Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2017 - 38

Trolling Motors
Ideal for Many
Keystone Lakes
by Alex Zidock Jr.
photos by the author
38

Pennsylvania Angler & Boater * November/December 2017

Working from his manufacturing plant near the
Minnesota/North Dakota border, O. G. Schmidt
invented the electric boat motor in 1934. Minn
Kota (named so because of the location of the
plant) and other brands that followed allowed
anglers and others an alternative to smoky
and noisy gas powered outboard motors. The
modern electric trolling motor has many fishing
applications, but it is also ideal for boat anglers,
photographers and nature lovers to more delicately
and quietly maneuver their small boats on many of
Pennsylvania's backwaters.
In all 67 counties in Pennsylvania, there is at
least one Pennsylvania Fish & Boat Commission or
one Pennsylvania Game Commission lake where
boats operated with internal combustion engines
are prohibited. On these lakes, you can't get to the
best fishing spots unless you go by canoe, kayak or
other boat using paddle/pedal power or an electric
motor. Then, there are the larger Pennsylvania
lakes where gas and diesel powered boats are
allowed, but the addition of an electric motor is a
definite advantage in getting your bait to the fish
and keeping your boat at the hotspot.
The first trolling motors were transom
mounted, hand-operated devices that pushed the
boats through the water. The popularity of the
bass boat brought about technology that allowed
anglers to sit in the bow of the boat and work the
trolling motor with their foot through a cable
control system. A foot-operated electric trolling
motor allows anglers to keep both hands free for
fishing. Bow mounted units pull the boat through
the water.
Many anglers target Pennsylvania lakes for
Walleyes and use the back-trolling method of
fishing. Some newer transom mounted trolling
motors allow anglers to control the depth of the
motor shaft, employ enhanced steering techniques
and offer other options right on the tiller. The
advantage to having the ability of raising the motor
shaft quickly when back-trolling is to avoid stumps
or tangling in aquatic vegetation.
For Keystone State anglers who don't spend a
lot of time on the water, the introduction of the
trolling motor portable hand control, referred to
as a fob, makes managing trolling chores easy. It's
an easy move from the television remote to the
electric trolling motor fob. With the fob in hand,
you can move the boat left or right. To go faster or
slower, just push the corresponding button.
Electric trolling motors can be used on small
boats like canoes and kayaks as the primary source
of power.
While internal combustion engines are
measured in horsepower, electric motors are
measured in pounds of thrust produced. Forty
years ago, a motor with 18-pound thrust was
www.gonefishingpa.com
http://www.gonefishingpa.com
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Angler & Boater - November/December 2017
