If you’re new to bass fishing, you may be wondering what the advantages of spot lock trolling motors are, and if they can help you to catch more bass.
Spot lock trolling motors first came to fame when bass pro angler Ott Defoe used a Minn Kota Ultrex to win a Bass Elite series tournament in 2016.
In the following years, all bass pro anglers started using spot lock trolling motors, and this fact alone should tell you everything you need to know about how useful these trolling motors are for bass fishing.
Read on to learn more about spot lock trolling motors, and how to use them to catch more bass.
What is a spot lock trolling motor (and why is it such a big deal)?
A spot lock trolling motor uses a GPS anchor to maintain its position in the current, no matter how rough the water or how strong the wind is.
The GPS anchor of a spot lock trolling motor identifies your GPS coordinates, and then uses this information to automatically control the trolling motor head by adjusting its speed and direction.
By doing this, a spot lock trolling motor is able to compensate for any current or wind that would normally push your boat away from its original spot, and is thus able to maintain your boat’s position within three to six feet of your initial GPS location.
This functionality is a game changer, since it allows you to focus on fishing without having to worry about boat control. Let’s take a closer look at the key advantages provided by spot lock.
What are the benefits of using spot lock for bass fishing?
The biggest advantage of a spot lock trolling motor is that it can hold your position over structure (or over a school of fish), which allows you to stay in the strike zone for an indefinite amount of time.
I remember the days before I started using a trolling motor with spot lock, when I had to manually control my trolling motor to maintain boat position in a specific fishing spot. Every time I caught a bass, the wind would blow me 100 feet away from my spot while I was busy unhooking the bass.
As a result, I would spend more time repositioning my boat than I would actually spend fishing.
But now, since I’ve gotten a spot lock trolling motor, I just hit the spot lock button when I’m in exactly the right location, and I know my boat will stay in that spot while I focus on fishing.
That means I can easily change lures, rigs, rods, or do the million other things you need to do while fishing, without having to pay attention to boat control. Especially when the bite is hot, you want to waste as little time with boat control, and focus on keeping your lure in the strike zone as long as possible.
Also, some Minn Kota and PowerDrive trolling motors come with “spot lock jog” functionality, which allows you to adjust the position of your boat five feet in any direction. That way you can systematically dissect a productive fishing location, such as a reef or rock pile.
Finally, a spot lock trolling motor allows you to anchor without disturbing fish.
Top tips for catching more bass with a spot lock trolling motor
The easiest way to use a spot lock trolling motor is to simply hit the spot lock button when you’re positioned in exactly the right fishing spot, which could be on top of a drop off, brush pile, or other structure where bass like to hold.
One of the key skills that you need to master is learning how to control your spot lock trolling motor with a remote control or with a foot pedal. So in terms of bass fishing success, your ability to control your spot lock trolling motor without thinking about it is just as important as choosing the right fishing reel for bass.
In order to get the most out of spot lock for bass fishing, it’s best to network it with sonar and mapping devices on your boat. For example, Minn Kota spot lock trolling motors can be networked with a Humminbird chartplotter, which allows you to use waypoints on your map to instruct the spot lock trolling motor where to hold its position.
The possibilities for this are endless. For example, when Ott Defoe used spot lock to win the Bass Elite tournament back in 2016, he used it to position his boat close to a spillway. This had been a virtually inaccessible fishing location in the past, since it required so much attention on boat control, but with spot lock it was straightforward to fish there.
You can use your sonar to scout out the best bass fishing spots on a lake or river, and then save them as waypoints on your map. And then, when it’s time to start fishing, just use those waypoints as markers for your spot lock trolling motor.
When not to use a spot lock trolling motor for bass fishing
While a spot lock trolling motor is a great tool to help you remain stationary and avoid drifting away from your fishing location, there are some situations where it isn’t the ideal choice.
For example, if you’re fishing in shallow water, such as shallow bay or mud flat, a spot lock trolling motor is not the best option, since it will tend to churn up mud and vegetation from the bottom, which will spook any fish in that location.
That’s why shallow water anchors are a better option for shallow water under 5 to 6 feet. Now you know why many bass anglers have both a spot lock trolling motor and shallow water anchors (such as talons or power poles), since that allows them to cover all bases.
Also, if you’re dealing with very strong winds, a spot lock trolling motor may not be strong enough to hold your position, especially if your boat is fully loaded. That’s why you should choose a suitably strong spot lock trolling motor for your boat and the current and wind conditions that you normally encounter.
Finally, if you’re fishing in a location with dense underwater vegetation, your spot lock trolling motor is probably going to have problems holding your position accurately, since the weeds are going to get wrapped around the prop.
So if you’re fishing in a lake with a lot of weeds, you should probably avoid using a spot lock trolling motor, or you’ll need to spend a lot of time on maintaining your trolling motor, in order to ensure it continues to function properly.
Conclusion
A spot lock trolling motor can be an effective tool for staying in close proximity to a school of bass without physically anchoring your boat. This feature is a game changer for bass anglers, as it can save you valuable time by maintaining the position of your boat in highly productive fishing spots, while you focus on catching fish.
