I recently had the opportunity to travel south to do some fishing off the coast of Stuart, FL, with Minn Kota Pro staffer Capt. Sam Zyak and Hannah O’Connor from Johnson Outdoors. We fished aboard a Kenner 22 bay boat outfitted with a Humminbird Apex 13 fish finder as well as the all-new Riptide Instinct Quest auto stow and deploy bow-mounted trolling motor. Would we learn anything interesting that could translate into catching more, bigger fish back at home in the Mid-Atlantic?
A day of fishing with the Riptide Instinct Quest proved very interesting, indeed.
The Quest for Quarry
Hannah and I met Capt. Zyak in the early morning on the pier at River Palm Cottages and Fish Camp in Jensen Beach, FL. He docked the boat and pinned it in placed with the Raptor shallow water anchor system, then informed us that the primary target for the day would be sailfish — his favorite type of fishing. We hopped aboard the Kenner 22 and headed out towards the St. Lucie Inlet.
Once we were just off the Atlantic coast of Stuart, FL, our first stop was to fish for bait. With a fleet of boats in the area, Sam switched his Apex to CHIRP and MEGA down imaging to locate baitfish away from the pack. Popular bait-catching spots can get crowded, and by finding our own school far from the others, when we dropped the sabiki rigs we loaded up the live well with threadfin herring and sardines (aka pilchards) in no time.
We then headed several miles offshore to Sam’s sailfish grounds. From his tower console, Capt. Zyak deployed the Instinct Quest. “Being able to deploy it from the tower and not having to get down and move around people, that sort of thing, is game changing,” he said.
Once on a controlled drift we baited several live-lining rigs with threadfins. With remote control in hand Sam continually monitored the fish finder and navigated the boat on his desired course to present the drifting baits. When he spotted marks on the port or starboard side of the boat using side imaging, he used the Jog function to move the boat laterally in five-foot increments with one press of a button.
It was not long before the sails moved in to inspect our offerings. Before I knew it, I was cranking on my first billfish... which to my dismay came unbuttoned after a few short seconds. We rebaited and reset the lines, had some more threadfin slashed by bills, and a few timid bites from mahi. Then once again the air was filled with the sweet sound of a drag screaming. After an unforgettable three-minute fight the sailfish breached the surface and made a 100-yard run. Then with one last head shake, my heart sank as the line went slack. I asked the captain what I did wrong, and he replied “You did everything right. That’s just fishing.”
We drifted awhile longer but the bite shut down. Capt. Sam then headed inshore to a familiar wreck site and again used the Quest to set the boat on a specific drift to take us over the structure. It did not take long before a rod doubled over, and Hannah jumped into action. It took quite a bit of muscle to bring up the brute of an Amberjack before Sam could grab the leader and land the fish.
The Fishing Advantage of Tech
The new drift feature and jogging abilities were most significant features for us on this trip, but there are a number of difference between the new Quest series and older models. It features a new brushless motor design that runs quieter while enabling 30 percent more runtime than the previous model thanks to a new motor controller and software updates. It also delivers 50 percent more torque than a 24-volt brushed motor, and approximately 30 percent more torque than a 36 volt. And Minn Kota’s new battery monitoring system gives you real-time data right to your Humminbird chart plotter.
Minn Kota says that the new QUEST series electric motor is the toughest they have built to date. It features a carbon-infused shaft available in various lengths up to 100”. Minn Kota has engineered the motor with cast aluminum upper and lower units that are independently sealed to prevent saltwater intrusion. They have also beefed up the motor mount to accommodate the added torque this new hardware puts out.
Integration is easier than ever because the Instinct Quest has a built-in GPS heading sensor that gives this unit out-of-the-box integration with the Humminbird One-Boat Network. This means you control the motor right from the helm using a Helix, Solix, or Apex unit, or from anywhere on the boat with the newly redesigned remote control or mobile app. When pairing your Minn Kota with a Humminbird fish finder, not only can you automatically deploy the motor from the console, but you also gain access at the helm to advanced features like Spot-Lock and that all-new Drift Mode that came in so handy when chasing sailfish. The advanced GPS navigation gives you the ability to maneuver the boat on a controlled course regardless of whether the wind and current are in your favor, customizing your drift as you navigate over bottom structure or marks, while the cruise control maintains consistent boat speed. With a CoastMaster SD card loaded into your Humminbird, you can even set your course to follow contour lines on your chart plotter.
Bringing It Home
During my fishing experience in Florida using this new tech, I could not help but think about how effective these methods of fishing will be on the Chesapeake Bay. I have had the opportunity to bear witness to the tremendous ability of Spot-Lock fishing on Lenny Rudow’s FishTalker over the past several years. Whether live-lining for scattered pods of rockfish or targeting multi-species at CCA reef ball sites, this new drift mode is definitely a tool we’ll all want in our arsenals. And being able to set your course based on following bottom contours on your chartplotter is nothing short of what Capt. Zyak would call “game changing.”
-By Zach Ditmars