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3/31/2017Well, it's finally officially here. End of the season 2017. (for Lake Trout)Always seems like a short season but i'm amazed at how much fun, great times and awesome memories we can pack into a season so short. Great seeing everyone, like a big family reunion. With any big family reunion there is always something going on to keep us entertained. Some good, some bad, some happy and some sad but always some thing. I come back every weekend just to see what that some thing brings.We increased the size of the Circus this season (as we do each year) and welcomed / made some new friends that have the right attitude. Keeps getting bigger and better and no one got hurt. All came on and all came off, no one left behind.CH beat me this season by 3 lakers. She ended up with 24 and 21 for me. I tried to catch up but Couldn't produce. Fell short, Peter'd out, "It's never happened to me before", etc etc.. whatever my excuse....All season she held the lead where i even had to take a few extra days off trying to take the lead. The student has become the master....or something like that. Thanks everyone who read through this thread and watched the videos as a peek inside what some of the shenanigans and camaraderie happens on one of the Cleanest if not the cleanest lake in New Hampshire. Thank you to those that posted up and commented, gave reports, updates and asked questions. I hope you found this thread helpful in some way if not just simply entertaining like i do. I am very fortunate to live so close to Newfound and be surrounded by a quality of life and good folks that some have to drive miles to enjoy. Lastly, I especially want to thank all the Newfound Circus Members. You absolutely prove that we can live in peace. Imagine. Cheers.Jiggin.ps: I'll continue to post up Newfound Circus Season 2017 videos on here as i make them.
So after having it for a full ice fishing season, how did the new ride stack up?Looks like it was ripping through the snow without issue...Thanks for the video..
Good and Bad actually. Good: I used it in all conditions this season and it did not let me down. In deep slush, it didn't go fast (around 7 mph) but it didn't stop either. Normally it will go around 15 - 25 mph depending on conditions but honestly that's too fast with no suspension. It's better to just take your time and go.It pulled my house without any issues but of course i make sure conditions were right for pulling the house. Plenty of room inside for all my gear and wife. Didn't need to use a tow sled but only a couple of times which was nice, not filling up a sled with slush or snow as added weight. It was very warm inside, some advise that Adrien gave me a couple of years ago was to not get the heater. He was absolutely right. The engine generates enough heat that for most of the winter i didn't put on a coat while inside. It was nice to not have to dress all up in full winter gear to go to and from the bob house. CH felt a lot more comfortable and safe in it as well. The Bad:I didn't really use my wheeler nor snowmobile but only a few times this season even though i registered both. Not sure what i'll do next season in terms of registration. For sure the Argo but the other 2.....not sure. Maybe as needed i will. You don't go fast like a mentioned above but as we are getting older, it's probably better to go slow and steady anyways.When i got it, Green Ghost asked me why did i buy that?!?! A little confused by his question at the time. He mentioned that everybody will be asking for help to move their bob houses now that they know this is on the lake. He was dead on. I don't mind helping others however when i was asked it was usually in not ideal moving conditions by others. I need to learn to say NO or wait until things get better. I ended up smoking a belt and turns out they aren't cheap.It's big to trailer and requires more room for parking. I have a parking spot at Wellington so it wasn't an issue. No suspension like a wheeler or snowmobile but with balloon tires, it wasn't too bad.No door, you have to climb in and out. After a few times, you develop a system for climbing in and out plus it gives me an opportunity to check out CH's back side.... so i guess this should be under the "Good".Modification:I have some modifications to make to it this season. The auger rack i put on the front was too much weight bouncing around and ended up braking the bracket that holds the front brush guard on the Argo. Im glad I did in a weird way because it was an after market front brush guard. The winch on the front is interchangeable so it can be hooked up to the rear of the Argo however with the front brush guard, i wasn't able to remove the winch. The brush guard supports were in the way of removing the winch. Glad i was never in a situation where i had to use the winch on the back. I like the brush guard for a couple of reasons, for the super bright LED lights and for easy access to my chisel. I am planning to modify the brush guard and put it back on this summer. Right now i have it off.I'll need to come up with another way or place perhaps to mount my auger. Luckily i have a couple of friends that are very good welders. Thats another project for this summer. I would love to put a hard top / sides on this Argo but being warned about being tipsy should it go into the water i.e.: top heavy. The canopy works very well and no issues but eventually it will tear or get worn. Something to think about in the future. I plan to take it to Vermont soon for service work and see what that brings. I at the least need a new belt.So all in all, i would say it was a great investment for CH and I. We are both glad we had the opportunity to get it and plan to take care of it so it will last hopefully our life time.
Thanks for the write up - makes perfect sense and not surprised you were everyone's go to guy... as the leader of the circus.It's hard to say no to friends, but when it is just a matter of convenience and them not being in a jam, its is something that you should be able to say and they should respect without question.Glad it worked out for you and you were happy.... and we had ice for you to use it on this season.Mowbizz good luck with your purchase... if you make it.DennisP.S. I was at Sam's today and they had a 3 pack of Motorola Two way radios (https://www.samsclub.com/sams/motorola-3pk-2-way-t261tp/prod20601566.ip?xid=plp1120123-elec:product:1:2) for $50.00.... Just figured I'd mention it in case it was a good deal and there were any circus members looking to add to their collection.
That's great! How much more footage do you have to process from this winter? I love seeing the videos keep them coming
Any pictures and or video from the gathering?Thanks
Jiggin thank you for posting all the video episodes. You have become very skilled at flying your drone.Steve