I Took Garmin and YakAttack’s First Kayak Motors for a Spin at ICAST 2025

If you spend much time around anglers, you’ll notice one thing fast: We love gear almost as much as we love fishing. Nowhere is that more obvious than at ICAST, the place where shiny new toys and serious innovations collide.

One of the highlights of any show is the “on the water” day. That means casting rods and messing around in kayaks in the ponds outside the convention center. I poked around for a bit, but was quickly drawn to the buzz around kayak trolling motors.

Two were available for test drives: the Garmin Force Current, which had already received a large amount of pre-show hype, and a new motor from YakAttack something.

Here’s where I have to own a big ol’ live-journalism failure. After closing down the on-the-water session, I realized I never caught the name of the YakAttack motor. It has not been released yet, so I can’t even research it to figure it out.

Oops.

On a positive note, I did get approval to write about it before it officially launches.

I drove them around for a while on the water and got a decent first feel for both of the products.

Here are my thoughts.

Garmin Force Current

The Garmin Force Current ($3,600 with foot pedals) is Garmin’s entry into the kayak trolling motor world. Kayak fishing has been growing, and it’s here to stay. That’s why big dogs like Garmin have jumped headfirst into the kayak fishing category. The Force Current brings everything you’d expect from a tech-heavy company like Garmin.

The Idea

Controlling a trolling motor from a remote while you’re trying to fish is just plain frustrating. It doesn’t work, especially in a kayak where you often need to control your rudder with a hand as well. If I’m counting right, a hand for a remote, plus a hand for a rudder control, plus a hand for a rod equals three hands. Good luck with that.

Other trolling motors have attempted to solve this problem, but have not done so successfully. Old Town put a Spot Lock trolling motor in a kayak, and you could steer with the foot pedals. But you couldn’t change the speed without a remote or engage Spot Lock. And you had to buy a whole kayak with the trolling motor.

The Garmin Force Current is controlled entirely through your feet. And it can mount on the kayak you already own. Bingo, we have a winner.

How Does It Work?

The new offering from Garmin isn’t just a trolling motor. It’s more of a system. When you purchase it, it comes with the trolling motor, remote, “kill switch,” foot pedals, and the associated mounting hardware. You can also purchase it without the foot pedals, but I don’t know why you would. It would defeat the whole purpose.

When assembled on your boat, you can steer, change speed, and engage “anchor lock” all without setting down your rod.

The Motor

The Force Current Motor is compatible with just about any kayak out there. It’s built to be mounted on the back of your boat, with a pulley system for deployment and retraction that runs up to the seat. With the provided cleat system, deployment and retrieval were easy. I didn’t strain at all to get it out of the water.

It can be used on either a 24V or 12V system. The one I used was a 24V. Brandon Brinkman of Garmin informed me that on a 24V system, you could attain 5 mph, and you lose about 3/4 mph going to a 12. I easily hit 5 mph on the water with the 24V.

The biggest complaint I’ve heard is that the motor doesn’t kick up when running into objects, which could be problematic for shallow-water anglers. I agree with that. It’s probably not best for running skinny rivers. But, if I were running a Hobie with kick-up fins for shallow water and had this on the back for deeper water? That sounds pretty dreamy.

The Pedals

You know what really sucks? Running wires through a kayak and drilling holes in your hull. I can speak from experience. One of the bestselling points of the Force Current? You don’t have to do that as much as you think you would.

The foot pedals don’t have to be connected with wires. They run through Bluetooth. Garmin provides the pedals and the track for them when you purchase the Force Current.

Pull off your current foot pedal track and install this one. Garmin has ensured it will fit on just about every kayak out there. Connect them to the motor, and you’re in business.

To operate, push forward with your toes to move forward, push down with your heels to go in reverse, and hit one of the tabs on the inner foot to engage the anchor lock. By pushing on just one pedal, you can steer the boat. You can also go forward with one foot and backward with the other to execute snappy 180-degree turns.

I must say, the system is a bit more sensitive than I expected. I was warned about that before embarking on the pond, but it still came as a surprise to me. Minor shifts can have drastic consequences.

However, after 5 minutes of figuring out the nuances, I had it dialed. You need to “feather” it more than you’d think. Once I had the feel for it, it was great.

Bluetooth Galore

Not only are the remote (which really only exists as a backup for foot pedal failure) and foot pedals run through Bluetooth, but so is the “kill switch.” It’s a small tab that connects to your lifejacket. It connects to the motor wirelessly, and if it gets submerged, it kills it. Very fancy.

If I’m being totally honest, my inner Boomer is skeptical of all the Bluetooth. I’m picturing my flight down to ICAST, where I could be found in a corner of the airport swearing because my AirPods weren’t connecting.

However, Garmin is a legitimate company, and I’ve loved every Garmin product I’ve used. If anyone can make a Bluetooth connection work, it’s Garmin.

The ‘Mystery’ YakAttack Trolling Motor

This will be YakAttack’s entry into the electric motor category, and after using it, I must say, I’m impressed. It seemed like the antithesis of the Garmin. It’s simple, small, easy to use, and effective.

The one I tested was mounted in a Hobie Pro Angler, right where the pedal drive would normally be. That led me to my first question for the YakAttack team. Is it only for Hobie Kayaks?

I was informed that as of right now, they have it manufactured to fit in Hobie Pedal drive ports, but they are working on brackets for all pedal-drive kayaks. It seemed like those brackets would be available when the product officially launches.

Biggest Takeaways

The first thing I noticed about the YakAttack motor was its astonishingly quiet operation. The thing barely makes any noise at all. It’s easily the most silent trolling motor I’ve operated.

While it didn’t feel as powerful as the Garmin, it was still able to reach a speed of 3.9 mph. That’s impressive, as it’s slightly slower than the Garmin, while being noticeably quieter. In an era where fish are being chased and harassed by “scopers,” stealth is crucial.

Another significant advantage of this trolling motor is its ease of installation. It just slides right in place of your pedal drive. That makes it one of the most portable, easy-to-install trolling motors out there. You won’t need an entire weekend to get it set up on your boat.

The remote (sorry, no fancy pedals like Garmin) is easy to use and is pretty much the exact same as other trolling motor remotes. You can steer, change speed, and engage the spot lock function with the tap of a button.

To further my journalism failure, I didn’t catch an MSRP. Heck, it’s so new it may not even have one yet. It’s set to drop in December 2025, so you kayak anglers will still have to wait a bit.

What’s Next at ICAST?

There is always something happening behind the scenes, whether it is a private product presentation or a hands-on demo that lets media folks see the newest gear up close. The showroom floor is packed with everything from rods and reels to sunglasses and baits, and there is never a shortage of surprises.

No matter what catches my attention next, you can count on this coverage to go beyond the usual press-release fluff. I focus on products that genuinely stand out and that I am excited to use myself.

Here’s to another year of ICAST.