I think that a foot controled trolling motor is a must have for anyone who is going to move a lot while fishing.  It takes some getting used to, but I love them.

As far as powerfishing vs finesse....I don't do either.  I have a pretty weird blend of things I do on the water that could go one way or the other.  Some of my cranking is more finesse based and then I'll powerfish a senko.  All depends on what I'm seeing on the water.  I'm probably one of the more unconventional fishermen on most lakes on any given day.  I do weird things....

...and they pay off.

I had a boat similar to you, and power fished all the time. I would just put the trolling motor on reverse low and go backwards into the wind and steer with my knee. That way the front of the boat stays straight behind you. It works pretty good and you can make corrections in between casts. 8-)

Russ,

Years ago I would haul a battery and a transom mount TM to smaller lakes that rented Jon boats.  Before putting the TM on the boat, take out the screw that holds the head (speed controls, wiring, etc.) on to the shaft and turn the head 180 degrees.  That way, you don't have to run it in reverse on the front of the boat.  Now just mount it anywhere up front that you can.  Set it on the lowest speed setting poosible for the conditions and just adjust direction with a nudge of the knee.  You seem pretty 'spry' and we are roughly the same size.... you can figure it out.  Good luck.

When fishing from my small boat, a gheenoe, I will slide a piece of pvc pipe onto the transom mounted,trolling motor throttle. At a low setting I can use the pipe to steer the boat with my leg. Its worth a try.  In my small boat I make things work. but some days I really miss the foot control on my bassboat.

Many bow mount electric motors are not foot controlled. I have drawn partners that have theese mmotors on there boats and the seem quite adept with controlling direction with their knee. I think that with a piece of angle iron some

C-clamps and a bit of ingenuity you could moove your trolling motor to the front of your boat and use a piece of PVC pipe to extend the handle. I did this a number of years ago to use on rental boats before I owned one. I did this with a Min-Kota 65, I was able to loosen the head and turn it 180 degrees so that the control handle was useable when on the front of the boat. Good luck if you give it a try.