We used to perch fish with an anchor on Erie.
We were typically in water 60-80 FOW.
A royal PITA to haul up an anchor every time you wanted to move or leave.
My buddy's Whaler had deep grooves worn into the gunnels on the bow from hauling the anchor rope over them.
I am not kidding.
I wish I had pictures to show you how deep those groves were in the fiberglass.
One day I suggested to him that he should get the ipilot with spotlock.
He went out and bought a 24volt Terrova and 2 deep storage batteries the very next day and we mounted it and immediately went out to test it.
We went out in >2' waves and a 15+ mph wind.
We were that crazy about seeing how it would work.
We were amazed!!
We could not believe how it held us.
Let's say you are in 70 FOW.
You are supposed to put out a ratio of 3:1 on your anchor rode, but who does that???
So, let's assume we put out 150' of anchor rope.
The 70' water you are in is the vertical and the 150' is the hypotenuse.
If you do the math, the horizontal, or the radius of your circle out there works out to be 132.7'.
So, the circle you are in is about 265' in diameter.
You are floating around in a 265' circle!!!!Almost a football field long for crying out loud.
I want to think the perch schools might sometimes be that large, but I'm a little more realistic than that. lol
Prior to 2017, the ipilot spotlock is reported to hold you in a 10-15' circle.
Newer than 2017, with the puck, it reportedly will hold you in a 5' circle.
That is insane.I bought my first ipilot Terrova on my 2013 Lund.
It was a game changer to say the least.
I had it on the 21' Trophy and the Ulterra on it.
I have it now on my pontoon with the Riptide Terrova.
I simply don't know why anyone would not at least investigate this.
I know they are not inexpensive.
But look what you have already tied up in fishing gear, electronics, and your boat.
What's another $2k for the Minn Kota, and another $1K for LA deep cycle batteries (or $2k for LiFePo2 batteries if you want to really do it right).
Ipilot is a very close 2nd to my graph.
And ALWAYS oversize your Minn Kota.
The last thing you need is to be running on a 8,9, or 10 setting, chewing up battery and not holding position.
There are better props too for the Minn Kota.
Check out the Kipawa blades -
https://www.kipawapropellers.com/Lastly, couple the ipilot with your kicker and it cannot be beat for a trolling setup.