desmobob

It hit 91˚ here today, smashing the old record of 82˚. 😲 If the ice isn't off all the ponds in the hills by this weekend, I'd be pretty surprised!

👍 My favorite small lake for bass is still iced in. Probably will open up by the end of this week...

My boat is still covered up in the yard! I'll probably be doing a couple of weeks of float tube fly fishing in Lake George before I launch the boat in Lake Champlain for bass fishing. Sometimes I don't get out bass fishing until I'm back from an annual Spring Cape Cod striper fishing trip in May. Great idea for a regional report thread for our area! I'll be pleased to participate. Bob

I have that reel and I enjoy it a lot. Like previously mentioned, be sure your spool isn't over-filled. I use 5'10" and 6' UL rods with it. Maybe the L rod is contributing to the issue?

SEVERAL years. Easy.

I fill it every time and I never let it get below 1/2 full (and rarely let it get that low) unless I'm on a highway road trip.

I used to do a lot of bicycling. In those circles, coffee/caffeine is known as the ultimate legal performance drug. Every so often, I try decaf but just can't be happy with the flavor. What brand do you like? Sometimes, if I want a cup later in the day, I'll fire up my espresso machine. 😍 (There's really not too much caffeine in the very small serving.)

The first thing I do in the morning is put on a six-cup pot of 1/2-caffeinated coffee. That fills up my small Yeti tumbler twice and keeps my doctor from complaining too much.

I launch at the southern end of Lake Champlain (NY/VT). I could possibly be 120 miles from the boat launch, but I'll always be within a mile or two of shore. 🙂

Exactly. I had never even considered trying to do it while out in open water. I always figured I'd head to shore and stand in shallow water to change it.

I've been carrying a spare prop (and one for the trolling motor) and plastic prop wrench for years. Haven't had to use it yet. But one time, after changing a prop at home, I added a small 2x4 block to the boat's tool kit... it was needed to jam/stop the prop so the nut can be loosened.

This was open water yesterday...

We bottomed out at -16˚F. Nearby Glens Falls (which is south of me) hit -22˚F, according to the National Weather Service webpages. It's supposed to be single digits today, but then back up into the high thirties all next week. We've had a very warm winter. Last night was our first below-zero weather for the season.

I've winter camped in New Hampshire's White Mountains before (snowshoe backpacking in Lincoln Woods) and I'm glad I'm not there now! Currently -14˚F at my location with winds gusting to 31 MPH; forecasted to hit -17˚F before starting back up into the positive single digits as tomorrow's high temp. 🥶 Every time the furnace kicks on, I hear my supply of $5/gallon heating fuel going up in smoke... ☹️