Power Pole Move ZR Trolling Motor Review

This Power Pole Move ZR trolling motor review will cover my experience with the performance and function of this trolling motor over the past month.

I'll be sharing my experience and thoughts on installation, accessories, function, and performance.

First I'll start by going over my background and experience with trolling motors. I own and operate my own fishing guide service on Mille Lacs and Big Stone Lakes in Minnesota, Lagoona Guide Service. I spend about 200 days each season on open water, most of which are guide trips. My days on the water typically range between six and fourteen hours. Most of these hours are spent on my trolling motor.

I've owned most of the trolling motors that are on the market, I typically buy a new one each season. In the past I have owned a few Minn Kota Ultrex, Terrova, and Ulterra. I've also owned cable drives such as the Motorguide Tour and Minn Kota Fortrex. My last trolling motor, that I had installed this spring, was a Lowrance Ghost. The only trolling motors I haven't owned are Garmin Force and Kraken.

Installation is pretty similar to others, with a few exceptions. The mounting holes are different, in order to use the existing holes you will need an adapter plate. The charging cradle for the remote, the display screen, and foot pedal, all need to be wired to power. Conveniently they are only power cables, and can be wired to any available power source 12, 24, or 36 volts. The navigation and anchor buttons are separate, and are intended to be mounted to the floor. These extra accessories may add a little to the installation time. For me, the additional time it took was mostly on deciding where to mount the accessories.

The foot pedal and remote are intuitive, ergonomic, easy to use, and quick to get used to. The display screen and audibles indicate what functions are in use, and when they're being adjusted. The real feel pedal makes it easy to line up forward facing sonar. The reverse button on the remote allows instant stops, when fishing with Livescope or Active Target.
The remote also features controls for Power Poles, eliminating the need for extra remotes.

The "spot lock", or anchoring function, is by far the best I've ever used. It is dead accurate, regardless of conditions. It holds better in heavy winds, and it is by far the best in glass calm conditions. When the anchor button is pressed, the motor stops the boat, flawlessly. If you're looking for the best anchor feature, the Move ZR is in a league of its own.

The navigation feature can be set on standard or advanced. Both of which perform the way they should. Nearly all of the trolling motor functions and accessories, including navigation, can be customized with the Power Pole app.

The mounting bracket is low profile and rock solid, the shaft has nearly no flex. This combination seems to help maintain excellent bite in rough water. It's low profile, and rigidity of components, seem to give this motor a longer useable shaft length. These same characteristics also help with noise and vibration.

The Move is almost silent, above and below water. The motor is barely discernible, at the highest power. It turns nearly silently, and the mount is ultra quiet. Even under high power and hard turns, this motor makes very little noise. Vibration is also minimal. When anchored in big waves, other motors struggle to recover after cavitation. The Move doesn't miss a beat, and recovers quickly with minimal vibration.

In heavy weeds, vibration is also minimal. The Move has a way of shedding weeds like no other trolling motor. All while producing nearly no vibration. The crazy part of the Moves performance in weeds is not just in its power, it's also in the ability to shed weeds when on low power. This motor will creep through the thickest weeds, on low power, with nearly no vibration. It's extremely impressive.

The move is the most powerful motor I've used. Previous brushed trolling motors would pull my boat around 2.8 mph. Newer brushless motors would pull around 3.5 mph. The Power Pole Move pulls 3.9 mph.

Power consumption is difficult for me to quantify. Previous brushed trolling motors could drain my batteries in a day. The Move never has. Under similar winds, the anchor feature on a brushed motor could be on 80% power, the Move would be around 40%-50%. The Move is considerably more efficient than a brushed motor.

The Move ZR trolling motor is impressive in every category. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Ryan Kelly
Lagoona Guide Service
www.fishlagoona.com
@fishlagoona
651-769-3142