On Friday, August 14, MAP family and friends marked the end of summer the way a coastal Virginia crew should: on the water.

This year’s excursion was courtesy of Captain Todd and his boat, Knot Wish’n. We cleared Rudee Inlet and ran a nearshore line south toward Sandbridge, trolling for Spanish mackerel and bluefish along the beach. Mid-August delivered the kind of day you hope for — clear skies, light wind, and a calm Atlantic — and the fish were in the neighborhood.

Working a clarkspoon rig and led by an experienced captain, the MAP crew found a sizable school of mackerel and blues and stayed on them. By the time the rods quieted down, we had more than a dozen fish in the box, most of them Spanish mackerel, and easily enough for the weekend’s dinner.

After a day like that, there wasn’t much wishin’ left on board. Just fishin’ — and a cooler that made the ride back through the inlet feel short.