Minn Kota Endura C2-30 Mods

After patching and repairing our old 1985 Minn Kota Model 65 (from 1985) over the last couple of years, Debbie got us a new trolling motor for the Jon Boat for my Birthday. It's the Minn Kota Endura C2-30 with the composite shaft. WOW! What a huge improvement over our old unit, it is! 

During the time we've run the old unit, I modified a number of things, so I set about to modify the new one in the same way. Here's a few pics...

I modified the old unit so I could leave the mount on the boat (so as to now have to deal with tightening and loosening those clamps every time). On the new one, I pressed out the pivot pin that coupled the motor unit to the mount assembly, and reinstalled a 3/8" x 4" long stainless steel shank bolt in it's place. I drilled and fitted a cotter pin to the opposie end of the bolt, so it's easy to pop on and off. 

Boy, the control head is super sleek, handles great, and has smooth motor speed control. 

 Here's the other side of the mount with the pivot modified. I drilled the end of the 3/8" x 4" stainless steel sahank bolt and use a cotter pin for retention.

The next snag was the motor height control collar. I like to raise and lower the motor a lot, because of the super skinny water we run in sometimes. It comes with an allen bolt, so you have to keep a allen wrench in your pocket. Negative.... I found a longer 1/4-20 bolt, cut the head off, ground a couple of flats with 90 degree separation, and installed a knob. Then, a nylon washer was slipped on, and the whole mess was screwed into the 1/4-20 nut that's in the collar. Now, I just simply give the knob a twist, and raise / lower the motor as needed. O also wrap black tape around the shaft, just above the collar at the deepest setting I use, so I have a built-in default for depth.

Lastly, I installed another quick connect to the power wire like I had on the old motor. The wiring harness is permanently installed in the boat, so it makes a quick motor install when we're ready to launch. 

 

Big Branch, 10/12/19

Debbie and I have been talking about trying to put the Jon Boat in over at Big Branch for a while, we had found a little spot we thought we could get the truck/trailer down to and put in. We were able to get in there, and it's beautiful!! We caught Bluegill, Black Crappie, and LMB up and down that section of the river. Here's a few pics from the trip...

This guy was ambitious!!

The blugill and black crappie were tearing up this little Micro Firetiger Divebait!

Barrett's Farm Ponds, 10/11/19

Debbie and I rode over to Barrett's Farm Ponds a little while this evening, to play with a few different baits and enjoy the water on the Jon boat. We caught a few small LMB, and headed back to the house. Here's a couple of pics...

Mocassin Creek, 10/10/19

After leaving 231, we headed over to Moccasin creek for a bit. Wow, the bite was on and we had a great time! We noticed they weren't taking soft plastics up near the bank as usual, mayne because of a cold front that had come through, so we switched to rattle traps and dive baits. Here's a few pics...

I caught this on a Bluegill Rattletrap

Debbie was winding them up on the Firetiger Rattletrap!

Another on the Firetiger Rattletrap

This was caught on a brown and yellow squarebill divebait, bouncing on the bottom...

Another on the brown and yellow squarebill divebait

231, 10/10/19

Debbie and I went over to 231 today for a bit, to enjoy the weather of overcast and drizzle we had, and see if the fish wanted to come out and play. Sure enough, they did :-) Here's a few pics...

Debbie caught this Black Crappie on a Beetle Spin / Smokey Shad & her micro rig

 

She caught this Chain Pickerel on a 5" Yum Dinger (Watermelon & Pearl), rigged weightless and weedless...

Debbie hit this nice LMB on a 5" Yum Dinger (Watermelon & Pearl), rigged weightless and weedless...

Afterwards, we decided to head over to Moccasin Creek for a bit.

Moccasin Creek, 10/8/19

After leaving Big Branch, we stopped for a bite of lunch, and then headed on to Moccasin creek to wrap up the day. it was misting rain, heavy cloud cover, and a bit of wind. Temp about 70 deg. Once again, it was obvious the bass had pulled back from the bank and were running a bit deeper. I caught one that we easily in the 3lb range that got off right at the bank, and another that I didn't photograph in the 2+ lb range. Here's pics and more info on the baits...

1/2oz Rattle trap,  out in the middle...

2lb 12 oz, 5" YumDinger, 2O EWG hook, about 10' back from the bank...

2lb 4oz, 1/2oz rattle trap, out in the middle, running deep. 

5" YumDinger, 2O EWG hook, up at the bank in a canal...

5" YumDinger, 2O EWG hook, out away from the bank...

Big Branch, 10/8/19

After leaving Norris Creek, we headed over to Big Branch on Fowler Road for a bit. The bit was good there. It was becoming more obvious, since the two cold fronts came through the last two days, the bass were pulling back from the banks a bit. The were still interested in soft plastics around the bank, but the bigger girls were out in the deeper water, and less interested in shallow running baits. Here's a few pics and info on the baits...

Debbie caught several black crappie on her micro rig with a beetle spin...

Debbie also caught several bluegill on her micro rig with the beetle spin...

2lb 15-7/8oz (practically 3 lbs) on a square bill dive bait, fire tiger.

2lb 2oz on a 5" YumDinger, weedless & weightless, 2O EWG hook, out in deeper water...

More black crappie on the micro rig!

 

Norris Creek, 10/8/19

Debbie and I decided to run out and do a little fishing this morning, since it was overcast / sprinkling / cooler. We first popped over to Norris Creek. Not much going on, but this 2lb 11oz LMB nailed this squarebill dive bait out in the middle of the upstream part of the creek. We fished a bit more, no hits, and moved on...

 

Secret Pond, 10/7/19

Debbie and I got a late start this morning, and went over to the Secret Pond for a bit. Typically, the bluegill are off the chains this time of year, but a second cold front came through last night and the bite was off again. We were experimenting with some squarebills in the structure, rattletraps in the deep open, and the typical soft plastics. The big bass have also pulling back form the banks here, too. Here's a few pics from the morning outing... 

Hidden Pond, 10/6/19

Debbie and I headed over to the Hidden Pond and got about 3 hrs of fishing in before dark. The weather was beautiful, water was like glass, but the cold front that moved through caused the bite to drop off a little. We're also seeing the bass not up on the banks quite as much as in recent weeks. We had a great time, and started using some other baits to try and locate the bass in deeper water. Got to get a cheap depth finder working on the Jon boat to find the shelves and such. Here's a few pics from the evening...

We need rain, bad. All of the area ponds are down a bit...