# Minn Kota Talon



## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Wanted to post about the Minn Kota Talon since info on them from current owners are hard to find. Installed the white 6'4" Talon last weekend. I didn't have a chance to take it to the salt but I did test it on a nearby lake. So far I'm very pleased but more testing is needed. The unit was extremely easy to install as it only has one wire, standard bracket (same bracket as the Power-Pole) and no hydraulic pumps are needed. I run a Majek 18 RF with an Etec 115hp. The height of the unit is the same height of the motor which is great. The Talon comes with 2 wireless remotes which is bonus since the unit only cost me $1048 for everything new in the box. I tested the range of the wireless remotes and was still able to control the anchor from approx 100yards away (will post later on what the approx maximum distance is after additional testing). Unit sets with a single click of the button and sets in about 3 secs in 4 foot of water (initial ground set that is as it will set the anchor 3 more times). If you have any questions...feel free to ask me.


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## black drom (Mar 19, 2007)

Planning to purchase the 8' model for my tran svt. what's involved in a quick removal of the unit besides haveing the in-line quick disconnect plug? minn kota mentions a quick disconnect mount?


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## Chasin Bait (Dec 28, 2010)

SkipJack,

I have a new boat on order and will have to be making that decision very soon. I have been torn between the powerpole and the Talon. The remote control distance info is very valuable to me, so thanks for posting.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

The inline power disconnect that you mentioned as well as swivel style wingnuts. That's it. Leaving behind just the mount allowing you to place onto another boat if needed. This is what I'm seeing in the manual at least. 

BTW...several folks have commented that the flaw in the Minn Kota Talon is the fact that the pole will bring up dirt and grass into the unit without an easy way to clean like the Power-Pole. Yes, I'm sure the unit will bring dirt inside of the unit but the unit has a wash out on the top of it. So, cleaning the unit is actually breeze.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Chasin Bait - I hope to get back onto the lake tomorrow since there's no reason to head to the coast and fish. Since the lake is a power plant lake, the cold weather shouldn't had affected it too much. Hoping! Had a very successful outing last Sunday.

I will play around the with the range of the remote some more tomorrow and post my findings. If you have any other questions, ask away. I couldn't a thing on the Talon before I made my purchase. The only thing I could locate that was useful was the YouTube video on it from iCast.


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## SPOT-CHASER3 (May 3, 2006)

I had Sonny's in POC put the 8' black on my TranCat this week. I picked up the boat on Wednesday, and have not had the weather to go and field test it out yet. I am quite excited to do so, as soon as we get some more stable weather. 
For what its worth, I had the 6' Power-Pole on my rig, and removed it when the transom mount arm (exterior) began to crack open at the bottom bolt-through pivot point. Was told the only way to fix it, was to buy a new one. Did not like that answer at all, considering the investment that I had made - so now its gone. 
Hopefully will have better luck with the Talon. I sure do like what I see so far.


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## DSilva (May 4, 2009)

Good Luck with them. I have a buddy that has two of them on his brand new rig and they have been nothing but problems after his first trip out in the salt water. He has been back to the shop 3 or 4 times already with them.


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## skeeter77346 (Jan 13, 2006)

Good report on the Talon. I wondered how they were doing in the field. Sound like a neat install too.
As to the PP, I have had 4, and the PP service has been fantastic. I once loaded the boat on the trailer (single fishing that day, in a hurry) with the PP deployed - Yep, dragged that puppy 40 yards out of the ramp, on the trailer, with the pole dragging the whole way. the spike was not happy! Anyhow, PP said "No problem, we will send you a free spike, including shipping" - got it 2 days later. Anyone with an 'issue', even if 'owner inflicted', call PP direct, they surprised me with the great service. Good luck with the Talon. BTW, I have a MK 101 on my boat - so just sharing info here.


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## KidSenSation (Jun 26, 2006)

My buddy has one, he said the remote only worked from about 10-15 yards and the company acted like that was normal and never heard of people using them for wading. Give me a break right?


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## cobrayakker (Mar 23, 2006)

DSilva said:


> Good Luck with them. I have a buddy that has two of them on his brand new rig and they have been nothing but problems after his first trip out in the salt water. He has been back to the shop 3 or 4 times already with them.


What kind of problems?


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

I tested out the range of the remote again over the weekend and found that the max range is approx 100 to 110 yards. Now, I have been told that I can increase that distance by using my fishing rod as an antenna. Not for sure how true this is though. BTW, what is the range of a PowerPole? So far, this is my only concern/issue as I was hoping for a little more distance when wading.

I know the Talon also has a lifetime warranty on the pole itself. 

DSilva...I'm also curious about the problems? please report back.


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## let's go (Nov 14, 2005)

Interesting test video of PP vs Talon. I'm not sure what the bottom was like, what the settings were, was there a sponsorship motive etc...but still very interesting.

http://flatspirate.com/?p=1202


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Skeeter77346 - The one thing that's nice about the Talon is the alert feature. If the arm has been deployed to any depth and you go to start your boat, the alarm will sound. Nice feature that comes with the unit. Simple single wire install onto your start switch. Glad to hear PP stood behind their product. The PP is for sure a nice proven unit, I just didn't want to deal with installing hydraulic hoses and a pump.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Let's Go - Thanks for posting the video. The first thing I would question is the shaking of the Talon while it was trying to anchor. That's not right. I can honestly say that mine does not shake one bit while anchoring and even while running. I was using my Talon while fishing in the lake yesterday in 15 to 20mph winds with no issues with stopping. True, the lake bottom is softer unless anchoring in the back lakes in the mud. 

Time will tell if the Talon will ever become a proven product. Here's hoping it does!


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## Capt. Hollis Forrester (Jun 17, 2006)

I've never seen my Talon drag and shake like the one in this video. Something isn't right about that deal???


let's go said:


> Interesting test video of PP vs Talon. I'm not sure what the bottom was like, what the settings were, was there a sponsorship motive etc...but still very interesting.
> 
> http://flatspirate.com/?p=1202


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

I completely agree with Capt. Hollis Forrester. 

How long have you used the Talon? I haven't had the chance to get on the bay to test it due to the lovely weather.


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## let's go (Nov 14, 2005)

I agree, there seems to be something fishy about the video. Like I said, I'd be curious to know the details.


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## Spots and Dots (May 23, 2004)

I won a Talon, but haven't installed or used it yet.

This guys testss are interesting, but it doesn't make sense what the Talon shakes so much. I've looked at mine, and the mount/Unit is solid. I have a suspicion that his is rigged for temporary use, maybe via zip ties or something to his tower. There is NO WAY a company would release a competitive item that has this big of short comings versus the only competition.

It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that the boat/fishign crown is tough to please, and no company is gonna invest that much into R&D for a shaky, slow unit.


I call BS!


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## Jeep79 (Jul 6, 2009)

SkipJack,
Could you be a little more specific about connecting the wire to the ignition to get the warning signal when the motor is running? Does the Talon have instructions that illustrate that connection? How difficult was it to get the wire from the back of the boat up to the ignition switch on the console?


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## Spots and Dots (May 23, 2004)

Jeep79 said:


> SkipJack,
> Could you be a little more specific about connecting the wire to the ignition to get the warning signal when the motor is running? Does the Talon have instructions that illustrate that connection? How difficult was it to get the wire from the back of the boat up to the ignition switch on the console?


You can hook the Alert wirre to any wire that's hot when the key is on. That includes the Tach, Fuel Guage, etc.

As for how easy it is to run the wires, if you have a cable chase with a "snake" already in it, not hard at all. Just tape wire to the "snake" and a retrun line to the "snake" and pull it up. No snake or cable chase = more difficult.

You do not have to hook up the Alert wire, though.


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## cobrayakker (Mar 23, 2006)

The alarm that he was getting sounds like the alarm you get when you turn your ignition on with the unit down. I think the Flatspirate had his little b***pirate cameraman turning the ignition on and pretending the unit would not go up.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Jeep79 - Within the single wire harness that comes off the Talon are three wires. Your positive, negative and a green wire for the alarm system. All you need to do is purchase some 16 gauge wire to extend the wire to your console. This was extremely easy to complete on my Majek since I installed my Talon on the rigging compartment side. Allowing me to punch a single hole from the outside to the inside of the boat (rigging compartment) and then run the wire through the wiring pipe from the console to the back rigging compartment using a wire fish (snake). The hardest part of installing the alarm is locating the power lead from the backside of your ignition switch that actually has no power when the motor is off and power when the motor is on. Really not that hard but was the hardest step in the whole process. Hope that helps! Will send a photo or two of the outside and inside of the installation if possible.


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## railbird (Jan 2, 2009)

couldn't you locate that wire on the motor end of the harness and run the alarm wire from there saving the trip to the console?


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Good call cobrayakker! I bet you are right. 

Spots and Dots is completely correct. No need to hook up the alarm. Just some added protection to have installed.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Railbird - basically, if the wire is hooked up to any power source that is off when the motor is off and is on when the motor is on will work. It took all of a few minutes to run the wire to the console so I decided to install this way.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Here are a few additional pics of the mounting of the Talon (at least how I did it). I used a heavy duty rubber belt material between the mount and the fiberglass of the boat then sealed around the rubber with marine silicon. I also used a PVC valve grommet for a better fit where the wire is inserted into the boat. On the inside of the boat, I used a 3/4 inch treated board for more support. 

The image of the wiring shows the power wire with an inline 30amp fuse, ground wire, and the alarm wire (green). Not the greatest image..

The last image is from the top of the Talon showing the washout port. A lot of people were not aware of this feature. Very useful in cleaning the spike/pole.


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## cpthook (Jan 16, 2008)

*Talon*

Here is my 1975 Mako 20', I'm installing a 8'4" white talon at 2:30 today, can't wait to check it out.


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## FishAfrica (Jan 23, 2010)

skipjackPOC said:


> Here are a few additional pics of the mounting of the Talon (at least how I did it). I used a heavy duty rubber belt material between the mount and the fiberglass of the boat then sealed around the rubber with marine silicon. I also used a PVC valve grommet for a better fit where the wire is inserted into the boat. On the inside of the boat, I used a 3/4 inch treated board for more support.
> 
> The image of the wiring shows the power wire with an inline 30amp fuse, ground wire, and the alarm wire (green). Not the greatest image..
> 
> The last image is from the top of the Talon showing the washout port. A lot of people were not aware of this feature. Very useful in cleaning the spike/pole.


Nice job! :brew:


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Thanks FishAfrica! Always a little concerning when drilling holes into your fiberglass boat or any type of boat for that matter.


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## Capt. Hollis Forrester (Jun 17, 2006)

I've had the Talon for about 3 months now, and have been pleased so far. . That **** Crazy video was ridiculous and a bunch of ****. Its typical though, when competition arrives, the cut throat will begin...as in every business. I've put mine through hell so far, and no problems yet, but the adjustment bolts wanting to come loose. Use lock tite, and an extra lock washer, and you'll be fine, keep an eye on them


skipjackPOC said:


> I completely agree with Capt. Hollis Forrester.
> 
> How long have you used the Talon? I haven't had the chance to get on the bay to test it due to the lovely weather.


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## out_fishin69 (Jun 17, 2008)

Capt. Hollis Forrester said:


> I've had the Talon for about 3 months now, and have been pleased so far. . That **** Crazy video was ridiculous and a bunch of ****. Its typical though, when competition arrives, the cut throat will begin...as in every business. I've put mine through hell so far, and no problems yet, but the adjustment bolts wanting to come loose. Use lock tite, and an extra lock washer, and you'll be fine, keep an eye on them


I'm not biased against the talon but does it really take that long for it to stick? I do like how quiet it is... My XL PP will wake the dead


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## Capt. Hollis Forrester (Jun 17, 2006)

No, the stick has been immediate. This video looks like they were trying to set the Talon in a bunch of boulders or something, or all the set schrews were extremely loose deliberately. I turn my boat loose with remote in 20 knot winds frequently, and it stops immediately. Talon ain't a sponsor of mine, but I will give a product good review from my view point. Thing that sold me on the Talon was that it was all electric, no hydraulic reservoir to deal with.


out_fishin69 said:


> I'm not biased against the talon but does it really take that long for it to stick? I do like how quiet it is... My XL PP will wake the dead


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

out_fishin69 said:


> I'm not biased against the talon but does it really take that long for it to stick? I do like how quiet it is... My XL PP will wake the dead


out-fishin69 - I tested the anchoring speed of my Talon on the lake Sunday. In 4 foot of water and about a 15mph wind, the anchor touch the bottom in 2-2 1/2 seconds and after one additional hit (automatic function) the anchor was holding firm.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Capt. Hollis Forrester said:


> I've had the Talon for about 3 months now, and have been pleased so far. . That **** Crazy video was ridiculous and a bunch of ****. Its typical though, when competition arrives, the cut throat will begin...as in every business. I've put mine through hell so far, and no problems yet, but the adjustment bolts wanting to come loose. Use lock tite, and an extra lock washer, and you'll be fine, keep an eye on them


Capt. Hollis Forrester - Thanks for the response back. It's good to hear from someone that has more time on the water with the unit than I and it's a bonus that it's so far good news at that.

I am curious though, what's the max range you have discovered with the wireless remote? Does it help to use your Graphite rod to add some additonal range?


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## cpthook (Jan 16, 2008)

*new talon*

New Talon installed, now we need weather to fish. Didn't like the hydralics on the power pole plus the swinging arm away from the boat, just seems kind of weird. Seems like the pole away from the boat instead of under the boat would be an obstacle while fighting fish.


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## Capt. Hollis Forrester (Jun 17, 2006)

Mike McBride gave me a great tip of hoking the talon antenna wire up to my marine antenna on my console. I am now getting 100 yds plus, before I was getting 15 feet.The Talon antenna wire is the yellow wire under the callon of the Talon. If ya need any more help let me know.


skipjackPOC said:


> Capt. Hollis Forrester - Thanks for the response back. It's good to hear from someone that has more time on the water with the unit than I and it's a bonus that it's so far good news at that.
> 
> I am curious though, what's the max range you have discovered with the wireless remote? Does it help to use your Graphite rod to add some additonal range?


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Capt. Hollis Forrester said:


> Mike McBride gave me a great tip of hoking the talon antenna wire up to my marine antenna on my console. I am now getting 100 yds plus, before I was getting 15 feet.The Talon antenna wire is the yellow wire under the callon of the Talon. If ya need any more help let me know.


Capt. Hollis Forrester - I have been wondering if there was a way to extend the antenna on the Talon so, this is great news!! Fantastic tip for everyone to know. I will have to take my talon callon off this evening and see if I can locate the yellow wire. I will let you know if IU need additional help.

by the way...did you hook up the alarm wire? I finally got to hooking up the wire yesterday to the ignition switch but no workie. Does the alarm only sound when the motor has been fully turned on? I have only placed the key into the on position and the connection that I hooked into has power. I also have the anchor deployed about a foot or so.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

Incase anyone is wondering what's under the Minn Kota Talon cowling, here you go. It appears all components are covered in a blank sealant creating a nice barrier. 

Capt. Hollis Forrester - I located the yellow wire which is acting as the units antenna from your earlier post. Wish I know about this before mounting the current wire harness in the hull already. Thanks for the great tip though! Going to play around with some ideas without having to run the wire outside of the Talon's cowling.


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## timberhunter (Feb 20, 2008)

do they have a wash port or something how do you rinse them out? can someone take a pic of that? I think I'm going to purchase pretty quickly but im still on the fence btwn the PP or talon


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## Blacklab (Aug 27, 2005)

So do you have to cut the yellow wire to connect the run that goes to the antenna or does is it disconnected like the antenna wire on a power pole remote box? Want to be sure I understand what I need to do to extend remote range so I can knock it out all at once when I install. About to hang one on my Majek RFL 21 but was waiting for some of this type of info. No range on the remote would have been a problem since one of my favorite things about the Power pole talon type of deal is to be able to lift pole while wading in Port Mansfield and have boat drift closer. The remote on my Power Pole does a good job and yes, holding it on my blank seems to extend the range when I can't get a response other wise. 

Thanks for posting this


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## cole (Jul 30, 2006)

The antenna on the Talon or the PP are just like any other equiptment with a antenna. The higer you can get it with the least amount of interferance between the antenna and the sorce, the better it will pick up. I reciently added a few foot of wire to my antenna, drilled a hole in my console, behind the windshield, and ran the wire behind the windshield inbetween the windshield and the console, from one side of the console to the other. I went from a range of about 50 ft. before to at least 100yds. now.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

From what I have found out, the easiest way to add another 50yds or so of range on the Talon is to simply run the current antenna wire outside the cowling through one of it's drain ports. In doing so, I have a range on my Talon that's around 115 to 125 yards. That's without having to use a fishing rod or having to hold my remote up in the air reaching for reception. More than enough for my needs.


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## Tejas Trucha (Feb 28, 2011)

Thanks - that is much better option than having to splice and run to console and figure out how to hook into vhf antenna. Plus it sounds like it can be easily reversed without detection so as not to cause a warranty issue. I will try your suggestion first. And just to be clear - you are saying to just straighten out that yellow wire and let it dangle outside the cowling through one of the drain holes? How much does it dangle down? Part of my issue seems to be the center console getting in between me and the talon.


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## skipjackPOC (Apr 6, 2006)

The yellow wire is probably only 8 to 10 inches long. So, I would estimate that the wire is only hanging out 6 inches. I also found out that the console will get in the way of the reception this past weekend. Not 100% sure how to correct this but would be open to any suggestions.

I also figure out that having the wire set in a horizontal position works better than vertical.​


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## Tejas Trucha (Feb 28, 2011)

Even with center console in the way, do you think hanging the wire out increased the range? I would think running the wire all the way to a vhf antenna on top of the console would do the trick - I'm just worried about the splice voiding warranty. And i'm not sure how to connect to the vhf antenna since it's coax.


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## doublej (Jan 10, 2006)

has anyone had any problems with corrsion? I am torn between the Talon and PP.


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## dannyalvarez (Jun 7, 2008)

*Powerpole vs. Talon*

the talon simply isnt as strong as the powerpole. This means that the talon will take more to stop the boat then the powerpole. There was a comparison video of the two but i cant seem to find it. the talon certainly has more features than the power pole but it also has a few more disadvantages. I still find that the powerpole is the better product!

Dave


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## Tejas Trucha (Feb 28, 2011)

My talon works great except for remote range, which I'm hopeful can be solved so I don't have to hit the button and walk the boat behind me between every single cast. It stopped my boat solid in 25 mph winds within 1 to 1.5 boat lengths and held it firmly for long periods of time. As for corrosion - only time will tell. If the unit is sealed anywhere near as well as my Lenco trim tabs (electric motor driven as well), then corrosion will not be an issue - especially considering the Lencos actually sit in the water when at rest. What sold me was cost ($1500 for 8 footer vs $2400 for power pole with remote and install charges), ease of installation (DIY in under 45 minutes, much much faster if you can get to inside bolts easily), totally self contained unit, and ability to remove / transfer between boats very easily.


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## timberhunter (Feb 20, 2008)

i put the talon on my 20 foot pescador 2 weeks ago and have used it for 3 trips now...i can honestly say i was a fool for not having something a long time ago, you don't know what your missing. i am very impressed with the talon so far, saturday i was fishing the mouth of a bayou and the wind was blowing 20+ mph and the tide was ripping through this mouth, so fast that the water was making waves around the boat and it was creating its own current 30 yards ahead, the talon held us for about an hour and a half while we sat there and smoked the reds and trout in this gut, water was 6 feet deep.....we caught alot of fish behind the boat and had big reds take us to the back of the boat and fight, the power pole would have been in the way if it was deployed.....They are both solid products but so far i'm happy with the talon....btw the one video on youtube that shows it shaking and having a hard time sticking is complete BS that thing is solid as a rock and had my boat in that wind and current stuck solid in about 3 seconds


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## Suthsayer (Sep 27, 2004)

Thank you Skip Jack for your work on this. I just went from 30-50' range to almost 100 yards. It was easy to add the the Antenna and run thru to the console.


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## onyourlimit (Jun 30, 2006)

I've had my 8ft talon for over a year now and it works as advertised. The only thing I would change on it would be having the option of manual deployement. The automatic push button deployment works great but I have had to help it come back up twice in deep marsh mud. It has allot of power and deployed 4ft in the mud. The natural suction made it struggle to bring it back up. Then again its happened twice in a year so its not a common occurrence. But the socket fitting makes bringing it up manually a breeze.


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## Z (Sep 22, 2014)

:brew2:


timberhunter said:


> i put the talon on my 20 foot pescador 2 weeks ago and have used it for 3 trips now...i can honestly say i was a fool for not having something a long time ago, you don't know what your missing. i am very impressed with the talon so far, saturday i was fishing the mouth of a bayou and the wind was blowing 20+ mph and the tide was ripping through this mouth, so fast that the water was making waves around the boat and it was creating its own current 30 yards ahead, the talon held us for about an hour and a half while we sat there and smoked the reds and trout in this gut, water was 6 feet deep.....we caught alot of fish behind the boat and had big reds take us to the back of the boat and fight, the power pole would have been in the way if it was deployed.....They are both solid products but so far i'm happy with the talon....btw the one video on youtube that shows it shaking and having a hard time sticking is complete BS that thing is solid as a rock and had my boat in that wind and current stuck solid in about 3 seconds


NICE comments. I'm putting one on my boat this weekend.

$810 + $30 shipping on Ebay....remanufactured with 1 year warranty.


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## cpthook (Jan 16, 2008)

I've got an 8 footer on my 20 foot Mako and I've had nothing but problems. I've had FTU rebuild it twice now. I like it over the power pole because it anchors directly under the boat vs swinging out behind the boat but it has been a pain. Very disappointed with the reliability.


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## texasislandboy (Apr 28, 2012)

I really like mine. I use the hell out of it and it never gets washed very well.


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## Z (Sep 22, 2014)

why do some folks use a mounting bracket for it? is there an advantage to having it set back from the transom?


will the boat spin if I only have 1 talon?


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## texasislandboy (Apr 28, 2012)

The boat will not "spin" but it will point down current or down wind. Most that use the bracket do not want more holes in the transom of the boat. On my boat I have to mount it to the hull and I am 100% fine with that.


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