times two

So here's the story....... I have a very enthusiastic group for today.....so I get on the NOAA forecast yesterday morning for Saturday, and it says 10-20 mph, going to 15-25 mph, chance t'storms and showers.....so I call the guy and tell him that it doesn't look good, but let me check the 4 pm update......SO I do that, and it is slightly better, but still not great, so I tell my wife that I think I need to move these guys....and she says....why don't you wait until the morning....so then I call the guys, and they say, we want to come, its not that bad a drive, if we can't go we'll go out to breakfast.......LET'S WAIT UNTIL MORNING....... OK...call Gerb (my mate today)....tell him we are in........... SO I check the 4 AM update today, winds are knocked down to 10-15 mph, no rain on doppler, guys are early all is GREAT....so I tell them....the fishing hasn't been very good of late for walleye at all, but the lake trout fishing has, so lets slide out west, try for 'eyes for a while and see if the lake rolls as expected....if not, we may move out to try the lakers.....group is cool with that...just wants to catch a fish.... So we set up and mark some good stuff 8 miles from the harbor, and pop a walleye really quick, not big, but a good start, ......I tell the guys, Man, last week in the Con Club derby we would have killed for a couple of fish on Saturday....and we get a sheepshead, then another, then another, then another, then another.....I tell my Gerb who is driving for us, we need to get the heck out of here...so he turns us out, but all of the sudden, bam....3 more 'eyes in the box....now I'm NOT moving.... Long story short, we box 18 walleye today, plus a bonus brown trout, and easily lose 8-10 other 'eyes, and land a couple of smallmouth in the 5lb range!! On a calm lake!! Unbelieveable!! 10 color with a big green chatterstick, DW WD's in copper watermelon and buffalo bill of the 50-60 riggs; a couple on a big watermelon harness on the slide at 160; a couple on the chicken wing DW SS; 145 no ring and the MOJO DW SS on a big slide, mag ring, 125. AWESOME!!

Couple other tidbits leftover from the tournament.... 69 teams did not even weigh in on the 3rd day, probably a combination of the weather, waves and lack of fish. Also, 20 teams did not weigh in for the tournament...... ** I can tell you that the lake trout fishing offshore has been awesome. Several fish were caught this weekend in the 27-30lb range.... John

bigkahuna: A chatterstick is basically a renosky stick bait with a special metal lip. Zman tackle. I tried to post a pic...but can't figure that out. I got all mine at Bills Hooks in Dunkirk. John

For sale: 1985 340 Sea Ray Express Ready to fish including..... twin 454's radar/radar arch with multiple rod holders 3 electric proos riggers chartplotter furuno video depthfinder full top/side/aft in very good condition stored inside..winters This boat is extremely clean and well maintained. Call Dan at 716-672-5868 or 716-672-9188 Was last listed for $28,000; owner has reduced price to $24,000! _________________ Capt. John Forbes Times Two Charters

I can't tell you how many times we heard on the radio phrases like "blank screen", "desert", etc. The 6 fish we did on Friday came with absolutely 0 fish or bait on the screen. That was 7 miles straight out of Dunkirk. 105 fow. Yesterday, we ran the shoreline to get up to Barcelona, and noticed some good areas of bait in 65 fow, so when we turned to troll toward Dunkirk, we slid inside, and ended up getting our 2 in their. But, inside waters means sheephead galore......

July 31-Day 1 We were short 1 team member due to work, so we ran a simple 4 rod set up. Did 3 fish early, 3 fish late. In the Con Club tournament, its 3 fish per day to the scale. Our 6 fish was one of the better boxes for the day. Ended up putting in 22.8 lbs, good for 3rd place out of 100 boats. Aug 1-Day 2 We fell victim to the dreaded 2nd day jinx...boxed none. But we were not alone. Fishing could be described for many as horrid. Miles of blank screens and no fish. The #1 boat only weighed in 1 fish for 3lbs.... We probably put 45 miles on the boat today, looking. We slid to 15th. Aug 2-Day 3 Have to be in line by 1 to weigh in, but one crew couldn't get out of work until 7:30....so one he showed, we rolled 12 miles west towards barcelona. Ended up putting 2 in the box before we rode the 5 footers back to the harbor. Finished 17th out of 100.....and also had the 15th heaviest fish for the tournament, so not to bad. 10 color with a big green chatterstick was good...with 2 oz.; WD Buffalo bill off the 75 rigger. TOUGH fishing....there was about 15 boats that didn't weigh a fish for the tournament! I don't know where all the walleye went...but it is tough going right now.... John

Posting this for a friend..... For Sale: 1984 19' Four Winns Horizon w/ cuddy Trailer 4 cylinder, 3.0; 140 hp mercruiser fish finder new alternator Full top/side curtains, including screens Runs great! Good condition Selling due to possible purchase of a larger boat Call Gary at 716-785-5580 Boat is in Fredonia Gary sent me a couple of pics that I can forward if you send me your email. John

Walteye: Your welcome. No problem sharing information...especially this year...we need all the info we can get. The general consensus here is that they are gorging on smelt....we had one that spit up a very fresh 6incher! Mother Nature parked us for 2 days....but hopefully out Tues or Wed..... John

Well....did another quick getaway with my wife and son to Moon River, Ontario. Stayed at Moon Basin Marina, in a very nice cottage. They too have suffered the summer of 2009..cold, wet, you know the deal....said the first two days there were the best 2 they've had in some time....which brought us to the almost all day downpour on Thursday.... good thing I had some cold Carling! Fishing was good, not great. We concentrated on worm fishing for bass, etc to keep my son busy...but did get in some pike fishing...got 3 of those and 2 really nice largemouth. Pics will be up on Sunday on my blog at www.timestwocharters.com. Great to get away, and I love it up north.....so we got back in time to get blown off my mother nature today on Lake Erie.....! John

Walteye...sounds really good....I was up in northern Ontario...just got back... how deep of water? John

Sold...thanks!

I don't know if you've ever been there before....but make sure you stop for a cold beverage at the Black North Inn...tell 'em the Dunkirk guys said hello....or for a great prime rib...hit the Village Inn which is only a couple miles down the road.....

Walteye: You are correct about the bottom hugging. Each day the last 3 days we got deep fish on the 10 color combo, and more than once came up with zebra mussels on the hooks. That's a tough rod to run, though, as its 550ft back and no one wants to crank that in! We also marked a lot of fish very close to the bottom. We finally pulled a harness on the 65 rigger yesterday in the 65-75 fow, and took 2 in there. I also heard a report that one of the guys that brought in a good box yesterday had been fishing tight to the bottom. We did have a few high marks, but most seemed deep right off the get go, and in three days we only had 1 board fish. We have hardly run worms, as the small WD's and chattersticks have been doing as good as anything. Another big guy each day would have really helped us out..... John

Day 2 Ameracan.... Rough water leftover from Saturday to start...we had second wave (8 am ) and lost 45 minutes or so to assist another boater with a tow. Did 4 fish on a universally tough day. Weight got us into 28th place out of 82 boats. 1 on the 10 color with 2 ounces/chatterstick; 2 on a 65 rigger with a copper/orange harness and one with a DW super slim, 135 back on a big slide.

Friday...tough bite by all accounts, but ended up getting 6 good ones, including a couple in the 8-9lb range. Little bit of everything...small b/s chatterstick of a 40 jet, b/s or perch of the big slides anywhere from 145-175, 1 on a 60 rigger on a buffalo bill WD; and 2 on the 10 color, with 2 oz of weight with a big chatterstick. 70 fow was best. *** Saturday, day 1 of the Ameracan Tournament. Wasn't sure they were going to send us with the forecast of heavy t's...but they did. Boated 4 walleye, and the all hel* broke loose. The final t-storm looked like it wasn't going to clear, so we started breaking down the rods, when it rolled in. Very big waves, multiple directions, lots of white water. An extremely slow, nerve wracking 3.5 miles in, to say the least. Big slides at 125 with chattersticks and the 10 color/2 oz combo was good again. We're unofficially sitting in 30th out of 82 boats...and another big one sure would have helped!

Salmonite: We're running this fri-sat-sun; I'll post reports and then next Sunday, so far for sure. Feel free to email me or give me a call. I'll give you what I know.... John

Salmonite...glad he got you all set. They've been a great bait so far this year. Add to that....the last two days out we've had bait spit up in the box, and it's really close to the size of the chattersticks! Walteye, I hear you. One day you can't catch a fish except on perch...next day blue. Go figure. We are definitely behind as far as temps, so I think its going to really get going here pretty soon. Got a charter friday, then the Ameracan Tournament Sat/Sun, so we hopefully will have some real solid information for you. John

Reel Bob: Thanks for taking the time and effort to do this. You and the rest of the Oak gang are honoring a couple of great people in the process of promoting the LO fishery. Due to the walleye here....it looks like most dates are out....BUT....August 22nd looks like its the first full day of our Oak trip...let me clear it with the guys, but I'd say we will be one of the oak boats "in". And I think you know firsthand that we will do our best to support the BNI.....! Looking forward to having one with you. John

All small 'sticks. Perch or silver/black have been best for me...got a few on the blue. If you go to Bill's, tell him I sent you...always good for a little pr... I do know a couple of guys that have run the bigger ones, and the traditional style renosky's....but I haven't much this year... John

Overnight t storms were long gone...started out with an offshore wind, barely capping...that laid down nice for the balance of the morning...but man was it rolling by 2 pm. We ended up 5 miles east of the harbor, so we had to come right at 'em....at least I don't need to wash off the boat! We did 8 nice walleye, and probably another 20 sheepshead, perch, white perch and silver bass, before it got rough. 4 on the 55/60 riggers..popping the rods... WD Buffalo Bill and copper watermelon. 50-60 feet back of the ball. 2 on perch chattersticks 145 big slide diver; 1 on a 40 jet, perch chatter 165 back and 1 on a small slide off the boards, 175 back. John

I've been buying mine at Bill's Hooks, on Route 5 just west of Dunkirk.....they are like $6 a pop, and crap for paint quality...but they work! John

Well, mother nature finally let off after 3 days of winds. We had a couple hours, so decided to take a peak with my 8 yr old son....ended up going 4/4 on the walleye in just over and hour and a half. Generally seemed good across the board today. Dreamweaver WD "Buffalo Bill" on the 55 rigger; perch chattersticks on the divers. 140 back on 3. Weather permitting...back out in the morning.... John

JGrenier: Read your post, and recognize that you specifically mentioned salmon. Capt. Paul would be a great choice. On Lake Erie, there are a number of us (me included) that will explain exactly what we're doing and why, and let you be as hands on as we can. Not specifically a "learning" charter, but you will learn a lot. In my experience, and from those that I know, most captains do teach you as you go, just via the conversations/questions that go on during the trips.... John

Tough bite for most today, especially before noon. We ended up boxing 5, and lost at least that many, plus 5 huge perch. Marked lots of bait and fish, 60-65 fow. Little bit of everything today, although the chatterstick was the common thread... ...got one on WD Alibi spoon; 50 foot rigger; 3 on blue chattersticks on 5 color; 1 on a silver chatter, 115 back on the big slide. Strong offshore wind today, but almost perfect wave conditions... John

Got out today with one of my regular crew, Capt. Bud (Alibi) and my brother Lukas who was in from Kentucky. Picked 2 up right of the bat....ended up boating 4 more out of about 8 we had on. Slow, steady bite. 40 jets, chattersticks on 106 was our pad setup.....60 fow, west. John