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| The Village of Lake Placid and Adirondack High Peaks |
So far this spring, I have experienced two constants.
Since trout season opened on April 1st, I
have been fishless on some of the best streams in New York:
·
Spring Creek, south of Rochester and one
of the first streams in America stocked with brown trout? No fish.
·
The West Branch of the Ausable, a trophy
trout stream flowing from the Adirondack High Peaks past Lake Placid? No fish.
·
Ten Mile Creek, a small stream in southern
Albany County said to have inspired Roy Ovington’s Tactics on Trout? No fish.
·
And so on for several other streams within
a stone’s throw of Albany.
The positive constant has been L. L. Bean, which has a
store in Colonie Center, in suburban Albany.
Last fall, I bought an Angler II rod and reel package
at Bean. The package includes an eight
foot rod and a reel loaded with backing, a six-weight line and a 3x leader,
costing less than $80.
The reel is set up for right-handers. For several months, I fished the rod with an
Orvis reel that was a family gift. But
then, I wanted to see how the Angler reel and rod worked together.
Yesterday, I went back to the store, hoping for help
in reversing the reel. Readers of this
blog may recall the mess I made when I tried to reverse a right-handed
saltwater reel that my friend Seymour gave me, so it was unsettling to face
this situation again.
There was no need to worry. Bean has a strong customer service guarantee
and knowledgeable staff - - even though they are a big store with a varied
product inventory.
Bill, a store salesman who specializes in tackle and
enjoys fishing himself, congenially and capably reversed the reel. With the skill of a surgeon, he took the reel
apart and flipped over a part that reversed the drag. Then, he used a machine to remove the backing,
fly line and tippet and replace it in the direction needed for a left hander.
When I took the line and backing off the saltwater
reel, it took a week to untangle and I had to cut a large clot of backing that
was hopelessly tangled. Bill got the
entire job done in under 15 minutes. If the store was not close by, Bean offers an angler help line at 800-347-4552, which the website said would help a person reverse the reel.
Whether or not the fishing improves is anyone’s
guess. Even though New York does not have
the problems that California has, it’s been dry and there has already been a big
forest fire in the Shawangunk Mountains south of the Catskills.
Until - - or if - - the fishing improves, I’ve got the
confidence to fish well, thanks to the product quality and service at L. L.
Bean!
