trolling motor question

For those who fish in saltwater for rock, ling, salmon and etc, do you guys use trolling motor? If yes what do you use? I'm thinking of getting a saltwater trolling motor for when I go out to saltwater couple of times a year instead of getting a freshwater motor.

Kayak or boat?

Kayak

I know of less than 3 people on here who use a trolling motor on their kayak.  You cau use a FW version in SW if you clean it thoroughly after use for the couple times a year you "may" use it.  If this is something you are considering using more, look at the Torqeedo 403 system

Cool thnx I'll look into it. I just bought a lifetime sport fisher which is super stable but super slow. I got this for mainly FW but reading SW fishing here got me itching. I think I'll need mechanical assistance to get around.

Instead of getting a saltwater-specific motor, like the MK Riptide, you can probably buy 3 regular trolling motors for the same price...in other words, start with a regular trolling motor before dropping $600-1000 on a saltwater motor.
What kind of kayak are you mounting it to?

Lifetime sport fisher. I was initially looking at minn koda riptide for $250.

The main differences in a FW vs. SW trolling motor is the motor shaft on SW is generally SST, the housing is generally powdercoated vs painted and the SW versions will include a Zinc.  Most/all of this can be overcome with a good freshwater rinse, a spray down with Salt Away and common sense.

One thing to remember is run time of a trolling motor on a small enough battery to carry on the yak.  You don't want to carry a car battery to get a days worth of trolling, nor do you want to use a little 9aH battery (fit for a yak) to get only an hour or two of run time to overcome a kayak hull design.

The Torqeedo will cost a lot more than the price of your yak.

Ya i just looked at it and oh man it's pricey. I think I'm just gonna stick with FW trolling motor for now. Thank you very much for your advice. I love this forum.

The higher priced motors, like a Torqeedo have an included battery (generally) so they will run several hours per charge (good batteries).  Keep in mind that use of a regular trolling motor to offset a sluggisk kayak will mean you need the motor to get out and back.  Don't put yourself in a situation where you get out on the motor but can't get back (dead battery) and the kayak is too much for you to paddle.  Bigger battery= longer run times but more weight & less stability.  There's always a tradeoff.

I definitely understand what you mean. I dont plan to totally rely on the motor. I just want extra help when I need, since my yak is super slow, for safety.

Remember you will need to register your kayak with the DMV once you put a trolling motor on it.

Thanks for the reminder. 

Once you register a yak, or boat, they cannot be "unregistered" so you are stuck paying that every two years till the kayak is sold or destroyed.  Unlike a car, you cannon non-op the registration.

Good to know. Thanks for the info. You guys are awesome. Just curious, how fast do you travel on your yak?