How to choose the right trolling motor

Garmin trolling motors are certainly a force to be reckoned with. Read on to learn why and which one best fits your needs.

Garmin has set a new standard for trolling motors with its legendary power and precise boat control. With several industry awards recognizing our innovative electric trolling motors, including honors from ICAST, Boating Industry Magazine and Boating Magazine, one thing is clear — if you’re an angler looking for the best fishing spots, you need a Garmin trolling motor.

Garmin certainly has a lot to offer with its trolling motor products, but first, here’s what you should consider before making a purchase.

Pick the Right Trolling Motor Shaft for Your Boat

A key factor in determining the right trolling motor shaft is the length of the shaft and what kind of boat you have. To choose the right length, measure the distance between the surface of your boat’s bow to the waterline. Meanwhile, if you regularly experience a sizable number of waves, add 8” to your total measurement.

Use the table below to determine the correct shaft length:

For more information on choosing the appropriate Force^® trolling motor shaft length, check out this article.

Why You Should Choose a Garmin Trolling Motor

While we recognize it can be difficult to choose from several options, we also don’t think you can go wrong with any of our trolling motors.

1. Force Pro

The Force Pro is a powerful trolling motor perfect for both pro and recreational anglers. This exceptional trolling motor lets you move fast and quietly with precision. When you need to slow your boat or back into tight spaces, you’ll be able to do so efficiently with the Force Pro’s reverse thrust abilities. 

What’s better than wireless integration? With the Force Pro, you’ll be able to control your speed and make steering adjustments from anywhere on your boat with the foot pedal or the remote with point-and-go gesture steering. If you have a compatible Garmin chartplotter, you’ll be able to create and follow new routes and patterns while you fish.

It’s easy to move along popular fishing hot spots when you have the Force Pro. Included within this trolling motor is the all-in-one GT56UHD-TR transducer, showing fish around you with high-definition scanning sonar.

A perfect fit for bass boats, the Force Pro has two shaft length options, 50” and 57”, for any boat size and deck configuration. Beyond fit, the brushless motor provides both power and performance. This motor provides 100 lbs of thrust¹.

Returning and staying at your favorite fishing stop is easy with the anchor lock feature. The premium multi-band GPS, reverse prop spin and reduces motor activity and holds your positioning. 

For enhanced fishing and navigation, the lighted indicator on the shaft cap allows you to choose in what direction your motor is pointed.

2. Force Current

If you’re a kayaker looking for a trolling motor to suit your every need, the Force Current is for you. The Force Current is made specifically to pair with a kayak and help anglers maneuver through weed beds, tight spaces and make quick, tight turns by using forward or reverse thrust.

When it comes to steering, the Force Current offers hands-free wireless throttle and steering controlling system. You’ll be able to fish and troll at the same time when using the power steer foot pedals or wireless floating handheld remote. With a compatible Garmin smartwatch, you’ll also be able to control the throttle and steering from your wrist.

Create and follow your favorite routes and tracks with wireless chartplotter integration. Then, when you’ve arrived at a fishing spot and want to hold your position, just enable your smart anchor lock. You’ll stay put even in heavy currents and wind.

Like other Garmin trolling motors, you’ll be able to stay on the water all day. The brushless motor delivers 30 lbs of thrust with 12-volt power or 50 lbs of thrust with 24-volt power.

The Force Current isn’t just another complicated piece of marine technology to add to your kayak. You’ll be able to avoid jumbled cables with the Current’s cordless installation capabilities and weighs in at less than 25 lbs, so bringing it on your next kayaking trip is light work.  

3. Force Kraken

Engineered for the harsh saltwater environment and built for the rigors of extreme fishing conditions, the Force Kraken provides 100 lbs of thrust¹, and it’s optimized to excel in rough open-water conditions thanks to the efficient brushless motor design.

Whether you’re bouncing between mangroves fishing for snook or hopping from brush pile to brush pile collecting crappie, the Kraken is well-positioned for both saltwater and freshwater environments. Power aside, our trolling motor is efficient and whisper quiet and allows anglers to fish from sunup to sundown. The Kraken is ideal for boats with higher freeboards and limited mounting space at the bow such as V-bottom boats, bay boats or center console boats. Shaft lengths include 48”, 63”, 75”, 90” and 110”.

The Kraken provides superior boat position technology with multi-band GPS for improved positional accuracy. To prevent spooking fish and keeping your shaft-mounted LiveScope™ sonar pointed in a consistent direction, kick your anchor lock into gear.

Select Kraken models come with sonar integration, including a built-in GT56UHD all-in-one transducer with Ultra High-Definition ClearVü™ and SideVü™ scanning sonar and CHIRP traditional sonar. Meanwhile, anglers can install forward-facing sonar, such as LiveScope, with the Kraken’s LiveScope cable management system. Make sure to take a look the list of compatible products.

You can even connect your compatible Garmin marine smartwatch to control steering and anchor lock from your wrist, plus connect to your compatible chartplotter to create and track routes while you fish.

So, go on, and fish with force. You won’t regret it.

_{¹In compliance with ISO standard 13342}