Canoe Trolling Motor

I am looking for a motor for my 16' mad river adventure 16 canoe to be able to fight the current on the yough, mon, ohio etc. to get me back upstream to my parked car. It would be nice if it was strong enough to get me upstream of its own power, but I wouldnt mind having to paddle a bit to aid in getting back upstream if necessary. Anyone out there with trolling motor experience? Not sure if a 30# thrust is going to get the job done, or if a 55# would be completely overkill. Appreciate any thoughts or experiences, thanks.

Remember that for the trolling motor you will be adding a lot of battery weight, get the best battery you can possibly afford or you may find you don't have enough battery power to get very far moving against current. Having to buy 2 'lower cost' batteries to give you the run time you want will really effect the weight/handling of your canoe.
It will be a balancing act to get the right power/run time/weight on your canoe.
If you possibly can, find someone who will allow you to borrow a trolling motor for a day and run ones from the 30lb class and the 50lb class to see which moves your canoe with it's normal loaded weight the way you want against current.

And always pack a 'haul rope' in the canoe, if you need to get out and tow it is a pain to have to hold directly onto the canoe when trying to keep your balance in moving water. A short lenth of rope will allow you to keep ahold of the boat but keep upright for balance at the same time.

The thing you have to remember is that the currents in the rivers are always changing speeds.  Slow in mid and late summer and much easier to paddle or use a trolling motor.  Sometimes that trolling motor may not be worth squat with the current speed.  Probably better off running a shuttle, which is a pain, but relying on a trolling motor to get back upstream (especially for a few miles), sounds like more trouble than it's worth. Of course there is always the option of going upstream using the motor first and not having to worry about that on the way back!!  I live in Beaver Co., and have a minkota 30# thrust, minkota battery charger, and 2 marine batteries I may consider selling. 

Yeah, I am looking for it to get me upstream 3-4 miles with stops in between. I dont particularly like fly fishing from my canoe, so I usually use it to get me to difficult to access spots, and then wade fish from there. I feel everyone when they compare the difference in currents. In the event where a river would be roaring(spring) I probably wouldnt be on that particular river and would stick to the small streams around me.

Fryguy, what # thrust did you use and what kind of canoe did you have?

I'll second fryguys experience. I used to have a 15' Coleman and with my wife and I and a 30# thrust TM and one battery, it was decent on the slower sections of the Yough but you will go nowhere, fast in any kind of riffle. We always went upstream and floated back. A 45# TM set up with 2 batteries wired up in the front of the canoe (if you are fishing by yourself) should work out pretty good for stability and control. Do you have a canoe or a scanoe? Due to the lip on my canoe, I had to use a block of wood so my TM would mount solid.