When you start rigging a modern fishing kayak with an electric trolling motor, the battery quickly becomes one of the most important — and expensive — pieces of the puzzle. A motor is only as good as the power feeding it, and there’s nothing worse than cutting a day on the water short because you’ve run out of juice.
Over the past three weeks, I’ve been fishing from the new Old Town Sportsman 120 Pro equipped with a Minn Kota Riptide Kayak Terrova. And instead of my usual battery, I powered the setup with Vatrer’s 12V 100Ah Group 24 Bluetooth LiFePO₄ battery. After multiple full days on the Finger Lakes chasing largemouth, smallmouth, and anything else willing to bite, I came away impressed.
Initial Impressions
The first thing I noticed wasn’t on the water, it was loading the kayak. Anyone who’s wrestled a traditional deep-cycle lead-acid battery into the back of a truck knows how quickly those extra pounds add up. The Vatrer is noticeably lighter while fitting the standard Group 24 footprint, so it dropped right into my battery tray without requiring any modifications. For kayak anglers who are constantly transporting their boats, every pound saved matters.
Vatrer 12V 100Ah Group 24 Bluetooth Lithium Battery Specs
- Battery Type: Lithium Iron Phosphate (LiFePO₄)
- Voltage: 12V
- Capacity: 100Ah
- Usable Energy: 1,280Wh
- Battery Group Size: Group 24
- Cycle Life: 5,000+ deep charge cycles
- Bluetooth Monitoring: Yes
- Low-Temperature Protection: Charging stops at 32°F (0°C); discharge protection at -4°F (-20°C)
- Water/Dust Rating: IP65
- Expandable Configuration: Up to 4P4S (51.2V, 20.48kWh)
- Observed Runtime: Full-day fishing with power to spare under typical use; estimated 8–12 hours at low to moderate trolling and Spot-Lock use
On The Water
Once I got on the water, the battery all but disappeared, and that’s exactly what you want. The 55-pound-thrust Riptide Kayak Terrova asks a lot from a 12-volt battery, especially when you’re relying on AutoPilot to cover water or Spot-Lock to hold position over offshore structure. During my testing, I did plenty of both. I spent hours easing down weedlines, hopping between rocky points, and locking onto schools of bass feeding on bait out in the open. The Terrova never felt like it was running out of steam, even late in the day. Power delivery remained consistent from the first cast to the last — something that’s hard to say about the lead-acid batteries I’ve used over the years.
Battery life was equally impressive. Most of my fishing days involved a mix of long runs between spots, slowly covering water while searching for fish, and frequent use of Spot-Lock once I found them. Even with that kind of use, I routinely ended the day with plenty of capacity remaining. Based on what I experienced, this battery is well suited for anglers who spend an entire day on the water. If you’re fishing at slower trolling speeds or relying primarily on Spot-Lock, it’s realistic to expect eight to 12 hours of runtime. Even on days when I spent more time moving than fishing, I never found myself watching the battery level or wondering whether I should start heading back to the launch.
Part of that efficiency comes from the pairing itself. The Terrova’s Digital Maximizer system sips power at partial throttle, and the Vatrer’s 1,280 watt-hours of usable energy means you can take advantage of nearly all of the battery’s entire capacity without the voltage sag that comes with lead-acid batteries. The motor draws a maximum of around 50 amps, so the battery has more than enough output to keep up, even during sustained runs.
One feature I didn’t expect to appreciate as much as I did was Bluetooth monitoring. Being able to check the remaining battery capacity from my phone before launching, or after several hours of fishing, takes the guesswork out of managing your day. Instead of relying on a voltmeter or rough estimates, I always knew exactly how much capacity remained.
Beyond kayak fishing, Vatrer built this battery with versatility in mind. It uses Grade-A LiFePO₄ cells rated for more than 5,000 charge cycles and includes a smart battery management system that protects against overcharging, over-discharging, overcurrent, short circuits, and temperature extremes. The built-in low-temperature charging protection is especially useful for anglers who fish late into the fall or use their batteries to power ice fishing electronics and the like.
Final Thoughts
After three weeks of putting it through its paces, I never found a reason to question the battery’s performance. It simply did its job, which is exactly what you want from a trolling motor battery. It delivered consistent power all day, provided more runtime than I needed, and eliminated the battery anxiety that often comes with long runs or heavy Spot-Lock use.
For anglers building out a motorized fishing kayak, the Vatrer 12V 100Ah Group 24 Bluetooth battery strikes an excellent balance between capacity, weight, features, and long-term value. Paired with the Minn Kota Riptide Kayak Terrova on the Old Town Sportsman 120 Pro, it proved to be a dependable power source that handled everything I asked of it over three weeks of hard fishing.
