Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, you do need a fishing license but don’t worry about purchasing one ahead of time as we could be fishing Michigan, Illinois or Indiana waters. We have them available for purchase. These need to be purchased in cash as the monies go right back to the DNR of that state. If you have one already, that’s great.

Kids 17 years old or younger do not need to purchase a fishing license.

No, they do not need to buy a license for the charter if they do not intend to fish. However, that means they can’t touch a rod/reel at all. If kids are fishing and parents don’t want to, I can help them but the parents can’t without fishing licenses.

• Rain gear,
• Soft-soled shoes
• Hat
• Sunglasses
• Camera
• Food & Snacks
• Drinks
• a cooler for your catch.

We run charters from April through very early September or late August.

Our entire season is great. But, there are better times for certain species. Here is what the best times are, by species, during our season.

• Coho Salmon – April, May, June
• Brown Trout – April, May, June (but very infrequent!)
• King Salmon – April, May
• Steelhead – late June, early July
• Lake Trout – April, May, June, July, August, September

Typically we fish relatively calm seas. However, if you are prone to motion sickness, we suggest that you take motion-sickness medication starting the day BEFORE your trip.

Absolutely! We would be more than happy to provide you with references. Please contact us here to ask for references.

The limit is five fish per person, but no more than three of a type. So if you catch three silvers, you can get two trout and vice versa. Or five Coho. But possession is no more than five total. 

Depends! If the fish are biting near us (usually early and late in the season), we may stay close by and fish Indiana waters. However, if they’ve moved out – we could go out 25 miles.

We like to head out at 6 a.m. Central time. If you don’t mind getting up earlier, we can head out at 5 a.m. Central. Note, we’re on central time – the three counties nearest Chicago follow their time rather than Eastern found in the rest of the state and in Michigan.

We suggest wearing layers. Even in the heart of the summer, the mornings may be chilly, but by 10 a.m. you may want to be in short sleeves. We do fish in the rain, so if it looks like showers bring rain gear. Please wear soft soled shoes – no work boots or shoes with black soles.

Yes, we clean and bag the fish for you to take home.

There are many things to do in Michigan City and the surrounding area. Check out this list where we compiled some suggestions (link to that page).

No matter the number of passengers, the cost is the same to us to run the charter. Fuel and all the overhead do not decrease with fewer passengers so we need to keep the cost of the charter the same for two or six passengers.

Yes, we do – call for times. We prefer to go out in the morning but know sometimes your schedule doesn’t allow for a morning charter. When we get to fish for fun or to scout for the next day’s charter, we’re fishing in the evening – not much beats reeling in a fish with a sunset.

While we can’t guarantee a catch (it is called fishing not catching!), the last thing we want is to not catch a fish. We’ve invested in top of the line equipment from radar to fish finders to rods and reels and we scout actively all week – the last thing we want to do is not catch any fish either. So we’ll do our best to put you on the fish.

Yes, we accept all major credit cards and Paypal.

Coast Guard rules limit passengers to six and crew to two Unfortunately, that even counts if the seventh passenger who is a baby that will never leave a car seat! All the charter boats in our harbor are also limited to six passengers.

To go out as a group of seven plus, you would need two boats. We team up with another captain and you can split up the group and challenge them to biggest fish, most silvers, etc. And then it would be the cost of two charters.