Yesterday we were able to enjoy a trip aboard The Midnight Sun, owned and operated by Capt. Ryan Rogers who hails from Heathsville, Virginia. Capt. Ryan is in my opinion the best charter captain I have ever fished with. His personality, professionalism and knowledge allows all ages and skill levels of anglers to enjoy a day on the water catching fish.
We went aboard his  boat in Rudee Inlet for an inshore trip targeting spadefish in the Virginia Beach area. He and his excellent first mate, Doug Gray, did not disappoint. The first place we pulled up to was a buoy that he happened to know held spadefish regularly. I was topside with our captain and peered into the water after he encouraged me to do so. The fish were everywhere. It was like looking into an aquarium.
After a quick scurrying to the first deck, I got my line out as did my daughters, wife, mother and father. Doug hooked us up really well on bait and it was not long before we were hearing the squeal of the drag.
Atlantic spadefish are not easy to hook and land. They have small mouths despite their wide bodies and steering wheel like shape. They primarily enjoy jellyfish for their meals, but will nibble on clam too. My father and I love to fish and were frequently making the mistake of trying to set the hook. Capt. Ryan reminded us that we needed to simply feed line out and let the spades take the bait and more or less hook themselves. It was tough not to set the hook when we got hits but when we tried setting the hook, we ended up not getting the fish. Once we resisted the urge to hook the fish, they started getting hooked themselves.
All of us landed some nice spadefish before the bite slowed down some. At that point our excellent guide and captain moved us to a second location where the aquarium like conditions were even better. The water was a gorgeous blue crystal color and the schools of fish cruising around the boat were numerous. We were able to watch the fish take our bait and play with it. Fighting the urge to snap the rod back was tough, but when we did, we were rewarded with a hook up and a grand fight from the fish.
It was great to see my entire family really enjoy such a beautiful day on the ocean and aboard Capt. Ryan's boat. Doug was always right on top of things and had us baited up and kept the net handy for these tasty fish to be scooped up and put on ice. He also did a bang up job filleting them and getting them ready for our trip home.
On our run back to Rudee Inlet, Capt. Ryan kept in touch with some of his fellow captains and provided a great surprise for us. Just as we were nosed towards Rudee, the boat veered off to the east and towards two other boats. When we got close, Doug rigged two spinning outfits with huge bucktail jigs. Upon our arrival to the party, we could see a huge school of bull red drum cruising the surface. It was not long  before my father was hanging on to his rod with a bull red fighter on the other end of it. I was casting frantically into the fray but only bumped a few fish. Dad got to have a great time hauling in a fish that likely went over 20 pounds.
Capt. Ryan will always get my business, particularly when I am taking kids or my family out. His boat is clean, fast and reliable. We always have a  good time  catching up on the ride in  and out. Doug is very personable, knowledgeable and  willing to teach  anglers how to catch fish. The patience these guys  display is top notch. If you ever need a great charter for Spanish mackerel, blues, rockfish, croaker,  spadefish, cobia, tuna or whatever else we have in the Chesapeake Bay or Atlantic Ocean, give him a call. 804-580 -0245. Check out his website at  www. fishmidnightsun.com

For those that might not have ventured out, the croaker bite is decent in the Potomac River below the Rt. 301 Bridge. Fish the edges of the river channel and don't be afraid to move if the fish are not cooperative where you are dunking squid or shrimp for bait. The fish are not that big. Our biggest was almost 16 inches and we had plenty of 12 inch fish in the mix.
During our trip out to #30 we saw plenty of anglers trolling bucktails for striper. We did not see any fish caught but reports tell of fish that are up to 28 inches. A lot of throwbacks are out there too though.
We did not see any small blues yet but they should make a showing really soon given the heat and the salinity of the water from lack of rain lately.

So far this summer the pond action has been surprisingly good for crappie and bass. Anglers are tearing into some good crappie and the bass are hitting topwater lures too. Look for the action to be best on overcast days, rainy days (if we get any) and early and late. Hot temps are undoubtedly on the way.
Fishing on the rivers is good for bass now but you have to fish late and early and be on the edge of the flow or casting into a moving tide to catch bass. Catfish action slowed during the day but nighttime action has heated up.