I waited until Feb 24 to tap and was done by March 24. I made 84% of my expected yield on 50 taps. 10.5 gallons out of an expected 12.5. And it is really higher then 84% because about 8 if my 50 taps are reds and the 1 quart per tap does not apply to them.
I had as much sap or more then other years however my sugar content at the hole was 1% max on smaller sugars and 2% max on larger sugars. Red maples were below 1% or .5%. That is what left me then less with my EA of 12.5 gallons on 50 taps.
As I see it my patience to not tap early paid off again. I know of another sugar maker in Oakville, CT at a similiar long/lat also tapped in my window and ended up giving some of his sap away towards the end, as he put it he did not want to be "Greedy". Others who taped in CT in late Jan or early Feb I do not think were as happy with the results of there season, unless they re tapped. Taps sat in a frozen deadlock for three weeks in February with a few teaser days mixed in that only brought early aging to the tap hole.
The effects of threes weeks of freeze with teasers days mixed in on tap holes is untested and poorly researched. But the net effect of this on a tap hole can not be good in my opinion and this year bolsters my feeling on that frontier.
There was absolutely, positively, nothing about this season that will make me more prone to tap "early" next season.
If you think it's easy to make good money in maple syrup .... then your obviously good at stealing somebody's Maple Syrup.
Favorite Tree: Sugar Maple
Most Hated Animal: Sap Sucker
Most Loved Animal: Devon Rex Cat
Favorite Kingpin: Bruce Bascom
40 Sugar Maple Taps ... 23 in CT and 17 in NY .... 29 on gravity tubing and 11 on 5G buckets ... 2019 Totals 508 gallons of sap, 7 boils, 11.4 gallons of syrup.
1 Girlfriend that gives away all my syrup to her friends.