MinnKota

When former FLW Walleye Champion Dean Arnoldussen was recruited by Minn Kota to test a new electric trolling motor that mounts on the outboard engine, he had no idea that it would figure so prominently into his winning strategy at the recent FLW Walleye Tour stop on Lake Erie.

Arnoldussen took home the $88,000 first-place prize with a winning four-day catch of 85 pounds, 9 ounces. He caught his 15 fish trolling spinner rigs with the prototype electric motor he had received from Minn Kota.

“One of the details I had to really pay attention to was trolling speed,” said Arnoldussen from his home in Appleton, Wis. “It was a key factor for me. A lot of times when you’re pulling those spinners, you want to dial in your speed. If I’m getting bit at one mile an hour and start getting a lot of fish, I really need to pay attention to that detail.” Arnoldussen added that a variance as little as .3 mph in speed can make a difference whether or not he catches fish.

At Lake Erie, Arnoldussen had a secret weapon of sorts. He had been given a prototype electric motor from Minn Kota to test, and mounted it on his outboard engine just a week before the tournament. The Engine Mount (EM) 101 allowed Arnoldussen to more precisely control boat position and speed than he had been able to do with a traditional kicker motor.

Arnoldussen said he had previously used Minn Kota’s engine mounted motor, but the EM 101 prototype had several advantages. “The biggest difference is it has so much more thrust, like double the power,” he said. “So, if I needed to throw it into reverse in the larger waves, I had the power with the new EM motor to actually slow my boat down so I could get to the speed I needed.”

Another key feature of the new EM motor was its quick response to speed changes. Arnoldussen pointed out that there was no lapse time for the motor to get up to full speed like he has seen on older models. “If I was fighting a big fish and it was coming up to the boat, I could turn the motor off so the line wouldn’t get into the prop,” he said. “But if it was a really big fish and he wasn’t ready to come in yet, he might go under the boat or actually start passing the boat. In that case I would quickly turn the motor to forward and catch up with the fish. As soon as I hit the switch that EM motor was on, like right now.”

The fact that the EM motor is electric and runs much quieter than a kicker motor also played a role in landing big fish, according to Arnoldussen. “You don’t want those fish coming in where they get spooked and kind of freak out at the boat.  When they do, they shake their head and either cut the line or spit the hook out at you,” he said. “You want those fish pretty relaxed when you’re bringing them in and that’s where the engine mount trolling motor comes in. It’s so quiet and doesn’t bother the fish. I think that is key.”

Obviously Arnoldussen paid attention to several details to get his FLW win on Lake Erie, and having the prototype engine mount motor (the Minn Kota EM 101 will be released for sale this coming year) gave him another tool in his arsenal. He, like most pro anglers on tour, is always looking for an edge that will give him a victory. And in this case it earned him an $88,000 paycheck.

For more information contact Minn Kota Motors, P.O. Box 4008, Mankota, MN 56002, 800-227-6433.

Minn Kota is the world’s leading manufacturer of bow- and transom-mount trolling motors, and carries a complete line of battery chargers and marine accessories. Trolling motors in the Minn Kota line includes Maxxum Pro, Maxxum, PowerDrive, Edge, Vantage, Vector, Endura, Riptide Pro, Riptide, Engine Mount and E-Drive models. Minn Kota motors are manufactured and marketed by Johnson Outdoors Inc.