Soft water fishing and cold weather

[eyefan]

Happy Easter Fellow Fishermen/Fisherwomen.

A group of us are fishing the rainy river 3/31 and 4/1.  We just saw that the infamous "Polar Vortex" will be making an appearance around that time.  Any recommendations to keep equipment from freezing?  Will boat motors be ok?  Anything to watch out for?

[Ballyhoo]

If you have an outboard, just make sure after you are out of the water, you put the motor back down so all of the water drains out of it.  If you leave the boat in the water, leave the motor trimmed down.  All of the water will drain out of the block.  It won't freeze below the water line.    If you have an inboard/outboard, trim the lower unit down to drain the water and you should be fine.  It doesn't look to be cold enough to hurt the engine.  With the insulated engine box, it typically needs to get below 0 to hurt the engine.  A buddy heater in the boat helps too.