Are you looking for a great last minute gift idea for your fisherman (fisherwoman)?  How about
a gift certificate for a 2010 date on Lake Erie for walleye?  Give us a call today and we'll be sure
to work a deal that is great for you!

I got up this morning, kind of expecting rain, but fortunately it wasn't.  So I decided to get my waders, my
fly rod and hit the local Lake Erie tributary, not knowing if deer season and the holiday would increase
the pressure, or give me some space.   I really enjoy getting on to the streams every once in a while, but
I'm not the kind of fisherman that likes the close quarters you sometimes can get.

                                         

I drive past the first parking area...not too many guys, and get up to where I wanted to start.  Again, not
too many cars.   So I head upstream, and much to my surprise, the two pools I wanted to fish are
loaded with guys....they must have come downstream from the other parking area.   Darn!

But I had kicked a couple of fish on my way up, so I worked those for a while to no avail, and decided
to try one other spot.   Get there...not a soul around...perfect....and see a few fish in there.  In the meantime,
I needed to change my leader, and another angler I've known for years was making his way up, carrying a
couple of nice fish.   We chatted for a bit, and he gave me a sucker spawn fly to try.  Wouldn't you know, several
casts later I hooked into a nice fresh steelie, 'tween 7-8lbs.  After a brief battle he was gone.  Thanks Bill!

Fished a bit longer with no other takers, then decided it was time to grab a Tim Horton's coffee, make my way
home and get ready to head to my mother in law's for turkey!  

I hope you all had a Happy Thanksgiving, and I hope you didn't eat too much!

With the really nice weather we've been having the last 2 weeks, we've continued to shoot over to Long
Point on Chautauqua Lake to do some perch fishing.  Each time over, we've landed a lot of fish, keeping
only those that we need for a meal and releasing the rest.   Our best so far was last Wednesday, with my
son; my regular first mate Gary and his daughter, where we easily had over 200 fish between the 4 of us in
under 3 hours.  Literally as fast as your bait hit the water you had a fish on.  Size seems to vary depending
on the day, but we have had some really nice ones too.

We've continued to use the panfish worms from Walmart, on a #6 hook, with a couple of split shot and
a float.  Simpy rig, on light rods.  And a blast for the kids!

Personally, I'd rather be cleaning walleye than perch, but hey, they taste pretty darn good too!


                                 

 

Sunday (11/1), headed back over to Long Point on Chautauqua Lake with my son to see if we could
get into the perch again.  This time from shore.   Got there at 11 a.m.; quit when he got cold at 1 p.m.
Landed between 120-130 perch; including a couple of nice "jacks".   Panfish worms and float combo
again, this time casting distance from shore.   Ended up keeping enough for dinner, and released the
rest.



Tuesday (11/3); headed up to hit some Lake Ontario tributaries with my friend Capt. Bud (Alibi) on our
annual election day "tour".

Left at 4 am; and were standing in 18 mile creek to get a spot well before sun-up.  Sparse crowd to start
and we were able to get set up on a nice run just under the trestle.  Early fishing was really pretty good.
I got a king pushing 20lbs, and 5-6 lb fresh steelie, and a 7lb brown, plus broke off a king on one
of Bud's hookups.   Had a few other pickups too.  Bud did much better, landing 6 browns, a coho
and a spent king.

Then the fun began with the arrival of a lot more anglers.  While some were cordial, there were quite
a few that literally worked their way right into the waters we've been fishing all morning, some went across
to do the same, so that you had to time your cast with theirs so you did not tangle.   After Bud had a fish move
downstream, one of our "fellow anglers" promptly took over his spot!   I hate to lump all of the guys
there into one category, as there were many that moved out of the way if you hooked up, etc, BUT there
were more than a couple  "anglers" that don't seem to care about anyone but themselves.   Its a shame
as it was a great start to the day up until then.

SO we moved...east to Johnson's Creek.  Not much happening there, although Bud hooked up twice, 
so we moved again, this time to the archer's hole on Oak Orchard.   Not to much happening there either.

Time to head back, but since we were in the neighborhood, Bud and I stopped in to grab a bite and 
a beverage at the Black North Inn.  My lucky day, as Steve had my favorite soup (Cajun Chicken) on the
menu.  Great to see you guys again!

Overall, a really nice weather day (we didn't get the rain/snow until the way home), Bud and I got to
travel around a bit and hang out, we hooked some fish and got to stop for a bit at one of our favorite
places!   Ain't all bad!! 

Headed over to Chautauqua Lake today with my son, and my brother to see if we could hook into the
perch like we had over Columbus Day weekend.   Got to Long Point State Park about 10:45; fishing
by 11:00 a.m.

We landed between 130-140 perch between the 3 of us from 11 a.m. to 2 pm.  Panfish worms
on a #6 hook on a 3-4 foot drop below the float worked for us.  Got most right at the drop off along
Long Point, 15 fow.

They were running smaller than last time for the most part, but I'd say 25% of our catch was in
the 10 inch range.   My son even caught 4 at the dock while we got the boat out of the water.


                            
                                                              (Note: PFD off for photo)

I'm kinda of a fan of stickers and decals for the companies that we pro-staff for and use on a regular
basis, as anyone who has seen my truck's rear window can attest.   But, I've been thinking of making
a change, and getting a nice big "Times Two" logo.

Turns out that there is a guy that works at the same place I do, that does vinyl graphics on the side
for fun...so we gave him a shot!   I really wanted to include an outline of the border of the Great
Lakes, as that has been on my main logo since Day 1; but we opted for a simpler design..that I think
came out great!

                      

If anyone reading this needs some graphic work, at very reasonable prices, let me know and I
can get the contact information to you.

And don't forget....for fishing line, we can get you 15% off an Gamma Line order with our
special code....drop me an email, and I'll hook you up!

John

Well, my brother rented a cottage over on Chautauqua Lake for the Columbus Day weekend, so I decided
to take my son, and meet up with my brother and long-time Times Two crew, Doug.   Jack and I got up
there mid-afternoon Saturday, and got my little boat right in the water and headed south.   Once we got
tucked in behind Long Point to get out of the wind, we boated 30 perch in about and hour.  Kept a few,
but released most.

Went back again Sunday morning, boated over 100 fish in 3 hours...awesome action for the little guy..
and kept a few more....

Monday, decided to take a walk on a local trib, not much water and no fish.   I had to shoot over to Erie
to work on a boat, but Marty, one of our regular mates, took his son and my son to a different spot and
ended up getting them hooked onto a few Lake Erie steelhead.





Hopefully the cold coming up this weekend won't kill this great fall fishing!

By the way, if you'd like try your luck for a steelhead like the one Jack is holding, be sure to check out
Marty at www.canadawaycreekoutfitters.com!

Every year about this time, I get nervous every time I see the marine forecast.  I know that we are just
pushing that envelope a bit with Mother Nature to try to get that one last day in....and this year was no
exception!   We, along with several of our friends, spent a very nervous late Sunday, Monday and Tuesday
checking and rechecking our lines, as Lake Erie was pushing 14+ foot waves behind gale force winds.
Fortunately, we came thru with no damage, and only the remaining question is, how did one of my nets
that was laying along the port rail, ended up in the water on the starboard side.....hmmm!

I generally try to keep the boat in long enough to take advantage of the 3 day Columbus weekend (last
year was flat all 3 days!), but yesterday morning I took a look at the forecast for the week, the falling temps
and winds and decided that maybe it  "was time".   A quick call to my friend Marty for some assistance,
and we had her out of the water for the season.   And today, I talked to the place we store her and managed
to put her to bed before the afternoon rains came..... the saddest day of the year for boaters.....


                           

But, despite the very up and down fishing this year, we had another great year!   We had some really great
people on board again, and the regular crew was as fun as usual.  Throw in the trips up north, and to 
Lake Ontario, and I guess I really have nothing to complain about......    Well, maybe just one thing: We
need to learn how to master the art of a successful Day 2 in these tournaments!

In the shameless "plug" section, this was our first year running exclusively Okuma Convector reels and
Blue Diamond rods, which were awesome!  This was our third year with Power Pro Braided line on some 
of our setups, and in 2009 we added a couple of Okuma setups with braid for our big slide divers.  I liked
those so much I hardly ran our wire rigs!

We also changed over our mono and flourocarbon to feature all GAMMA line, which also was great!  (Note:
If anyone is interested in further information about GAMMA and a discount for on-line orders, drop me an email).  
And finally, last but not least, we were added to the Dreamweaver Lures Pro-staff in 2009, and can honestly tell
you that we liked the WD's and Super Slims so much that by the end of the year that's pretty much all we ran.

There's still some fishing left before winter sets in on the local tributaries...time to get those waders out....and
I'm sure there will be other items of interest along the way.    Feel free to stop back from time to time.

We SINCERELY APPRECIATE the business we had this year, and hope you all enjoyed your day(s) on the lake
with us.   Hopefully, we'll see you again soon!

John


  

Well, Mother Nature threw northeast winds at us the last week or so, and successfully knocked out
my last three charters of the year.  One of the most stressful parts of running charters is trying to figure
out if the forecast is accurate, and deciding when to make the call to cancel.  On the one hand,
how many times have they been wrong, but at the same time, you want to try to make sure your clients
have a chance to change plans, cancel hotels, etc.....

Anyway, today was CALM, so my son and I took a shot offshore.   We fished about 2 hrs before his attention
span waned, and boxed 1 nice 28" walleye.  Lots of bait, but not a lot of fish moving on it.   165 on the slide
diver, mag ring with a copper turtle watermelon harness.  VHF sounded SLOW......

                                  

The boat is in for a few more weeks yet...weather permitting....so hopefully we'll have a chance to find a
few more 'eyes.....

So today was my birthday....    For as long as I can remember, it never is really that big of a deal.   I don't
like the attention or the fuss, and am at a stage in my life that it can just come and go quietly and that's
ok.  My only little thing....that I try to do every year...is to look at the clock at the time I was born.  I know,
a bit odd, but hey...if that's my birthday thing...so be it....

So work has been really hectic, and today was no exception, and on top of that I'm monitoring the wind
and wave forecast the last couple of days, as I have charters the next 3 days to finish out this season,
and of course the forecast is bad..... and I don't want to cancel the guys too soon...but they are coming in
early and it looks like it will be rolling at best......so I finally make that call, and second guess that the rest
of the day....

But then I'm thinking....we had a really nice man on the boat the other day who was going in for a potentially
serious medical procedure the next day, and although we didn't get a lot of fish, he seemed to have a good
time with his group and with us; and then I had a group call for information later that evening, and when I
returned the call the next day, found out they weren't going to be able to book a day because one of the guys
had a heart attack between their call to me, and mine to them...

and I'm thinking... you know what, I got up today and was breathing, and even though I had to cancel the charter
(for which I always feel bad for the people), the boat's going to be in for a few more weeks so there will be a few
more days yet...and my wife and son took me out to dinner for my birthday, and got me some Guiness and a
Tim Horton's card for tomorrow morning's coffee....and our good friend Sean McGraw did sing Happy Birthday
to me during his show on Sunday at the Merritt Winery Fall Festival.....

so I guess compared to how it could be....things are pretty good.....