9:45 on a Tuesday..

[mealworm]

Morning folks! Had interweb issues last couple of days.wife and I been shop g and making some important purchases for our business have to do a few errands this morning into nearly afternoon then I think we may try to squeeze in an evening walleye trip tonite and maybe tmrw nite then if the stars align we may try for some nite crappies this week as well.
Eddie have fun with facials today hope u can get a few more ice trips in before ice turns crap
WS sorry to hear about the climber guy falling back into the bottle,I know a few fellas that can't seem to put down the bottle also.addiction is a tough disease and even more tough to understand.
Dom nice fish pics glad u got into some hungry fish love these late winter sunburns.how's the green houses coming?
WW hope u can get a few more trips and I hope the fishing turns on for ya so u can really fill up the freezer.
Capt. Only 15 more treatments to go congrats.that bbq sounded like a great time.have fun in the wood shop. R u building any rods?
IFF deff sounds like a new part time job may be in ur future or maybe say heck with it and go fishing.sounds like the boat is coming along nicely hope open water goes better for u than ice season did.

Well gonna get motivated here ginger to do a few property maintenance quotes and get those delivered  this morning while we are out and about.have a great day all good luck and tight lines to all those fishing today

[Whopper Stopper]

Good Morning Eddie, MW! Good Morning Everyone

Hope you all had a good weekend, a long one for some

Warm, warm, and warmer here. One more 60 and then we take a slight dive into the 20's by Thursday, with a couple of nights being low teens. Yesterday we ended up with almost a half inch of rain which really messed up the lakes. I talked to a guy on the lake where I went walleye fishing and he said in places there was 9" of water on top of the ice.

I am not sure when we will get going full time Eddie. So far the 3 kids are keeping up on what's trickled in by working 2-3 days a week. It could easily be a month yet. Now the road restrictions are on due to the early mild warm weather, so even if we had a big job we couldn't drive the trucks to it

Good luck if you make it out MW I don't know when or if I will be going out anymore. I have a couple more jobs to look at and a couple to get done. I have to start working on a box for my little dump trailer so it is ready to chip into. I have been fighting between metal or wood. Wood is winning because of price, I am supposed to be winding down on side jobs

Good going on # 30 Capt!

Good luck if you get out WW. Nice looking fish you have been catching

If you have a chance to make it out fishing Good Luck! As always, keep safe!

              WS

[Capt.Jim-N.J.]

Good Morning, W.S., Gang

33* going to close to 55* by days end, clear, no breeze

M.W. - No, nothing with the rod building yet, of any major design or consequence anyway, big lathe is down again with a bad power switch, ordered from shopsmith, due in this
     week, some customers calling for work, so been playing with that, been doing some prep. work for the birdhouses outside with the 'beautiful' weather, still trying to figure
     out something for warming before coating the rods, little bit of back burner right now, on simmer at the moment

W.S. - Most everyone here has used wood to enclose trailers for leaves, chippings, just make sure that you make it easy to remove by yourself when you need the trailer open

More after treatment, later

Stay Warm - Be Safe - Have Fun - Records & limits - Get Well Soon, Time's A'wasting

[Old Goat]

Good morning ER's hope everyone is doing well.Just saw the deep frying perch thread now I'm hungry better make breakfast. Captain good food over the weekend and congrats on 30 done.

[IFF]

Good Morning, 53* at 4:00 AM, think it will top out at around 70* then same as Marv saying dipping back into some ice making temps.  Wow 9" of water on top  for sure.  Looking ahead to March 1st boat ramps might not open with air temps to be 26-28* as sun comes up and not warm past 30 till 10-11AM again  ramp could be pretty icy from trailers coming out of the water, making it difficult for the next in line.  Think I would be dressed for going ice fishing, might just have to stay on shore. Will just have to wait and see.  Noticed gas prices creeping up again another $.10 hike in the last couple days

Without at least a part time job, will have to do like OS and really tighten the belt, and curb expenses yet again.  So much for the Golden Years. 

#31 coming up Capt, your on the down hill slide sure hope its going to turn out successful for you.

Good luck getting the small side job dealt with Marv.  Stay safe all

[tomturkey]

Just heard the rain start in. Looked at the radar and there is some heavy stuff coming.

WS I have an old HD Boat trailer that I turned into  a utility trailer. I messed with some jury rigged side boards for a while but finally went to Tractor Supply and bought brackets that fit a 2x4. I bolted those on the frame and made side boards out of some rough cut oak I had that are bolted to the 2x4 posts. A little heavy but not that bad as I seldom take them off. Treated 1/2 ply wood should do the job for your sides. Can you use some type of tarp that is not solid to stretch across the top like they use over dump trucks.

WW This back problem goes back to around 1970. I just pulled a muscle and it straightened out the next day. I have lived with it all these years. The last day I worked before filing for disability it was so bad I crawled to the truck after opening a cottage for the summer. I decided right then enough was enough. Having the documentation I had, my SS Disability went right through. It is aggravating not being able to do things I used to do.

[perch chacer]

Just took a look at the temp. (61 F) in WNY at 4:00 pm.  The snow is gone the ice is soft, so I think I'll look for antler drops this weekend.

[wallyworld]

Evening all,
Just got home from another day on the lake.....brought home another dozen perch. Ice is holding up pretty good, but tomorrow will most likely be the end for us. No point in pushing things after a couple 60* days with rain.
Raquette....no we tend to stay away from the lakes on holidays, weekends & tournament days, too many  people around 
TT....back issues certainly can limit what you're able to do    sorry you have to deal with it.
WS.....that's a LOT of water to be on top of the ice, best you can hope for is a serious cold spell 
IFF....good luck if you decide to go job hunting. It is sad that people need to work after retirement to cover living costs that keep getting higher 
MW....hope you got out fishing tonite and found some hungry fishies 
Eddie....it has definitely been a crazy winter, seems that it's getting to be the norm tho    makes you wonder how many more years till we have only 3 seasons 
Have a good night. Stay safe.

[Old Goat]

wtg on the perch WW     WS I've never heard of that much water on the ice why was it not draining into open holes?

[masoneddie]

Good Morning Everyone,
Happy Hump Day!   
Calm and 34* this am, expecting a high of 52 here today they say.
Think I saw Mr.C in the hallway, morning Steve! Looking forward to your post...

  OG...how's the ice holding up in your neck of the woods?
  Wally...congrats on another perch outing! Hope you and Mr. Wally land on a nice school of jumbo's today! 
  PC...good luck with your shed hunting this weekend!
  Tom..I feel for ya with the back problems. Many guys I know in my trade with similar problems and horrifying stories, its sad to see and hear about. Hope you're feeling good today!
  Bud...best wishes in your job hunting, that sucks with Gander cutting back your hours. Hope you find what you're looking for.   
  Capt...hope yesterday's treatment went well and today's also Sir! Closing in on Friday again...
  Marv...what's the road restriction all about on the trucks? Not familiar with that at all. Sounds awful treacherous on the lakes there with all that water, wow! I've never seen that much standing water on the ice aside from a boat launch area. Good luck with the side jobs and trailer! 
  MW..hope you had good trip last night if you got out, and hope the stars aligned up properly for your next trips!
Haven't seen your Dad on lately...hoping it's just a computer problem....give him our best! Like hearing you're investing into your business...continued success!   

Pretty routine day again yesterday, not much to report, it was busy with everyone coming back from their vacations.
Cell phone usage by a few while on the job is way out of control...it's actually absurd. Short of going into a rant, I'll just leave it right there. Believe  " absurd " will be a good word of the day today....it fits perfectly by definition, and as an added example, perhaps cell phone could be incorporated... . Glad I'm not the foreman...or they should be I guess.
Well, time to get ready for 8 more....cawfee's on!
Have a great day all, be safe, best of luck to those fishing!

[mr.clean]

Good morning early risers . I slept in on presidents day so never got out fishing looks like the season is over in my part of NY.
RD-Wallyworld congrats on the fish .
IFF sounds like your boat is about ready for the open water season. Have you spoken with management at your store about not be scheduled to work? It seems like they have forgotten all the hours you put in helping close one store and open the new one. Do you have any type of Seniority program or union at Gander Mountain?
Whopper Stopper glad you had a good trip to the shack. Think you will find shed antlers when your out doing something else in the woods. Best with all the side jobs.
Ice Wanderer were you able to get son in law out fishing? How is the wife's recovery going ,has she started any physical therapy yet.
Mealworm did you get a fishing trip in this weekend /
Mr.Turkey hope your back is feeling better.
Capt. Jim sounds like everyone had a goodtime at barbecue . All the best with your remaining treatments.
Eddie how was the family brunch ? Hope your son's shoulder is healing well and therapy helping with recovery. Morning Eddie see you beat me posting this morning.

 Everyone have a safe and good "Hump Day" . To all going fishing keep a watch on ice conditions .
Steve

[Old Goat]

Good Morning ER's  I see Mr. Clean and Mason are in the shop. Clean did  you get out? Mason the temp here should set a all time record for Feb and the ice has taken a beating. There were a few still out a couple days ago not sure if that's the case anymore. Might try some open water to get rid of my black and white tail dragging behind me not to mention that god awful smell.

[Whopper Stopper]

Good Morning OG, Eddie, mr .clean! Good Morning Everyone

OG, not sure of all the particulars on the lake I was talking about. I am sure some of it was because the lake is 132,500 acres. The guy said there were a lot of vehicles out during the 1"+ rain, and the ice was soft causing it to have a dish effect to it. It also had a good snow cover yet so when the temps reached 60 there was a lot of melting besides the rain. He said when you bored a hole it was like flushing a toilet as the water went down, he didn't stick around very long. Our area lakes have water on top, but only in the 1"-2" range.

Eddie the State every spring enforces load limits on highways and city streets. This is based on the frost coming out of the ground protecting them from heavy loads. This is extremely early which is better for us being things are slow. We need highways with a 9 ton per axle rating to be legal. Where we get into trouble is when we venture off the safe posted roads and work our way onto the secondary roads and city streets. Some roads are 7 ton which we push all the time, but city residential streets are usually 5 ton roads which could set you up for a huge fine per each truck. My boss fights it all the time but other than venting, there is nothing you can do. Either risk it or wait out the 6-8 week duration.

Good luck today Capt! Hump day already 

Good going on your latest outing WW

Good luck to all fishing Stay safe everybody!

[ICE WANDERER]

                        Good morning ER's,
                                 Well it's Hump Day, so the week will be  half gone at days end. It's 28* here on my hill with
                        warmer temps in the forecast and some rain. I haven't posted for two days because I've been leaving
                        early to get some time on Lake George before the ice goes to crap! I'm sorry I don't have any pictures
                        to post. the fish I caught weren't anything to brag about. We were on the hunt for some Salmon but
                        caught some small Lakers instead. I should be out this morning but I have house work to catch up on!
                                 Marv.......This winter sure has been a strange one with the temps see sawing up and down all
                        over the place. Your a lucky guy to have a wife and sister in law that are in to your hunting, fishing and
                        even enjoys firearms as much as you do! We have the same road closures here, they post signs on the
                        secondary roads that aren't built to stand up to the thawing in the spring. The restriction is no vehicles
                        over 6 tons allowed!
                                 Wally.......Nice job on the Perch!
                                 Capt.........I'm glad to hear that your treatment end is nearing, and that you are handling them
                        with little discomfort!
                                 Steve......My wife is recovering slowly, she still is in some pain and if she has her leg down to long
                        the swelling gets bad! Last night her son and granddaughter and myself took her out to dinner, it's the first
                        venture out of the house other than doctors appointment. I was suppose to take her shopping last Friday but
                        she chickened out.
                                 Bud.......What's with Gander Mountain, first they build a new store, now the cut your hours?
                                 I hope everyone has a good Wednesday either at work or out fishing and the gremlins don't get in to
                        your computers!

                        IW

[Capt.Jim-N.J.]

Good Morning, I.W. - E.R.'s

40* going to 50* for the high, cloudy, no breeze, some sun for the afternoon

O.G. - Time for the 'fish dance', drastic measures for sure

I.W. - Did you get out?

Mason - Some contractors here have told their people to leave the cellphone in the truck while working, or go home, plain and simple - How is Steve doing with P.T.?

T.T. - Back problems aren't any fun at all, now it takes 3 to 4 times as long to do things, if at all

Mrs. W.W. - Nice going with the perch, yes the ice is now getting 'dangerous', Lk. Hopatcong, N.N.J., had a rescue on Sunday, he made it, Thank You police & ems

Clean - How goes the battle for peace, justice & the American way ?

I.F.F. - did the caulking ever set up? - When we have too much idle time, trouble always seems to find us

Nothing good or bad for today, treatment in a little bit, pickup some fence sections to replace for a customer tomorrow, play in the shop

I'll check back after lunch this afternoon

Stay Warm - Be Safe - Have Fun - Records & Limits - Get Well Soon - Time's A'Wastin

Morning, W.S., can't forget you

[IFF]

Good Morning ER's Steve, Marv, OG 47* this is the last of the 60's days then will turn colder with snow in the forecast Thursday, Friday.  Yes, they say all the scheduling is done by the new computer program.  Sad to say a mention of having a workers Union would get you run right out the door.  Another thing is they want as few full time employees as possible.
Seeing how the Ice Fishing season is at its end, the fishing departments hours for staff has been cut to 30 hours for the week.  Leaving the department Manager having to cover other areas to get his 40 hours in.  I put a fresh coat of sealer on my oak wood in the boat, hope its dry come daylight, all that's left is hanging some holders for ropes I keep on the boat for emergency's and final vacuum and get the cover on before it snows.

What was surprising is letting the Firearms manager go. that's there big selling department.  Not sure how many staff have been moved from the other store that just closed 
See Jeff and Capt has checked in while I am pecking away, Can't remember if I mentioned how many associates have moved on.  know half of my department are no longer there as well as 6-8 from the other departments (Firearms/Hunting, Camping, Clothing)

Edit:  To answer Capt, no on the silicone setting up, cleaned it all off with paint thinner and got new applied, its already set 

[mealworm]

Morning every 1!! Well the family and I did make it out ladt nite,got to the lake a little late bout 530 took awhile to get set up in the dark we got 2 rock bass  then called it quits at about 9.
WS I was just saying I bet they post our roads soon too,around here when they post roads u can drive on them with big trucks from I think 4am to 11am by permit only PIA is u need a permit for each posted rd u would travel on.

Eddie when I was foreman then superintendent at the trenchless job cell phones were a real bother,my bosses wanted me to collect cell phones during work hrs I never did as sometimes our crew would be so spread out and if u needed to get ahold of a crew member also as much travel g we did guys needed there phones for the gps

IFF sorry to hear about gander,glad to hear the boat coming together nicely hope u have a great open water season

Mr clean made it out ladt nite as I said before gonna try for nite crappies tonite then walleyes again tmrw nite,wife and I kind of put things on hold to fish with the kids this week prolly it for us

Capt good luck with the fence job hope the wood working goes well for u

OG serms like that black and white tail with a nasty stench been following me around lately too hope  that changes tonite

WW congrats on the perch hope u and Mr WW both limit out today

PC good luck bone hunting

Well have a great day all and stay safe

[masoneddie]

Good Morning Everyone,
45* and calm this am, high of 64 predicted on the Hill today. Next couple of days not looking very healthy for the ice around here...
Early start this am, we'll be jack hammering out an art base in what would normally be a very busy area. Will catch up to all of you this afternoon!
Capt...best wishes on today's treatment Sir!
Cawfee's on...
Have a great day all, be safe, best of luck to those fishing....stay on top!

[IFF]

Good Morning Eddie, looks like your weather is like what I had yesterday.  Now looks like overnight temps for the next week will dip below freezing.  Almost put the finishing touches on my boat.  have 4 sonars  front back and in the middle .  Got to watch the Jayhawks win another big 12 Championship, there 13th straight.  Expecting a little rain tuning to snow this after noon.  Already got the cover back on the boat    Haven't caught up with the guessers as how much if any will be needing removal here in the city

Guess Dom, has put his ice gear way, and will be working on his green thumb.

By all means stay on top.

[IFF]

Good Morning Eddie, looks like your weather is like what I had yesterday.  Now looks like overnight temps for the next week will dip below freezing.  Almost put the finishing touches on my boat.  have 4 sonars  front back and in the middle .  Got to watch the Jayhawks win another big 12 Championship, there 13th straight.  Expecting a little rain tuning to snow this after noon.  Already got the cover back on the boat    Haven't caught up with the guessers as how much if any will be needing removal here in the city

Guess Dom, has put his ice gear way, and will be working on his green thumb.

See Steve heading down the hall, might as well pour him a cup. (_)p

By all means stay on top.

[mr.clean]

Good morning Eddie,IFF and early risers. Similar weather forecasted for my area of NY. as Eddie .
Eddie have fun with the jack hammers remember your safety glasses and hearing protection.
IFF you can leave the coffee for someone else to reheat in the microwave I prefer tea. Sounds like Gander Mountain is using similar business practices to my employer ,remodel or build new stores and then reduce employee hours. I no retail wants as few full time employees as possible and even uses the Affordable Care Act/Obama care as an excuse for reduce hours. I believe under the care act if you regularly work 28 hours per week for a certain amount of time employer has to classify you as a full time employee. So the cost of medical benefits come into the picture.  I don't understand how the executives overlook how reduced staff affects sales only budgeting 30 hours for a department at a new store makes no sense to me regardless of the time of year.  Hope things improve for you. Best wishes if you decide to seek other employment.
Mealworm glad you got a fishing trip in ,may you be able to get out a few more times before this season ends.
Ice Wanderer good to hear your wife is healing . Happy to hear you along with son in law and granddaughter got her out of the house.
Capt.Jim all the best with today's treatment. May the fence replacement be hassle free.
Old Goat I slept in on Monday by the time I got up and the drive to lake/lakes that still had good ice decided not to make the trip.
Whopper Stopper thanks for the explanation on road closures/restrictions . May all the side jobs be problem free.

Have a good Thursday everyone . Best to all fishing stay aware of the ice conditions.
Steve

[Whopper Stopper]

Good Morning Eddie, IFF. Good Morning Everyone

Yesterday when I went to bed the weather guessers were up in arms how we were all going to die as 12'-18" of snow was to dump on us by late Friday night. Wake up this morning and it appears that all the hype for the last 5 days has fizzled. Now we are supposed to get 2"- 3" and they all claim they were the only ones to down grade the hype Enough said, my new policy is to go back to the "Magic 8 Ball"

Hope you all have a good Thursday. If you get out on some ice "Best Of Luck"

Good Morning mr .clean! You slipped in while I was consulting the 8 ball.

                     WS

[mealworm]

Morning ER's!  yesterday was pretty uneventful,my daughter went over to IW house to play with my step brothers daughter,my wife and son and myself shoveled a deck then checked on the vacation cabin my wife manages as some guests checked out.we did get out to try for walleye again last nite got ty o the lake around 4 stayed toll about 830 then we left IW and my 2 brothers stayed longer hope the bite turned on after we left.we may try tonite for crappies but I'm not sure.today we are heading down to purchase some equipment for our bussiness then we may try for evening crappies or may just save myself the frustration and stay home idk latley not feeling that much into fishing and to be honest kinda wishing this winter would just end already hoping for 75° and green grass bugs and humidity.
Have a great day all

WS posted while I was typing, good morning sir !!

[ICE WANDERER]

              Good morning Eddie, Bud, Steve, ER's,
                      I see WS is in the hall way, he will probably post before I finish typing, good morning Marv!
                      Last night I went out Walleye fishing with MW and his family and my #'s 2 and 3 sons to see if we'd have
              better luck with more lines in the water! Well that didn't turn out the way we thought, there were several Pickerel
              and two Bullheads caught. The weather was good for us and plenty of ice, I think on this lake the shore line will
              go before the main lake will.
                      Steve......I'm sorry you didn't get out on some ice the other day, Have you been out at all! It must be kind
              of scary with the warm temps this year and those teens that fell through in Central Park, what were they thinking!
                      Bud......I hope your open water season is better than your ice season!
                      My fishing buddy Jon went to Lake George yesterday morning and caught 3 Salmon, Oh sure the day I don't
              go he nails them!
                     I hope everyone has a good Thursday either at work or out fishing!
             
               IW

[Old Goat]

Good Morning ER's  Thanks WS for the standing water explanation. Mr. Clean was hoping you would make it out and catch some. I tried open water to no avail add one more skunk (5 in a row) ice is gone on one lake here and it went in 48 hrs. keep it safe if your getting these warm temp. Captain glad your treatments will soon be done; keep up the great attitude. Go ahead send the fish dance video I'll try anything at this point. IW glad you made it out and enjoyed the ice and glad the Mrs. is getting better. Mason big win for the Orange taking down Duke. Bud good luck on Jayhawks 13 and a number 1 seed. The ncaa tourney will be wild this year. Have a good day all and stay off the ice if it's iffy. If it's good slam them and post a pic. I can't remember what they look like.

[IFF]

Heading for my morning "Nap" catching up on the local and national news makes my head spin. 

Just curious if anyone here votes by mail in ballots ?

[wallyworld]

Morning all,
Made it out yesterday for the final time    things were pretty slow but we kept at it and picked up 11 perch and 2 walleye
22" & 18" one on a tip up the other jigging Great way to end the season!!! The big girl was returned to the lake 
Got some errands to run today....will check in later.
Have a good day. Stay safe.

[tomturkey]

IFF  I vote absentee all of the time. The last time I voted in person the place was packed. A friend and I were standing together in line. We were looking around and of the 50 or so people we only knew two of them. That is when I went to absentee voting.   

Finally a day to home. We have been on the roads the last two days. It looks like I need to get out the chipmunk traps as two just ran across the deck. The fun begins.

[Raquettedacker]

Great fish wallyworld..   Congratulations...

[Whopper Stopper]

                   WS