Trolling motors give you the opportunity to find those best fresh water fishing hot spots. Let others fish those not so productive areas.

I love trolling motors. I even had one for my canoe and caught lots of big bass on Lake George, Harvey Lake. Even pickerel and trout from Cassidy Lake near Norton New Brunswick.

So today I’d like to share a bit about a specific fresh water trolling motors, the Minn Kota Endura C2 30 12V 30lb 30 Inch. Let’s look at some benefits along with a few features but it wouldn’t be complete without a look at any reported shortcomings of the Minn Kota Endura C2 30.

I don’t mind spending money on fishing related products but I also love getting a real good deal because it means I can usually buy more fishing related stuff. Those of us who are really serious about our fishing and who have a boat loving buying new things for it.

Christmas is getting so close and it’s the time I try to get my friends and family to think fishing when they think about what to buy me.

If you’ve had your mind set on a trolling motor you need to start giving the hints to your family. Wouldn’t it be nice to get the Minn Kota Endura C2 30?

Minn Kota Endura C2 30 Characteristics

Start sharing all the characteristics with your family so they know you’re excited about the Minn Kota Endura C2.

• 30 lbs of Thrust
• 30 Inch Shaft
• 5 Forward Speeds
• 3 Reverse Speeds
• Six Inch Telescoping Handle
• Lever Lock Bracket. A Mounting bracket that’s the strongest
• Runs Quietly so as not to disturb fish.
• Special composite materials resist flexing warping and UV damage.
• Indestructible composite shaft stronger than steel.
• Uses 12 volt Battery – not included.

Yeah the Minn Kota Endura C2 is a legendary performer built to explore, built to last and backed up with our two year warranty. It’s also designed specifically for boats that are small to medium in size.

This trolling motor has been designed for freshwater and is easily mounted using the lever lock bracket. To reduce friction as well as noise the Minn Kota Endura C2 has a ball bearing system that’s extremely smooth so it doesn’t scare off the fish.

Before I finally boat a trolling motor I used to curse the wind, a lot. Especially on Cassidy lake near Norton New Brunswick. The best fishing spot of course is the furthest spot from my vehicle. And of course once you get down in there the wind picks up and makes it tough for one person to paddle out of there. I usually ended up beaching the canoe and walking it along the shore line until I would get out of there. But it’s such a good fishing spot.

The first time I used my new trolling motor on Cassidy Lake I cruised right out there. Actually caught a couple more pickerel on the way out. When the wind is blowing in there you can’t stop paddling or you lose ground. With the my trolling motor I wasn’t cursing the wind or the the slightest bit exhausted from paddling.

The places we fish for bass, pickerel and trout require a trolling motor as most boat motors would never get to where we like to fish. Take a few minutes to check out the Minn Kota Endura C2 30 and I am sure you will have more productive days on the water.

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Well another fun day of fishing with Casey and Jamie on French Lake has come to an end. The only thing that stopped us was the fact the big light in the sky ran out of energy for the day so we decided to go home.

Even though the wind was fairly strong and of course always blowing in the wrong direction we still had a blast. There was enough cloud cover so we weren’t frying all day and plenty of wind so that the bugs had to hang on to trees so they didn’t bother us.

Who could ask for more, eh?

The ride up in Casey’s truck was full of joking around and teasing each other but of course once we arrived at French lake things got serious. NOT. That would just be strange see three guys in a fishing boat being serious.

Casey hooked and caught the first fish of the day. For a perch it put up quite a fight but Casey still managed to land it, even without the use of his rubber net. Sadly that had to hold him for a while as Jamie decided to take over.

Casey lands the first fish, a feisty little perch with an attitude.

Now Jamie’s first fish could have eaten Casey’s perch but even so Casey had the bragging rights for catching the first fish.

The score was now one fat perch for Casey and one long skinny 22.000017 inch pickerel for Jamie. I was still in practice mode, I guess.

Jamie’s pickerel trying to flip out of his hand

Then for a while the two of them were going crazy with strikes, although they weren’t landing any. Casey is in the back of the boat, Jamie in the front with me in the middle and I can’t get a strike at all. It was time to change baits.

Jamie landed a second pickerel, a little smaller than his first and Casey was trying to figure out why the pickerel were not getting the point he was presenting. They just wouldn’t stay on his hook.

Casey was trying a new lure he had just bought the day before but the pickerel just seemed to smack it with getting the hook. After a bit he gave up and tried another bait and landed himself a nice pickerel.

Eventually I had practiced enough and got my first strike and first pickerel.

It always amazes me how three people can be in a boat, fishing the same water, structure and weeds with two people getting attention while the third is completely ignored by the fish.

Sometimes we go fishing and one person royally kicks butt and yet we’re only a few feet apart.

We had a lot of action as well as fun of course.

My biggest catch for most of the day was 19 inches. The majority of catches seemed to be right around 19 and 20 inches but my last catch of the day was my best at 22 inches.

Smiling Jimmy with his biggest fish of the day.

At this point is was dark, very dark. Sure glad Casey knew where the heck he was going because I would have had to stay out there all night waiting for daylight to find my way back.

At the end of the day the final score was Casey with 8 Chain pickerel plus 1 fat perch, Jamie with 10 Chain pickerel and myself with 15 Chain pickerel. I may have started off slow but gain ground over the rest of the day.

Another great day. We got home just about midnight and I’ll tell you it didn’t take me long to pass out once I got home.

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Casey invited both Jamie and myself for a day of fishing Friday but Jamie had already been invited for two other fishing trips and had already commited to a two day trip on Oromocto lake.

I love fishing new spots and Ormocto lake if a first for Jamie. I hope you have a lot of fun and had a couple of very productive days.

Last year Casey had fished the Salmon river from Grand Lake up towards Chipman with a friend and had great fun and wanted to do it again on Friday.

I was certainly up for that, it was my first time fishing the Salmon river. I have fished a couple of bays off the river but never spent any time in the river.

He was here to pick me up about 6 and we were off.

I alway look forward to passing over the bridge at the Cannan river just before highway 10.

Cannan River Was Just Like A Mirror

We took a few minutes to stop at the bridge where I first used my float tube. It’s so much fun using the float tube as I can get into spots that most boats can’t get to.

Checkout The Scenery

I remember that day was about the hottest of the year. I was niche to be so close to the water as it was easy to soak myself to keep cool that day.

Here’s what that area looked like once we were at the water.

Breath Taking View And The Fishing Rocks

We stayed for a couple of minutes taking in the view and then it was off to the Chipman boat launch and Salmon river pickerel fishing.

Chipman Boat Launch

Everything looked perfect. The sky was a bit cloudy which would help to keep that blistering sun off us. Of course I still piled on the sunscreen as I burn so easily.

The wind was, well there was no wind at this point. Who could ask for more?

After a couple checks around the boat to be sure we hadn’t forgotten anything we hit the water.

All Well, Let’s Launch

Before we headed down river I suggested we try a little bay just up from the bridge, about 2 minutes.

The Water Temp Was Low

With all the rain we’ve had the water is still high and to my surprise the water in the river was still only 64 degrees, all day long.

When ever we moved into a cove or bay the temp would go up about 2 or 3 degrees but not much more.

Well Casey landed the first pickerel of the day and as it turned out the biggest pickerel of the day at 24″.

It’s so cool that Casey has a rubber net. The lure he was using had two treble hooks on it and the line was around the pickerel’s mouth a couple of times and hooked right into the net.

Took about 4 seconds to untangle it. On the old net we may have needed to cut the line to release the fish quickly.

By the way Jamie has a nice rubber net now as well. The really are much safer for both the fisher and the fish.

Casey made a cast to a set of lilypads and the water exploded, just the way we love to see it. Really gets the blood going, even if it’s not your fish.

Love Fishing To Lily Pads For Bass And Pickerel

Before we were done in this little bay Casey had 4 pickerel and me, well I was taking pictures I guess.

I never had as much as a follow for hours.

We trolled down the river all day but never had a follow or a strike while trolling, none at all. The only places we caught fish we in the coves and bays along the river.

Casey stayed at 4 pickerel for a while giving me and my new Ugly Stik Lite combo a chance to catch up.

I was enjoying the distance I could get with the Ugly Stik and Shakespeare reel so of course my first strike was about a hundred feet out into the weeds.

I’ve had lots of practice getting pickerel out of the weeds as it’s my favourite place to fish for them as they tend to get quite explosive in the weeds.

As far out into the weeds as I was I was pretty sure I’d loose it before ever getting it close to the boat. However my new rod had the backbone to keep the pickerel’s nose up and I actually landed it.

Felt really good on my new rod and reel.

Before long I was tied with Casey, 4 pickerel each and I was pretty proud of that after going for hours with zero fish. That didn’t last long as about a minute later Casey hooked into another pickerel.

What a show-off. I would never do that to a buddy. Ha

What’s Up With The Wind

That was about when the calm water ended and the wind picked up. I really do prefer to fish the weeds in calm water as I really enjoy watching them come flying out of their hiding places.

I never get tired of watching the wakes they make, especially when there are two or three going after the same baits.

Even though the wind picked up we were shaded most of the day with lots of clouds. I didn’t mind that at all because when the sun did come out I heated up pretty quickly.

All in all it was a really fun day, as usually when I’m out with Casey or Jamie.

I’m already packed for the next day on the water.

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What a great way to start off summer. A great day of fishing with a friend.

Casey picked me up and we headed off to New Horton Lake for some smallmouth bass fishing.

The weather was pretty much perfect. Lots of sun for vitamin D, almost no wind at all for the entire day. Heck there were even a few fish to keep our interest up.

Oh yeah, and no one came home sunburned, this time.

New Horton Lake

Actually New Horton Lake reminds me of a couple of lakes I’ve been on in Ontario that were left behind after the last ice age backed off, leaving huge rocky gouges in the landscape that filled with water and today hold plenty of hard fighting fish.

New Horton Lake, New Brunswick on Google Maps

We Headed To An Island, Or Was It

Here is a photo I took while we were going down the lake on my first trip there with Casey. I thought we were headed to an island however it was a point of land that come way out into the lake. I think it’s about a half mile long or more.

No Jim That’s Not An Island

If you look at the bottom left of the Google map above you will see the strip of land that comes out into the lake. Lots of fishing area along the shore line here.

You can see just how calm the water was from in the image above.

Casey was saying the wind can quickly whip up waves but no problems this day.

Casey Catches First Fish

Casey didn’t waste any time catching the first fish. I think he may have brought it with him but then again if he was going to do that I’m sure it would have been a bigger one. Ha Ha.

Not A Huge Fish, But The First Fish, Congrats

We didn’t get much action trolling but as were got close to weeds and banks I was casting. As soon as the water warmed up along the shore they started taking baits.

They were hanging around the shore where the water was a degree or two warmer and where they could stay in the sun or move into shade.

We started hitting the shore line where there was a definite line between the sun and shade. I love being able to pop a lure up on the bank and then pull it into the water.

It’s amazing just how fast those bass can strike. Sometimes it seems that the lure would have to land in their open mouth to be so fast.

At one point Casey said he was changing to a spinner bait. I agreed but had given all my spinners to my son Steve for trout fishing.

Casey pulled out a tackle box with dozens and let me take the first pick.

I choose the little #4 Mepps with a nice floresent blade. It’s the one on the left and worked great as I caught the first smallie in about a half minute. First cast to the shore in a shady spot.

I had never fished smallmouth using a Mepps. I have used them on pike, pickerel and trout but now it’s a new confidence bait for bass as well.

The only reason I caught the first bass using the spinner is because Casey let me pick first and in about 4 seconds it was on my line and I had that first cast to the bank.

Look At That Lure Fly

I bought a new shrimp/perch pattern Rapal. I’m no good at names of lures, I just buy em and use it. Anyways I put on this new lure, lined up a spot to cast to and let her fly.

There was a little knot in my line and it snagged after about 6 feet of line went out and that lure straightened the swivel snap and that lure fly so far.

I told Casey it was a floating lure so we headed in the direction I made the cast. I thought it was long gone and probably somewhere out in the bush somewhere.

Just before I gave up looking I saw the sun reflect off the top of the lure which had about a square inch showing about the surface.

It had hit the water a couple of feet from shore. Very lucky.

What’s really funny is that last year I lost the original lure in New Horton Lake and I’m sure it did land somewhere in the bush. That was the reason I had a new one this year.

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Cassidy Lake Pickerel Fishing 2011 Part One

Casey landed his first pickerel and had the biggest grin on his face. Not sure if it was because it was his first fish of 2011 or because it wasn’t me with the first fish.

Ha, maybe a little of both. I sure hope it’s not a sign of things to come for 2011 as he just kept catching them and smiling, a lot.

Casey was using minnow baits with blood red hooks and what a huge difference it made to the fish catching.

I didn’t have any lures with the blood red hooks and they just weren’t interested at all.

He kept offering me lures, even ones with red hooks but I don’t like losing other people’s lures so for a time I just said thanks but didn’t use them.

Well after Casey’s 7th fish to my zero I was willing to lose one of his lures. Errr I mean use one of his lures.

Finally I hooked into a monster. Well maybe not a monster but I am sure it was all of 12 maybe 13 inches, it just thought it was bigger.

Fishing Tip of the Day: If you haven’t given blood red hooks a try yet you don’t know what you’re missing out on. Casey was smart and started replacing the hooks on his baits at least a year ago.

You can be sure I will be ordering some red hooks to replace my existing hooks.

I will tell you that if you invest in lures with blood red hooks or buy new blood red hooks for your lures you just might get a whole lot more action.

Casey couldn’t seem to do anything wrong Friday, even though it was Friday the 13th.

Even though I started catching pickerel they were few and far between for me. Casey on the other hand just kept catching them.

A Great Day of Pickerel Fishing

I was still determined to catch some pickerel on lures without red hooks. After all I fished for many years before red hooks and did great.

Well I did manage to catch a few more using a perch pattern and ended my day with 7 pickerel and a sun burned face. It really looked like I was most embarrassed about getting my butt kicked.

I believe that Casey landed 25 pickerel by the end of our day. So he caught the first fish of the day, the most fish of the day along with the biggest.

I am already looking forward to my next trip to Cassidy Lake. I had kind of forgotten about the lake once we started pickerel fishing the Chipman, New Brunswick area.

I guess there’s just not enough time to fish all the places I love as often as I would like.

Maybe I will get more fishing in once I retire in a couple of years.

Casey, thanks for the great day of fun and I love what you’ve done with your boat. It’s going to be an awesome summer.

I was so itching to get out fishing after the long white winter we had. So when Casey emailed me earlier in the week to see if I was up for a little fishing trip for Friday the first thing I said was DUH!! .

Casey was heading to Cassidy Lake, which is the first place I ever fished for pickerel. I have some great memories of fishing there with my fishing buddy Roland.

I don’t think I have been to Cassidy Lake for about 20 years or more.

I didn’t get a lot of sleep Thursday night and was up at about 4am checking to make sure I had everything ready including lots of water and munchies.

Memories of Cassidy Lake

The first time I took Roland there, about 20 or more years ago, we were fishing from my canoe. The action was hard and fast all day long.

My best for the day and my personal best for until just last year, was a 24″ pickerel, however Roland’s vert first pickerel, ever, was 26″ long. I am still working to beat his record.

Even though he hooked the record he was about to touch it, not with all those teeth. I teased the crap out of him the rest of the day of course, but he still had the record.

Last year, 2010, on a trip Casey took Jamie and I to French Lake, New Brunswick I did catch a 25″ pickerel beating my own personal best but I’m still working on beating Roland’s personal best.

Maybe in 2011.

Heading To Cassidy Lake, Friday 13th, 2011

We have had a lot of rain but the weather girl said we might see some sun on Friday so it seemed the best choice of the week.

Casey picked me up and we headed out. The sky was still dark with a thick layer of clouds and as soon as we were out of Moncton we had to turn on the wipers.

When we got to Cassidy Lake it was still as dark and heavy looking as when we left.

Gloomy Day on Cassidy Lake New Brunswick

We came down the big hill toward Cassidy Lake, the image below, and the rain stopped. Just like that. The sky even seemed a little brighter as soon as we pulled into the boat launch.

Maybe it was just our enthusiasm.

I stepped out of Casey’s truck and immediately put my winter coat on. Then I took it off and put on my neoprene waders and put my coat and toque back on. The wind coming off the lake was cold.

Casey did all the safety checks and we launched the boat. Our first day of fishing for 2011 had begun.

Note: I didn’t catch a single fish using my favourite red worm I write so much about.

Pickerel Fishing Cassidy Lake New Brunswick Part Two

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Like I said in the previous post, Casey, Jamie, Ron and I were fishing French Lake New Brunswick on Sunday and had a pretty good day. We caught lots of chain pickerel and even acted a bit foolish at times, well okay, most of the time.

We started of the day with Jamie in Ron’s boat and I was in Casey’s boat.

We moved to the middle of channel to head out to our first fishing spot. Ron and Jamie took off while Casey and I trolled to our first fishing spot.

It was about a minute or two of trolling and I felt a hard strike and it was gone, then almost instantly Casey had a fish on that doubled his rod.

He landed the first pickerel of the day and it wasn’t too shabby at 23 1/2″. We know how big it was because Casey has this cool invention, called a ruler, fastened to his boat for easily measuring fish.

That last little dig was for Jamie.

I, on the other hand decided it was probably better to save my energy for later in the day, so I didn’t bother landing any fish for the first few hours.

I did pretend to fish so Casey wouldn’t think I was slacking off.

Casey landed 4 pickerel before I even got one close to the boat, but once I started I was on fire and soon caught to Casey. The last day we were out Casey had me 3 to zip before I got started too.

I caught a few pickerel that looked like they beat Casey’s 23 1/2 inch pickerel but once measure well they didn’t measure up. One particular pickerel looked like it would beat him but he looked at it and said 22″. I measured it and sure enough it was 22″.

Then came pickerel number 25 and it hit hard and didn’t come near the surface. It fought hard and stayed down, so of course I thought it was was big pickerel.

Jamie did his best to beat it to death with the net but it was a determined pickerel and a good hook set, eventually Jamie stopped smacking it with the net and I landed it.

When I measure it I started doing my happy dance as it measure out at 25 inches, a new personal best for me. I beat my previous personal best pickerel by 1/2 inch, which I caught at French Lake a couple of months earlier.

I am still trying to beat my fishing buddy Roland’s best pickerel at 26″ more than 20 years ago in Cassidy Lake near Norton. That was his very first pickerel every by the way.

Both Casey and Jamie tied at the end of the day with 22 pickerel each and I ended the day with 26 pickerel. Casey and Jamie also landed a perch or two.

You can see Casey cheering me on from the peanut gallery. Now I know why Jamie laughed and took a second picture of my 25 inch pickerel.

Oh Happy Day, A New Person Best for Jimmy

Jamie was in Ron’s boat for the better part of the day so I didn’t get to take any images of his fish. But once he was back in Casey’s boat he landed this angry pickerel.

Jamie’s First Chain Pickerel Once Ron Returned Him

I think Jamie landed another 7-10 pickerel and one perch once he was back in Casey’s boat.

It’s so much fun getting out like that. Great to have met Ron although I didn’t get much of a chance to talk as our boats headed in different directions for the day and only met up to brag about our catch.

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