Putting together a fishing trip on Lake Michigan may be a great way to spend a summer weekend. But, if you’re thinking about doing it, you might want to get on it, says Capt. Mike Schoonveld, who operate Brother Nature Charters.

“They shouldn’t dawdle. The likelihood of being able to find a last-minute trip is really slim,” he said, on Indiana Outdoors radio.

Schoonveld said that with the recession and charter boat captains being fewer than they used to be, actually booking a trip can be difficult.

“When I started there were nearly 50 captains working here in Indiana. Now there’s less than 20. So, you just don’t have that many and it’s easy for everybody to stay busy,” he said.

The boats typically operate beginning at eight miles out. Schoonveld said the water quality is excellent and sometimes, if the light is right, you can see the fish fighting under the surface. He said some people have recently caught steel head, lake trout, some kings and salmon.

The link to find a trip is www.charterfish.org