CAPTAINS JOURNAL.TIMESTWOCHARTERS.COM

Getting her ready.....

Capt. John — Sun, 20 May 2012 01:37:14 GMT

Even though we got a jump start on the season this year in Wilson, we pretty much
pulled Times Two out of storage and hit the road.    (Note to self....gotta do the Wilson
thing again!).



Spent the bulk of yesterday getting two coats of wax on, finished most
of that up today. Hope to have the remainder done tomorrow. Also applied
new VC-17 on the bottow today.

Planning on having her in the water within the next two weeks.   Time to
find some walleye!

Chautauqua Lake May 12/13

Capt. John — Tue, 15 May 2012 02:28:17 GMT

Headed over Friday night after baseball for the weekend with my son, my brother , and
Doug to do some perch fishing on Chautauqua Lake.   Unfortunately, they weren't as
cooperative as we had hoped, but the big sunfish sure were hitting!



Ended up with a mixed bag of panfish...rock bass, perch and sunfish.  We
fished from the Institute on up, spinning rods and worms in 10 feet of water
or so.   Great action if you want to keep your kids busy.

We did manage to save a few to have as "surf and turf" Saturday night, and
the weather was beautiful!   Not to hard to take.....



Next up....time to get a couple of coats of wax on "Times Two"!

Wilson!

Capt. John — Tue, 08 May 2012 02:47:08 GMT

Just back from a few days salmon fishing out of Wilson NY.   Wow, really not much more you
could say.   This trip was the first time in at least 5 years that we've been able to string together
a bunch of days, and it was worth the wait!

We ended up with a slip in Wilson, in "Little Dunkirk", with Capt. Bud (Alibi); Capt Dan and Capt
Paul (Fortune); Capt. Dan and Ron (Sea Cin); Capt. Dana and Capt. Chuck (Mojo) and Jeff (Splitshot).

Too bad we don't have slips altogether like that here at home!

My brother found a place for us in Olcott, with a great view overlooking the harbor in Olcott.



Fishing was great for our group consisting (at various times of) Capt. Gary (Kongo); Capt. Tom; Jack and Mark.







We did have a blow off day one day, and everybody just hung out all day cleaning the boats, taking
lures, having a few beverages, etc, etc..... that was a lot of fun too!

Jeff and Jack got into dipping minnows, which Jack promptly used to put a hurting on the perch
that were hanging around the docks!



Finished up with a very good morning yesterday.   Would have been over the top if we
could have gotten the diver bite going!

It was really hard to leave, as the trip was really great!   But we'll be back......

                                                           ***

For us it was a 4 rod set, 2 riggers and 2 divers.   Love the Siggs Rigs on the spin doctors
(white/white)!   The 42 second spoon in a DW Super Slim was hot for us, as was an older
ultra glow Fishlander NBK. 85-125 fow, for the most part.

Sean Patrick McGraw

Capt. John — Tue, 01 May 2012 02:07:20 GMT

For those of you that are regular followers of this blog, and our site, you may
recall that one of our long-time friends, Sean Patrick McGraw has been trying
his darndest to make it in the world of country music.

While he keeps inching closer, we have some good news to share!

The country duo of Montgomery Gentry has recorded, AND RELEASED , their verison
of Sean's song called "So Called Life"! It is now out there to be requested, and our
own WYRK out of Buffalo has already been playing this record. Every little bit
helps, so if you have a second, give your favorite country station a call and let's
see if we can ride this to #1!

South Carolina

Capt. John — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 02:44:35 GMT

Recently got back from a great trip to South Carolina with my family, and with Capt.
Gary (Kongo Charters) and his family. It's amazing how fast you forget what day
it is!    We did a lot of relaxing, fishing, biking and hanging out on the beach.   Just
what the doctor ordered!

For the seventh time, we did a nearshore charter with Capt. John Ward of Affinity
Charters.   He is absolutely great to fish with, helps the kids, etc.   And even after
7 times, he still managed to put us onto some different types of fishing.

We got a few nice redfish, some drum, a couple of small hake, a bonnett head
shark, and a couple of mid-teen bull sharks.   Great time, for sure.   Ended up
keeping the bonnett head, and grilled it.....tasted like chicken!

Jack supplied us with fresh caught crabs one day, and another vacationer gave us some
freshly dug oysters, plus the shark, shrimp and scallops. Not too hard to get used to that!
And of course, Velma's great cabbage!

We also had time to visit a couple of my favorites....Tommy Condon's Irish Bar in Charleston,
and the King Street Grille at Freshfields, and got to remind myself how much I like Sweetwater
Pale Ale.

Could have been a degrees warmer for my liking, but hey, when you're on vacation with
good friends, get to see a bunch of my family (who also had a house), and it doesn't
rain AT ALL, is a couple of degrees really worth complaining about???

Can't wait to go back!

Oak Orchard pen report

Capt. John — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 02:20:55 GMT

Saw a posting the other day from one of our Lake Ontario friends, Capt. Bob Songin
(Reel Excitement Charters) putting out the word that they were going to be setting
up there pens to pen-rear salmon and steelhead in Oak Orchard Creek. We used
to do this here on Lake Erie, and I've been meaning to get up there for some time
when they do this, so I decided to take a ride today.

Not happy about seeing snow on the ground in Batavia, but was pleasantly
surprised to see about 25 other volunteers show up to help get the nets ready!

Also hung around long enough to have another great burger at the Black North Inn
(thanks Beanie); and took the long way home via Olcott and Wilson.

All in all...a good day!!

Cleaning out the closet.....

Capt. John — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 03:07:11 GMT

Took a look at my Times Two Charters apparel and had a bit more leftover
than I thought, so....everything must go.....

$7.00 per item, including shipping......

4 ANVIL low profile hats, new Times Two Logo, khacki, adjustable

All of the following are Guilden shirts, small logo left front chest lettering, full back logo
with Times Two over the outline of the Great Lakes

3 Short Sleeve T-shirts-orange-large,
1 Short Sleeve T-shirt-orange- 2XL

2 Long sleeve T-shirt-black-large
1 Long sleeve T-shirt-red-large
1 Long sleeve T-shirt-red XL
1 long sleeve t-shirt-black-XL

All of the following are Guilden shirts, small logo left front lettering, larger back logo
that says Team Times Two over the outline of the Great Lakes

1 Long sleeve T-shirts-navy-large
1 Long sleeve T-shirt-orange-large
1 Long sleeve T-shirt-navy XL
1 long sleeve t-shirt-orange-XL

Also, I have some button down, golf style shirts.   These are Old Navy brand,
and are multi color horizontal striped.   These do run a bit on the small side,
size wise.   Left front chest is embroiderd "Times Two Charters"

1-medium-Navy shirt with purple and light blue stripes
5-large in-Grey with Blue/Red; White with Blue and red; Green with white/navy;
               Blue with purple and blue; and Grey with yellow and orange
3-Xl in Light blue with blue/blue; Green with white/blue and Grey with orange and yellow.

Thanks for looking......

Rates and Dates!

Capt. John — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 01:40:30 GMT

Rates

For 2012, very RELUCTANTLY, we have had to look at our overhead, vs. the cost
of fuel, etc.   SO, unfortunately, we're going to have to bump our rates ever
so slightly for 2012....

There are good parts to this, though.
1.   If you already have a date booked, we will obviously hold to last year's rates.
2.   If you have talked to us about a date, but have yet to book it, we will also honor
      last year's rates.
3.   If you haven't booked yet, and are thinking about it, we wil honor our 2011
      rates if you book before May 1.

Hate to do it, but we really have no choice when you factor everything in.

**
Dates

We have two open dates remaining....May 3 and May 4....... out of Wilson on Lake
Ontario for spring salmon and trout fishing!   If you are interested, please give us a call!!
Capt. Gary (Kongo Charters) will be working with us on these dates, so you get
two captains for the price of one!

**
Our late June and July weekends are filling up quickly, but we have other open dates
to choose from if you'd like to try for some great tasting and trophy Lake Erie walleye
this year.    Feel free to give us a call and let's get your date booked!!

March 18

Capt. John — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 02:25:29 GMT

A BEAUTIFUL summer (I mean winter) day in Western NY.   Mid-70's (when the light breeze
didn't come off the lake), and blue skies!   Awesome!

Heard they were getting some bullhead along the wall by the marina, so we decided
to give it a try.   Ended up getting 6 (we kept 2) and lost a couple more.

Jack's uncle, Capt. Dan (Hooked Up) is going to smoke them up for us to try!



Fishing lesson for Jack today.... patience.    Catching bullhead on minnows
is different that perch fishing....gotta let them take that bait!

March 15

Capt. John — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 01:38:35 GMT

                                         Happy St. Patrick's Day!!



         Looks like it's going to be a great day for a Guiness in Western New York!

LOTSA-FEBRUARY 26

Capt. John — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 02:35:47 GMT

Spent today the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association Flea Market
and Fishing Expo in Lockport.   Once again the LOTSA group did a great
job putting all this together!   It was a real good crowd, and we had the
chance to talk to a lot of you about walleye charters, and many other topics.

Thanks to all those that stopped by today!

(Capt Gary (Kongo Charters) and Marty (Canadaway Creek
Outfitters discussing fishing during the later part of the show.)

Also, if you are up in the Lockport area and want to have some great
wings, be sure to stop at Josie's!

***
NOTE:
We will not be having a booth this year at the Hamburg Outdoor Expo,
so if any of you want to talk about picking a date for 2012, please
give me a call on my cell @ 716-785-3088.

February 20....

Capt. John — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 02:35:28 GMT

Off today for President's Day.....

Talked to Marty (canadaway creek outfitters) said the water was low, and clear again.
With a nice sunny day, figured whatever was in the creek would be pretty spooked, so
Jack and I opted to head to the city pier to  try for some trout.   From all accounts, not
much happening over the weekend (water was pretty muddied), but we got 53 shad while
casting for browns.   Better than no action!

***
REMEMBER....this coming Sunday is the LOTSA show in Lockport. First two people that
say they read this blog get a free Times Two Charters hat!

LOTSA SHOW-February 26

Capt. John — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 02:36:00 GMT

The Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association will be holding its 6th Annual Fishing Expo
and Flea Market on Sunday, February 26 at the Cornell Cooperative Extension on Route 78
in Lockport.   Doors open at 8:30 this year, and the show runs until 3 pm.

The show offers a lot of tackle, charters and new/used tackle, plus a full line up of seminars.
You can take care of booking your Lake Ontario salmon trips and Lake Erie walleye trips
all at the same time!

More information is available at www.lotsa.org. Admission is only $5; and ALL PROCEEDS go
to LOTSA's pen rearing program.

We'll be there with our booth (Capt. Gary of Kongo Charters will be riding shotgun with us);
Marty (another one of our mates) will be there with his Lake Erie Stream guide service,
Canadaway Creek Outfitters and also my brother and Doug with Dunkirk Sports Outfitters.

**
The first two people that come up to our booth and say they saw this post will get a FREE
Times Two Charters hat, featuring our new logo!

This is a great way to spend a winter day, and it's always great to see all of our Lake
Ontario friends!!

Hope to see you there.

February 5

Capt. John — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:37:08 GMT

The brown trout have been hitting pretty good the last week or so off the local city
pier, and we saw a couple of dandies taken yesterday.   So, with no wind, a blue sky
and 38 degrees Jack and I decided to try our luck today.



We ended up getting about a 1/2 dozen of the big shad, and I hooked up with 1 trout casting
a hammered silver spoon.    Which makes me wonder....where do these shad go in the summer?
We never, ever catch one incidentally.......

The guy next to us changed over to a orange/silver cleo and got a dandy brown pushing 8lbs!
Kind of reminds me of years ago now when we used to catch coho in the harbor.......

January 28

Capt. John — Sun, 29 Jan 2012 03:29:56 GMT

Today was one of those days.....blink and it's raining; blink again and its snow; blink again and
its sunny.....and 35 degrees.     Ran some errands this afternoon and took a ride by the creek
on the way home.   Water was a touch to much color and a touch too fast for my liking, so
I kept going.

Winds picked up considerably thru late afternoon. Evidently, Mother Nature was not happy
today.



Helping our bud, Gerb in the morning with some drywall.......

January 22...so what's going on??

Capt. John — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 04:09:04 GMT

January 22....figured it was time for an update.....

**
We've gotten word that we will again be on the programs for Dreamweaver Lures,
Gamma Line and Okuma rods/reels for 2012. Awesome! We really appreciate the chance
to spread the word about these great products and are honored to be part of each companies
team for 2012!!

**
Took a walk down on the beach this afternoon with my son.   Very little shoreline ice,
so the chances it's going to freeze this year look like slim and none...perhaps, with
fingers crossed, that will mean the lake warms up a bit earlier in June?? We're due for
a walleye bite that starts early and last ALL season!

**
We are still working on getting our show schedule finalized, but we know that we are
going to be at the Lake Ontario Trout and Salmon Association (LOTSA) show FOR SURE
on Sunday, February 26 in Lockport.   I've known the guys behind this show for a long,
long time.   It's a great show, put on by a bunch of great guys for the benefit of the
Lake Ontario fishery.   What a great way to spend a Sunday...talking fishing with your friends!

We're coming up with Capt. Gary (Kongo Charters) and Marty (Canadaway Creek
Outfitters) so it should be lots of fun! Hope to see you there!

**
Our 2012 calendar is OPEN!   So far, it is looking really good for us that for the first
time in several years we will be spending a few days up on Lake Ontario out of
Wilson, NY.    We're going to try to mix in some fun fishing with a couple of trip dates,
so right now it looks like we would be open for May 2, 3 and 4 (and possibly the 5th too).

Let me know if you have any interest in trying out some great spring salmon fishing.


**
We are a long way off from our trips to S. Carolina, and Northern Ontario, but this
weather's got the cabin fever going big time!!

January 7-First fish of the year!

Capt. John — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 02:40:02 GMT

Another beautiful Fall, I mean Winter, day in WNY.   45, and sunny with no snow on the ground.
Got done washing the cars so I decided to shoot over to the creek for an hour or so before it
got dark.   Color was a bit cloudy, and a bit fast, but overall not too bad.




Reward was the first fish of the year! A steelhead about 4lbs or so on a woolie bugger on
the fly rod. Tip of the hat to Marty (Canadaway Creek Outfitters), as he suggested we make
the change and about 4 casts later we hooked up.



Also had another fish hit before we quit for the day.

Stream report-December 30

Capt. John — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 03:38:32 GMT

Another 45 degree December day....we're starting to get spoiled!

Got a call from Marty (Canadaway Creek Outfitters), who said that the creek looked
good, and he was going to head out to check it out. Jack and I got our gear and joined
up with him, just after he hooked, fought and broke off a 30" steelie!

Although the creek was running a bit faster that the last few times out, Jack and I still
ended up hooking up 3 times, but again couldn't keep them glued!

Took a ride upstream before we quit to check another spot and we watched a local
angler land about an 8lber! Beautiful color!

December 27

Capt. John — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 02:21:38 GMT

Despite the threat of heavy weather coming later in the day, and snow in the forecast
for overnight for really the first time all year, today was another great December day!
Light rain, no wind, and low 40's again, so Jack and I decided to take about a mile and
an half walk down a local tributary.

I hooked up with a nice fish, and handed that off to Jack.   Really nice fight, but the
current, and a sharp rock edge was enough to break that one off.



We knew this section had gotten some pressure the last few days, but we still had
2 hookups walking thru, before we quit for the day.

December 26

Capt. John — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 03:41:09 GMT

40 Degrees in Western New York on the 26th of December??!   No snow on the
ground, and trout in the streams.....

So, off Jack and I went to fish with our friend Marty (www.canadawaycreekoutfitters.com)
and his son Ethan on a local tributary.   Between the 4 of us, we had 7 or 8 hookups, with
Marty landing a couple of steelhead.   Jack hooked up 3 times, which was pretty good
considering he is still pretty new to using fly rods!



Marty and Ethan had to go; and Jack had enough, but when I dropped him off I told
my wife that I still had all my gear on, and it was nice, so I was going to go back out
for a while.   Beautiful early winter afternoon, but no other takers.



Got reports from our friends Capt. Gary (Kongo Charters) and Sean Patrick McGraw
that they too got into a few fish a bit farther upstream than we were.   All in all, not to
bad for late December.

Now if I can just find that pinhole in the foot of my wader...