First a short history lesson: For decades, the only two big players in the electric trolling motor market were Minn Kota and Motorguide. There was a time when Motorguide had narrowed Minn Kota’s lead in terms of market share, but in the past decade, and especially the last few years, Minn Kota has left Motorguide in the dust.

There are several reasons for Minn Kota’s dominance, not the least of which is the company builds dependable trolling motors. I know because my bow-mount Minn Kota Turbo Pro 524 is still going strong, and I bought it new in 1994. And I fish a lot. My Minn Kota has been used in tremendously challenging conditions, and it just keeps going.

Another factor in Minn Kota’s recent dominance is the relationship between Minn Kota and its sister company Humminbird, a market leader in fishfinders. Both brands are owned by Johnson Outdoors, which has allowed the two entities to work closely together in developing products that operate as a single boat control system.

Example: An angler can program his Humminbird fishfinder and Minn Kota bow-mount trolling motor to follow a certain depth contour at a certain speed, allowing him to cast without ever touching the trolling motor. If he catches a fish in a certain spot, he can hit Spot-Lock on the trolling motor, and it will keep the boat positioned in that precise location regardless of wind speed or direction. If the angler had marked a waypoint during a previous trip to the lake, he can have the trolling motor take him to that precise spot.

I provide this background into Minn Kota’s recipe for success because Lowrance never had the advantage of developing its fishfinder products with a trolling motor partner. So, to compete against the Humminbird/Minn Kota boat control tag team, Lowrance is bringing a trolling motor of its own to market.

Quote from the Lowrance teaser video description: 

“We put our 60-plus years of innovation and marine electronics expertise to work in designing our new trolling motor. After years of researching when and why trolling motors fail, we went to work to exceed those standards, building our first trolling motor, in-house, from scratch. Four years and 10,000 testing hours later, we have delivered most reliable trolling motor on the market.”

I’m exciting to see the new Lowrance trolling motor (pics below) in early July at the 2019 ICAST (International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades) show in Orlando, Florida. As the world’s largest sportfishing trade show, ICAST is the place where companies showcase their latest and greatest products to fishing shop owners and buyers, as well as members of the media.

In the video below, you’ll see the new trolling motor in action. And it’s no surprise that Lowrance, which is a big player in tournament bass fishing, has a few of its biggest names on board to help promote its new product.

Edwin Evers, one of the most successful professional bass anglers of all time, is sponsored by Lowrance, but not Minn Kota, even though he’s running a Minn Kota trolling motor on his boat during the 2019 MLF (Major League Fishing) season. It’ll be interesting to see when a new Lowrance trolling motor is installed on the bow of his Nitro bass boat.

Like Evers, pro bass angler Mike Iaconelli has been sponsored by Lowrance for years. He’s also been using a Minn Kota trolling motor, though he’s not sponsored by them. As you’ll see in the teaser video, Ike is excited about the new Lowrance trolling motor.