I plan on purchasing a friends 1970's 16ft. Lund jon boat in the next couple of weeks. The boat is a modified v font. I plan on using it mostly in small, electric motor only lakes. The main lake I will be fishings is about 50-55 acres. I don't plan on purchasing an outboard. May add one someday down the road, but college is keeping me on a tight budget. I want to add a casting deck, some storage, and a trolling motor to the boat. I'm going to try to keep weight down as much as possible. We will almost always be fishing 2 people off the boat. I guess my question is should I get a transom mount trolling motor or a bow mounted trolling motor? Also, what kind of power should I be looking for? I wanna keep the cost down, but still be able to prowl around small ponds and lakes.

Two things to consider:

1. Get the most power you can afford--you can't have too much.

2. A bow mount motor will give you better boat control while fishing or navigating.

Get as big a motor as you can afford . I have two , one for the transom and one for the bow.

You'll save a lot of money by sticking with a hand controlled trolling motor over a foot controlled. You can mount a hand controlled motor on the bow for better control just by removing a screw and flipping the head around.

Realistically you can get by fine with a $100, #30 thrust model, the brand doesn't really matter. They're all ok, none are great. I still use a #30 thrust on my 14 footer and will until it stops working.

If you have more money, buy more motor. If you don't just buy a cheap one, get the longest lasting battery you can afford and remember to charge it after every trip.

remember battery weight and cost. most every thing over 55# thrust is 24 volt. and bigger thrust doesn't mean faster just that you will be able to move a heavier boat through more weeds with more thrust. I have a 16' vhull and for years the guy I got it from had a 15# trolling motor, it worked fine till you got into weeds. I now have an 80# and I can go through a bed of lily pads no sweat. as far as transom or bow mount. your boat will track better with a bow mount and you will be hands free which is a big plus but transom mount is cheaper. usually.

I use a 40 lb. thrust on my 16' flat bottom, and that's what I recommend.