High-tech trolling motor a space-age anchor

Chris Ginn

Falterman uses his stick-and-move redfish strategy all the time, but he believes it is even more important during the toughest days on the water.

John Falterman Jr. considers his Minn Kota i-Pilot trolling motor instrumental in his approach to saltwater fishing nowadays, and the feature that he has found most helpful is it’s Spot Lock system.

"Instead of fishing and drifting off a spot, I can go ahead and press the Spot Lock button, and the trolling motor takes a GPS reading and locks it in right on the spot," Falterman explained. "No matter what the current is doing or what the wind is doing, this trolling motor will automatically hold you on that spot."

Anglers with Power Poles or Talon shallow-water anchoring systems might wonder what all the fuss is about, so that’s why Falterman went on to explain that, while those systems might be great in shallow water, they aren’t much use in deep water.

"Man, you get out on the bridges in Lake Pontchartrain like the Trestles, Highway 11 or the Twin Spans or the CSX train bridge, the platforms out in Lake Borgne (and) you spend a lot of time trying to tie up or get your anchor positioned just right," Falterman said. "With the i-Pilot, all you’ve got to do is hit your lock button.

"It will hold you right over the fish without having to worry about drifting off."

Falterman has also found that the i-Pilot unit is great when he has other anglers in the boat during charter trips because it will hold his boat in place so anglers can keep fishing a hot spot while he’s helping land a fish.

That keeps him from having to ask one of his customers to run the trolling motor or having to waste time getting them back on fish.