The Features I Like About Minn Kota Trolling Motors

I’ve been around the fishing world for a while… over 20 years, to be more specific.

I've learned a lot of things about fishing and boating equipment during that time. I have also developed some opinions about that equipment. Some of them are good and well worth the money spent, and some is just plain crap and not worth the money spent to package it.

This holds true when it comes to electric trolling motors. There are good models and there are bad models. There are also big differences between the famous brands of trolling motors. Let me explain.

There are only a small number of trolling motor manufacturers in the entire industry. Regardless of what brand you see on a trolling motor, it’s made by one of those few manufacturers.

If you look around, you’ll see that Minn Kota Trolling Motors and Motorguide Trolling Motors are the top in the industry when it comes too brand recognition and popularity.

Base on my own experience for many years, I prefer Minn Kota Trolling Motors and, in my opinion, they’re a lot better. Here’s why.

Functionality – The newest Minn Kota models are extremely functional. The features built in to the newest motors are purely functional. There is no fluff.

Durability – This is one of my favorite parts of the new Minn Kota motors. These motors last, and for a very long time. Under normal conditions, these motors will last far longer than you would ever expect. Even under extreme conditions and use they outlast the motors of years past by 100% or more!

Reliability – I never worry about my trolling motor not working. When I need it, it works. Plain and simple. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Design – Minn Kota has spent hundreds of thousands of dollars (possibly even millions of $) over the past decade, perfecting their design, making it more useful and easier to use. The foot pedal is not anymore clunky and uncomfortable to use. Everything about the design of these motors is user-friendly.

Let me talk a little more about the durability factor, because this is what makes these motors better than the others. Have you ever hit a stump or rock with your trolling motor? If so, you know that this can absolutely ruin a fishing trip… unless you’re running a Minn Kota.

Over a decade ago Minn Kota stopped making their trolling motor shafts from steel and started making them from a composite material that gives them a new element of "unbreakableness", if you will.

You no longer need to worry about hitting an underwater obstruction making the shaft bent in a weird angle, rendering it useless.

With the composite shaft, hitting a stump or rock simply causes the shaft to flex under pressure and then go right back to its original condition, plain and simple.

This is a no-nonsense engineering feat on the part of the Minn Kota R&D team. Not having to worry about bending the motor’s shaft means being able to concentrate on fishing, not on where the stumps are.