Often billed as the toughest trolling motor on the market, does it deserve the notoriety?

Lets start with the exposed, solid, extruded aluminum arm on the new Fortrex™ , so everyone on the water can see what they're up against: the most ruthless mount Minn Kota has ever unleashed. This is probably one of the most impressive looking trolling motor mounts in the industry. Designed with fewer moving parts, tighter tolerances and stouter, Fortrex is advertised by Minn Kota “as the beefiest, meanest, quietest motor ever” and then they have the guts to say “you have been warned”.

So is it really all that? Let’s look a little further. The new, revolutionary, innovative Mono-Arm Design is the meat of this trolling motor. It features an extruded, anodized aluminum, structural beam that operates with no metal-to-metal contact and 75% less torsion. A single hinge point and rear pivot bearing with 20% more surface area deliver less wear, longer life, and quieter operation than traditional motor mounts. And besides all that it just looks tough.

Then you add the Counter-Tension Stabilizer (CTS) that uses an integrated spring to apply force whether the motor's stowed or deployed. Out in the water, that translates to a motor with no play, no give, reduced steering torque and an almost silent operation. Couple that with the patented Lift-Assist design cutting the weight of stow and deploy in half and you have a very user friendly application. The Lift-Assist incorporates a stainless steel, nitrogen-charged gas spring to get you in and out of the water with reduced effort. Have you ever lifted a trolling motor out of the water 50 times a day? Myself, I want all the reduced effort an old man can conjure up.

Now throw in some of the other innovations on most Minn Kota trolling motors like the easy-to-read, illuminated directional indicator that shows you the way; a newly designed ultra-responsive foot pedal that’s easier to operate, with more room for your foot and more exact speed control; the Digital Maximizer™ that controls and optimizes power to extend battery life up to five times longer on a single charge; then top it all that off with the built in sonar option and the patented Weedless Wedge 2 Prop you can go anywhere in the lake fearlessly.

But we are not done yet! The Fortrex incorporates a composite shaft that is supposedly stronger than steel. It flexes on impact and won't break, kink or corrode. Minn Kota is so confident of this trolling motor shaft’s toughness that it’s guaranteed for life. That is quite a guarantee for someone like me, that has to troll up on the bank quite often and retrieve my lures from the branches of some tree.

We’ve talked about the mounting system, what about the motor? Minn Kota has always claimed that nothing runs cooler or more quietly than a Minn Kota trolling motor. They employ extra large windings and commutators to dissipate heat, resulting in cooler operation, extended battery power, and longer motor life. They also employ a unique bearing system that reduces friction to cut fish-spooking noise. So quiet, they'll never hear you coming.

At the end of that motor they have added the patented Weedless Wedge 2 Prop  that  pushes weeds away and takes on the thick stuff without battery-draining chopping and hacking. Weedless Wedge™ 2 features swept-back, flared blades for unrelenting, reliable prop performance.


 The motor is backed up with a three-year warranty, Minn Kota dependability and a composite shaft guaranteed for life. Enough said, try yours today from DJ's Marine Electronics