Would a 55 lb Minn Kota electric motor be enough for lake and slow river travel?

Yes that's what I have. For propellering all day you'll need two deep cycle batteries.

The trolling motor runs on a deep cycle 12v battery. The 20hp two stroke runs on gas mixed with oil. The oars run on Polish Sausage and Gatorade.

Do you use any fancy gauges and monitoring systems?

Do you trickle re-charge it or do you fast charge it?

Do you use two batteries or one?

How do you fasten them down?

Ahh and one more:

-Would you put the trolling motor on the front if you didn't have the 20hp outboard. I seen them on the front back and sides and wonder if it really even maters on a slow displacement craft.

Back mount better, if you dont want two motors. All night trickle Recharge. I wish I had two batteries. When I was a "software engineer" I bought what ever I wanted. Now I'm geezer

For electric motor used to slow down in current use a back mount with propeller direction reversed.

Thanks Geezer, all good answers. I am often having trouble organizing a chase vehicle and so I'm leaning towards an electric motor. With a passenger I prefer to row while they fish. When I'm alone I think it would be nice to have a device to push me around or, as you say, slow me down.

I was visiting the Yuba river this weekend and it was really low......as bad as the Delaware. What a beautiful steam. 25-30 miles north of Sacramento.



Like the Eel up north I'm sure it is 10 times this size once spring comes.

What a nice river to be near.

Actually front mount better for lakes.

Rear or upstream-end mount better for slowing down in rivers. I read an article in Salmon Trout Steelheader (do they still exist) once about flipping the propeller when using a MinKota trolling motor to slow down in rivers. I can't remember why they thought that was a good thing.

I bought a 55lb thrust MinKota with foot pedal controls. I thought I'd be able to work the motor with my feet while casting with my hands. It works in lakes but not in rivers. Not so far. Not for me. Currents change quickly and the foot controls are hard too slow to react and too hard to anticipate. I've thinking about clamping a rigid tiller handle on it. And ditching the foot controls. At least for rivers. They do work well enough on lakes.

That is interesting Sandy. I was initially thinking of using foot controls but decided that I want to keep it very uncluttered and simple. The buffalo is not a nice rowing boat and I wouldn't want to row very far with it. Only upwind. It is fine on the river. maybe I'll better like how it rows once I have the correct oars. In the meantime a trolling motor opens up allot of small but windswept lakes in my area.

How many miles is your average drift in home waters?

Day trips are 6 to 10 miles. Sometimes shorter, if I plan to park and wade a lot.

Week-long desert white water river expeditions are a different story. On Desolation Canyon on the Green River the first good campsites are 20 miles from the put in. Day one on Deso for an old guy, with an all-day upstream wind, is a killer. Two years ago I didn't pitch a tent on day one. I made my fold out aluminum cot. Unpacked my sleeping bag and crashed. Woke up briefly for food, which Dave put together. And then crashed again.

I was planning on an easy 5 mile float today. When I went to pick up the boat the river was a muddy brown. So I went to smaller streams and caught nothing. The only people I met that caught anything had caught two seven inch small mouth. I am two shakes away from going back to spinning gear. At least with bait I catch stuff. I’m cranky tonight.

For me it's not about go back to anything. I do it all. Fly fish. Bait fish. Lure fish. Bottom bounce for walleyes. I don't go as often as I did. But I'm happy to fish. Any way I can.

I was about to extend my normal float to 9 miles. When I'm alone I don't stop to fish. The current is slow and steady and I just keep casting. Once I thought it through I realized it would mean 8+/- hrs alone on the water/trailering. That is too much during this cooler time of the year when it gets dark so early. 5miles seems fine.

How would you place batteries into a Buffalo Boat? I was thinking I’d install longitudinal stringers and mount the batteries across them under, or just behind, oarsmans seat.

To be honest I've just plonked it (the battery) on the floor of the boat. I haven't had much luck using it in moving water but that's because I have foot controls. I need to use a pipe clamp to put a tiller on it and use it by hand.

The foot controls work fine on the lake. I like to fish. But I also like to sneak up on shore birds and photograph them. I can do that by rowing slowly and quietly. The trolling motor allows me to move the boat with hands on the camera, which I like.

I'm fond of shore birds. They are most overlooked. I understand that in one time in America some of them were harvested for table fare but I don't know which ones. They are like the worker bees of our waterways.

I'm 265lbs and a battery is dense. I want it supported. I'll figure out some easy solution.

Yesterday I surprised a frog in a local lake. he jumped into the lake and was immediately nailed by a big dark fish. while hanging out of the fishes mouth I watched it go out about 25' from shore where the fish released it. Too big I assume. The frog swam back to me as fast as it could knowing that, for his safety, I was the better bet.