Updated 12/29/2023

The best transom mounted trolling motors can take the small to medium sized boat angling experience to the next level. Many smaller boats do not have enough space to mount a trolling motor at the front of the boat. This leaves a stern-mounted motor as the best choice.

Like all trolling motors, transom mounted trolling motors offer key benefits for anglers including unparalleled maneuverability, stealthy running, and slow cruising speeds to properly fish water. Because transom mounted trolling motors are usually on small boats, considerations like battery space and capacity are vitally important.

In this article, we take a look at the top transom mounted trolling motors on the market, considering factors like price, performance, quality, and value.

Whether you are a beginner or an expert, these trolling motors are sure to take your boating experience to the next level!

*Disclosure: I only recommend products I would use myself and all opinions expressed here are my own. This post may contain affiliate links that at no additional cost to you, I may earn a small commission.

Our Top Picks

• Best for the Money: Newport X-Series Transom Mounted Trolling Motor
• Best Freshwater: Minn Kota Endura Freshwater Transom Mounted Trolling Motor
• Best Saltwater: Minn Kota Riptide Transom Mounted Trolling Motor
• Best for Jon Boat: Minn Kota Endura Max Freshwater Transom Mounted Trolling Motor
• Best Budget: Newport NV-Series Transom Mounted Trolling Motor

The Best Transom Mounted Trolling Motors

Read on to see our recommendations for the best transom mounted trolling motors by category including best for the money, best for freshwater, best for saltwater, and more.

1. Newport X-Series Transom Mounted Trolling Motor

Newport X-Series 40lb Thrust Transom Mounted Saltwater Electric Trolling Motor w/LED Battery Indicator (36″ Shaft)

• Thrust: 40 or 55 lb
• Shaft Length: 36″
• Speed Settings: Fixed speeds, 5 forward, 3 reverse
• Battery Requirement: 12v
• Water Type: Freshwater & Saltwater

Pros:

• Tilt Handle
• Saltwater rated components at budget price

Our choice for the best transom mounted trolling motor for the money is the Newport X-Series Transom Mounted Trolling Motor. The motor is a great value proposition. It is rated for both freshwater and saltwater. The X-series comes with an adjustable tilt handle and thrust ratings of either 40 or 55 lbs.

One potential downside is this motor only comes in a 36″ shaft length which should work for most, but not all boats. That said, it’s hard to argue with the value you get at this price point. We think this is a great option for a budget conscious angler wanting a solid quality transom mounted trolling motor.

2. Minn Kota Endura Freshwater Transom Mounted Trolling Motor

Minn Kota Endura C2 50 Freshwater Transom Mounted Trolling Motor (36″ Shaft)

• Thrust: 30, 40, 45, 50, or 55 lb
• Shaft Length: 30″, 36″, or 42″
• Speed Settings: Fixed speeds, 5 forward, 3 reverse
• Battery Requirement: 12v
• Water Type: Freshwater Only

Pros:

• Great choices for thrust power and shaft length

Our choice for the best freshwater transom mounted trolling motor is the Minn Kota Endura Freshwater Transom Mounted Trolling Motor. The Endura is Minn Kota’s most popular line of freshwater transom mounted trolling motors for good reason. It’s reliable, fit-for-purpose, and fairly priced.

The wide selection of thrust power and shaft lengths allows anglers to pick the perfect motor for their boat.

If only fishing freshwater, this motor is a great choice. If looking for additional features on a freshwater motor, think about upgrading to the Endura Max which includes Minn Kota’s Digital Maximizer feature for variable speed control and reduced battery demand.

3. Minn Kota Riptide Transom Mounted Trolling Motor

• Thrust: 45, 55, 80, or 112 lb
• Shaft Length: 36″, 42″, or 52″
• Speed Settings: Fully variable speeds
• Battery Requirement: 12v
• Water Type: Freshwater & Saltwater

Pros:

• Digital Maximizer
• Durable saltwater rated materials

Our choice for the best saltwater transom mounted trolling motor is the Minn Kota Riptide Transom Mounted Trolling Motor. This trolling motor is perfect for saltwater fishing in smaller boats. The high-quality corrosion resistant components give peace of mind that the motor will be running for a long time.

All Riptide transom mounted motors include Minn Kota’s Digital Maximizer technology that makes the motor speed fully variable while optimizing power delivery to conserve battery. Minn Kota claims the Digital Maximizer improves battery life by up to 5 times!

This is the transom mounted trolling motor we went with on our 14′ aluminum v-hull boat. It has been an absolute delight to fish with in freshwater and saltwater. It has plenty of power to maneuver the boat and we’ve had no issues running the trolling motor all day on one 12v battery.

Don’t think twice about getting the Riptide transom mounted trolling motor for saltwater fishing.

4. Minn Kota Endura Max Freshwater Transom Mounted Trolling Motor

Endura Max 55 lb. / Hand – 36″

• Thrust: 40, 45, 50, or 55 lb
• Shaft Length: 36″ or 42″
• Speed Settings: Fully variable speed
• Battery Requirement: 12v
• Water Type: Freshwater only

Pros:

• Digital Maximizer

Our choice for the best transom mounted trolling motor for jon boats is the Minn Kota Endura Max Freshwater Transom Mounted Trolling Motor. This trolling motor is the same as the Endura except it includes Minn Kota’s Digital Maximizer technology that makes it variable speed and has a claimed five times increased battery life.

We are huge fans of the variable speed offered by the Digital Maximizer technology. We are constantly making micro adjustments to our speed to alter a drift or slow down and speed up on a shoreline. Also, not worrying about battery life gives excellent peace of mind.

The Endura Max is a great option for jon boats used in freshwater.

5. Newport NV-Series Transom Mounted Trolling Motor

Newport NV-Series 36lb Thrust Saltwater Transom Mounted Trolling Electric Trolling Motor w/LED Battery Indicator & 30″ Shaft

• Thrust: 36, 46, 55, 62, 86 lb
• Shaft Length: 30″ for 36, 46, 55 lb. 36″ for 62 & 86 lb
• Speed Settings: Fixed speeds, 5 forward, 3 reverse
• Battery Requirement: 12v
• Water Type: Freshwater & Saltwater

Pros:

• Budget friendly
• Freshwater & Saltwater Rated

Our choice for the best budget transom mounted trolling motor is the Newport NV-Series Transom Mounted Trolling Motor. The price point is incredible for what you get. The NV-Series comes in an excellent spread of powers and shaft lengths. Also, the fact that it comes rated for both freshwater and saltwater without paying a massive premium is awesome.

While we picked this as our budget choice, don’t let the price fool you. This is a great quality trolling motor. We prefer the variable speed option on the Endura Max and Riptide, but for the price point, fixed speed is perfectly acceptable.

Transom Mounted Trolling Motor Comparison Table

Check out our handy comparison table showing key specifications for our top choices.

Conclusion

Transom mounted trolling motors are a great addition to almost any small fishing boat. They allow for unrivaled maneuverability, silent running, and the ability to cover water just like bow mounted trolling motors.

We are partial to Minn Kota’s Digital Maximizer technology for transom mounted trolling motors because the reduced battery load gives peace of mind that you can run your motor all day long while keeping battery weight low. If only freshwater boating, try the Minn Kota Endura Max Freshwater Transom Mounted Trolling Motor. For anglers that sometimes saltwater fish, we recommend the Minn Kota Riptide Transom Mounted Trolling Motor.

Check out our articles for great reels to help you catch fish while out using your trolling motor:

• Best Trolling Reels
• Best Baitcasting Reels
• Best Saltwater Reels
• Best Saltwater Baitcasting Reels
• Best Saltwater Spinning Reels
• Best Bass Spinning Reels

Check out our rod articles to help you catch fish while out using your trolling motor:

• Best Musky Rods
• Best Bass Spinning Rods
• Best Flipping & Pitching Rods
• Best Frog Fishing Rods
• Best Walleye Rods
• Best Ultralight Fishing Rods
• Best Inshore Fishing Rods
• Best Saltwater Fishing Rods

Read on to see our breakdown of important factors to consider when picking a transom mounted trolling motor.

How to Choose The Best Transom Mounted Trolling Motor

Selecting the best transom mounted trolling motor includes considerations for mount type, design materials, shaft length, thrust rating, voltage requirements, battery life, and handle functions.

Motor Mount Type

Trolling motors come in three different mount types; bow mount, transom mount, and engine mount. Bow mount trolling motors are mounted at the front of the boat and widely considered the best option if your boat can fit it. Bow mounted trolling motors offer advanced controls like foot pedals or remote controls and handle wind and current much better than the other options.

Transom mounted trolling motors are mounted by clamps on the vertical part of the stern of the boat known as the transom. Transom mounted trolling motors are great options for smaller boats that want the advantages of a trolling motor but don’t have enough space in the bow. A disadvantage of transom mounted trolling motors is how they handle wind and current. Since transom mounted trolling motors are pushing the boat instead of pulling the boat like with a bow mounted trolling motor, wind and current tend to push the boat off course and require more frequent adjustments.

Designed Water Type

Trolling motors are designed for either saltwater or freshwater. Saltwater rated trolling motors are made of more corrosion resistant materials and are useable in both freshwater and saltwater. It is not recommended to take freshwater rated trolling motors into saltwater because the corrosive saltwater conditions are much more likely cause equipment failure. If there’s even a slight chance the motor will be used in saltwater, get a saltwater rated trolling motor.

Shaft Length

Trolling motor shaft length is the length of the shaft that submerges the motor’s lower unit underwater. The general rule of thumb is the lower unit should be 12″ underwater. Common shaft lengths for transom mounted trolling motors are 30″, 36″ and 42″. Measure the height from the motor mount location to the waterline to determine the best shaft length for your boat.

Thrust Rating

Thrust rating for trolling motors is a measure in pounds of how powerful the motor is. It is important that a trolling motor has enough thrust to cruise at between three and four miles per hour and provide responsive steering. Smaller boats under 12′ can get by with 30-40 pounds of thrust. Boats between 12′ and 14′ should use 40-50 pounds of thrust. Boats 14′ to 16′ need 50-55 pounds of thrust and should start thinking about bow mounted trolling motors if there is space.

Speed Settings

Trolling motors come with either pre-set speed settings or completely variable speed settings. A common spread of pre-set speed settings for transom mounted trolling motors would include five forward speeds and three reverse speeds. Variable speed trolling motors allow for controlling speed settings anywhere between 0 and 100% thrust.

Pre-set speed settings don’t allow boaters to fine-tune their speed like variable speed trolling motors. Our experience with transom mounted trolling motors is a strong preference to variable speed because the ability to micro-adjust is extremely useful to optimize fishing.

Voltage Requirements

Trolling motors come in 12v, 24v, and 36v arrangements. Since boat batteries are 12v, this means trolling motors need 1, 2, or 3 batteries respectively. 24v and 36v arrangements offer increased power and battery life at the expense of having more batteries onboard.

For transom mounted trolling motors, we recommend 12v motors. 12v motors are plenty strong to push the smaller boats that use transom mounted trolling motors. Additionally, space is already at a premium on smaller boats, and fitting 2 or 3 batteries is generally considered a waste of space if they aren’t strictly needed.

Battery Life

Battery life is an important consideration for trolling motors. Higher thrust rated motors will consume more energy than lower thrust rated motors. Features like Minn Kota’s Digital Maximizer improve energy efficiency and reduce demand on battery life. Transom mounted trolling motors generally get great battery life on a 50amp-hour deep cycle battery, commonly lasting all day and then some.

Battery Gauge

Many trolling motors have a built in battery gauge on the handle. This gauge shows roughly how much battery life is left in the battery.

Handle Functions

Some transom mounted trolling motor handles include additional functions like tilt or the ability to telescope. Telescoping handles extend out further which can improve comfort of using the motor depending on the boat setup. Tilt functions allow the handle to tilt up or down a few degrees which can also be useful on certain boats.

Additional Features

Many bow mounted trolling motors have fancy additional features like GPS track following or some kind of spot-lock. While these features are great, transom mounted trolling motors are generally bare-bones and do not offer these options.

Trolling Motor Frequently Asked Questions

What are transom mounted trolling motors good options for?

Transom mounted trolling motors are best for boats that want a trolling motor but don’t have space for a bow-mounted trolling motor. They are a great option for boats up to 16′ because they allow the angler to enjoy the benefits of having a trolling motor like unparalleled maneuverability, stealthy running, and slow cruising speeds to properly fish water.

Transom mounted trolling motors are also good options on small boats for lakes with restrictions against gasoline powered motors. The transom mounted trolling motors on this list are all electric powered and make for great primary propulsion systems on small boats when the angler only needs to cover short distances.

How big of a boat can use a transom mounted trolling motor?

Most transom mounted trolling motors will struggle to push large, heavy boats above around 16′ long. Trolling motors should be strong enough to push a boat roughly three to four miles per hour and have great maneuverability. Since most transom mounted trolling motors are rated for 12v and max 55 pound thrust, they can struggle with larger boats.

What are the advantages of transom mounted trolling motors?

The advantage of transom mounted trolling motors is they allow anglers on boats that can’t fit bow-mounted trolling motors to enjoy the benefits of having a trolling motor like unparalleled maneuverability, stealthy running, and slow cruising speeds to properly fish water. Additionally, adding a transom mounted trolling motor is a significant safety improvement on small boats because it can be used to safely return to land if the primary boat motor fails.

What are the downsides of transom mounted trolling motors?

The main downside of transom mounted trolling motors is how they handle wind and current. Since transom mounted trolling motors are pushing the boat instead of pulling like a bow mounted trolling motor, wind and current tend to push the boat off course and require more frequent adjustments. Additionally, fitting a large 12v trolling motor battery on a small boat can be a challenge when space is already at a premium.

Written By: Andrew Juran

Andrew is a seasoned angler with over 25 years of experience fishing across the United States. He has caught hundreds of fish using various techniques and mentored many in the art of fishing. An advocate for sustainable fishing, Andrew is an active member of the Coastal Conservation Association, an organization committed to marine conservation.

For frequent fishing tips, behind-the-scenes looks, and real-time catches, connect with Andrew on Instagram