I thought it would be.

I have a Power Pole Micro Anchor on the transom.  I think boat positioning is critical.

The lakes I fish have no boat ramps and are accessed via dirt roads or driving across pastures.

I see where MK now makes a GPS motor with a 36 in shaft.

Spot lock is a lifesaver for me fishing the St. John’s river. With its current, if you don’t have it, you’re spending a lot of your time trying to stay on a spot. 
I also fish some saltwater ( I have a flats boat) and with tides and current, it’s a must have. 

10 hours ago, FryDog62 said:

Spot-lock is awesome - in both my bass boat and kayak. Except one thing - the noise when the heads spins, establishes position, again and again.

 

Which one did you have in the boat?  Powerdrive?

 

I agree the one in the autopilot is loud and whiney.  That's a powerdrive based unit shortened for that boat.  However, the ultrex is basically silent.  I was surprised when I first started using it that there was no whine, no nothing.  Doesn't matter if you have it in spotlock or use the foot pedal to move the head.

 

11 hours ago, gim said:

The immediate response of a cable driven foot pedal is a must.

 

I said it in another post, but "ultrex for the win".  The foot pedal is immediate and also very easy to fine tune.  It takes very little force to turn the head and you can turn it a very small amount if you want.  

Fished for years with my cable steer trolling motor. It worked well and I was able to get fish in the boat. Brother got a fancy new trolling motor with auto pilot...pretty neat, but why bother upgrading when I could do the same in my boat, with the old cable steer.

 

About five years ago brother got his dream boat, and outfitted with an Ulterra. Talk about a GAME CHANGER! Yep, has auto-deploy-n-stow, auto pilot, remote control, linked to the fish finders, etc., which are all very neat.

 

But Spot-Lock was the true game changer, especially here in Nebraska where the wind seems to always be blowing.

 

Worth every penny in my opinion.

 

It's nice to lock in to a spot and fish, but what I like best is spot-locking and not having to worry about drifting in to rocks, or a tree, or anything else. I can spot lock, sit down in the boat and change lures, grab a snack, untangle a fish from the net.

You can also fish from anywhere in the boat with the Ulterra.  When by myself I like to fish from the back and control the boat with the micro remote.  My back forced me to get one a few years ago I love it.

Ran a regular TM for four years before going with the Ultrex and ran that for three years, and now I have an Ultrex Quest. Upgrading each time was worth the price of admission for me. I fish to relax, and enjoy the experience and the Ultrex's absolutely helps. TM are tools, why just have a hand phillips head screw driver when you can get a 20v cordless drill that can have different bits and do the job 1000x better.

16 minutes ago, Junger said:

Ran a regular TM for four years before going with the Ultrex and ran that for three years, and now I have an Ultrex Quest. Upgrading each time was worth the price of admission for me. I fish to relax, and enjoy the experience and the Ultrex's absolutely helps. TM are tools, why just have a hand phillips head screw driver when you can get a 20v cordless drill that can have different bits and do the job 1000x better.

Thank you for that.

And I get it, sounds like it makes the event easier on the angler.

Like cruise control in my truck and I use that all the time.

However, it doesn't make me a better driver.

 

I my mind, there is not a TM on this planet that can operate a unit

and anticipate subtle moves that need to be made (or not made) while fishing,

on it's own, better than an experienced operator.

Not sure I could be content with 'pretty close'.

I do not fish in rivers, which might have me singing a different tune.

btw, I don't own anything 'cordless' either.

Man, I might need to get with the times.

Fish Hard

😎

A-Jay

 

I am a slow adapter and when I do it has to make a measurable impact on my fishing and be financially responsible.  That’s why I have down scan and side scan units and no FFS.  The cost to upgrade to that technology hasn’t reached my threshold yet. The first upgrade I did to my 2005 21 ft big glass boat was Power Poles.  Not the fancy Blade series that had wireless stomp switches and paired with your graphs (if you had a new enough version), I just got the original 8 footers hard wired with stomp switch’s up front and a hard wired toggle in the console.  Where we fish in the Potomac River, poles were a very good addition due to the water we fished.  I bought them used. My buddy who is the opposite of me and is an early adapter, had a Ghost trolling motor on his boat.  It was only a year old when he decided to upgrade to a Power Pole Move. He can now control his TM, and Power Poles from his sonar units, the remote, phone app, or wireless stomp switches.  He also upgraded to 5 lithium batteries and a Power Pole battery charger which allows him to monitor his batteries on his sonar units and the app on his phone.  Since I fish with him almost every weekend, I realized the advantages of spot lock.  He sold me the Ghost at a very good price and although I can’t utilize all of the functions, I can use a good portion of them and the remote.  My only complaint is that there is a bit of a lag controlling with the remote but far less if I use the wireless foot peddle. Overall I am very, very happy with it.  I still have my Fortrex tucked away in the garage for emergency use.  

It makes fishing more efficient, especially in wind or current. It doesn't make the angler better, but will help with efficiency, like if I needed to drive 100 screws in where there was no power outlet, I'm going to opt for the cordless 20v every time, but that doesn't mean I'm going drilling them in flush everytime.

My spot lock is one handed paddling in my kayak 

5 hours ago, DaubsNU1 said:

It's nice to lock in to a spot and fish, but what I like best is spot-locking and not having to worry about drifting in to rocks, or a tree, or anything else. I can spot lock, sit down in the boat and change lures, grab a snack, untangle a fish from the net.

 

Yep.  This was even more important in the kayak with spotlock since a fish can pull the kayak around pretty well, but even in the boat my first action after setting the hook is to hit the anchor button.  No being pulled into the cover I'm fishing or being blown into the shoreline.  Unless the fish is hung up and I have to go in after it, it's coming to me.  And sometimes, you just want to sit back and take a break.

 

4 hours ago, Jig Man said:

You can also fish from anywhere in the boat with the Ulterra.  When by myself I like to fish from the back and control the boat with the micro remote.  My back forced me to get one a few years ago I love it.

 

This is also a nice benefit.  Are you locked upwind of the spot you're tring to fish?  Walk to the back.  Swirling winds?  Same deal.  Want a different casting angle on a laydown?  I do that all the time.  Spot lock so the bow is on one side and the stern on the other.  Make a couple pitches to the left side of the tree, walk to the back and fish the right side of the tree.  Works with docks too.

 

 

4 hours ago, A-Jay said:

Thank you for that.

And I get it, sounds like it makes the event easier on the angler.

Like cruise control in my truck and I use that all the time.

However, it doesn't make me a better driver.

 

I my mind, there is not a TM on this planet that can operate a unit

and anticipate subtle moves that need to be made (or not made) while fishing,

on it's own, better than an experienced operator.

Not sure I could be content with 'pretty close'.

I do not fish in rivers, which might have me singing a different tune.

btw, I don't own anything 'cordless' either.

Man, I might need to get with the times.

Fish Hard

😎

A-Jay

 

 

You're right that it won't make anyone a better angler.  And there is something to be said for boat handling being a skill as part of fishing.  At the same time, once you've gotten the hang of the features they do a lot to help with angler task loading to let you focus on the fishing part of things and not the boat control part.  And you don't have to use all of the things all of the time.  But they sure are nice to have when you need them.

The Ultrex is not a true cable steer bow mount. It is a hybrid.

 

The Edge, Maxxum, and Fortrex are cable drive foot pedals.

 

There is no bow mount on the market with spot lock that is a true cable steer. In order to utilize an electronic switch for spot lock, the pedal has to be partially electric. That’s why it’s a hybrid.

 

I fished out of a Crestliner growing up that had a powerdrive bow mount with electric steer. I’m never going back to an electric steer again if I can help it. The response is painfully slow and the noise it makes is cringe worthy.

 

I could mount a new Ultrex on my boat tomorrow if I wanted to. The cost is not inhibiting me.

10 hours ago, casts_by_fly said:

 

Which one did you have in the boat?  Powerdrive?

Ultrex in the bass boat, Autopilot in the Old Town kayak…