Skimming noiselessly across a satin-surfaced backcountry bay, Capt. Steven Lamp's poling propels our flats boat with a rhythm like that of a rowing scull. With each push, the boat shoots forward, followed by a gentle glide. Standing on the foredeck with my rod in hand, I am just dialing in to the ebb and flow when Lamp whispers: "School of tarpon moving off the flat, 40 yards out at 10 o'clock. Let's go get 'em!"

Without warning, the craft lurches forward so quickly that I have to grab a cleat to keep from doing a backward somersault. As the boat accelerates beyond poling speed, the only sound is water rushing past the hull. I look back to see that Lamp has traded his push-pole for a tiny control pad that he manipulates with one hand -- the control is connected to a cord that leads to the boat's center console. I have never been in a boat that moved so quickly and quietly. It is an odd sensation, as if my sense of hearing has gone haywire.

"Electric motors on the trim tabs," Lamp offers without being asked, bursting my loss-of-hearing theory. "Eighty-two pounds of thrust per side," he adds with a wide grin, "They're the only way to go when you're tarpon fishing." Seconds later, we are within casting distance of the lead fish.

NEW-AGE ELECTRICS

I realized then that marine trolling motors have come a long way since I bought my first 12-pound-thrust Pflueger to power a plywood skiff I had built in college. That was in the mid-1970s, at which time more than a dozen manufacturers offered electric trolling motors. The little Pflueger served me well until I took my rig to the Florida Keys over spring break. Both the lower unit and control head froze from corrosion halfway through my holiday.

Back in those days, corrosion was the main reason electric trolling motors were rarely seen on saltwater boats. Despite their popularity among freshwater fishermen -- who use bow- or stem-mounted electrics for everything from trolling and sight fishing to precise positioning over fish in deep water -- they took a long time to catch on with saltwater anglers. Even though we employ these same tactics, the threat of corrosion remains a limiting factor.

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