Join Capt. Jon Henry Aboard Tidewater Charters for a Fishing Experience Unlike Any Other
June 12, 2025Jon Henry Wehner doesn’t remember a time in his life when he didn’t fish.
The eldest son of Jon and Mills Wehner grew up knowing no other home than Chatham Vineyards on Church Creek, where he caught his first fish right off the dock, a citation croaker.
“Ever since I caught that thing, I have not looked back,” he said. “I’m 22 and this is my sixth year working on the water.”
Jon had to wait until he was 18 to officially earn his captain’s license, which equipped him to make the type of outdoor career he envisioned well before graduating a semester early from James Madison University.
Nice school, he said, but as pretty as the Blue Ridge Mountains are, he grew homesick for the salty air and all that comes with it.
Today Jon is one of four captains working under Tyler Nonn, owner of Cape Charles-based Tidewater Charters, which specializes in Chesapeake Bay Fly and Light Tackle fishing on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The half and full day charters offer customized adventures for anglers of all levels in waters where the scenery is pretty special, too.
“It never feels like work,” Jon said. “I got done fishing today, ran a full-day, eight-hour trip. Now I’m out here with a buddy fishing in the dark.”
Growing up in Machipongo, Jon was always looking for a way to be on the water. At 8 years old, he was intent on moving the family’s old 12-foot jon boat from the barn into Church Creek using only a rope.
“It took me something like two hours,” he said. “I had it almost to the dock and my dad pulled up in the car and said, ‘Can I give you a hand?’ I started fishing every day after school.”
Tyler’s only hobby growing up was fishing, and after an early venture fishing in the western edge of Alaska, he returned to the Eastern Shore and opened Tidewater Charters in 2009 with one boat and added another in 2017.
Today Tidewater Charters operates three fishing boats and a cruise boat.
Tyler remembers that enthusiastic 14-year-old named Jon well.
“Every time I’d go to the fuel dock I could tell he was super into fishing,” Tyler said. “People really enjoy his company. And when you’re doing this, it’s more about creating the atmosphere on the boat to have a good time. A lot of people can catch fish, but you have to make sure everyone is having a good time doing it or they’re not coming back.”
Jon earned his captain’s license with help from Tyler, a process complicated by the pandemic preventing him from attending in-person classes. He completed everything online over eight months, passing multiple 50-question U.S. Coast Guard exams with a score of 90 or better.
“The hardest exam was the bay shapes and sounds,” Jon said. “You need to remember every shape of a marker and the color of it and how many horn blows mean what. People say chart plotting is another hard one, but I enjoyed that.”
The easy part for Jon was the required 360 days of experience on a vessel, all documented by Tyler.
Becoming a captain set Jon up for the future he envisioned for years. His days typically start at 7:30 a.m., prepping the boat with ice, fuel, bait and tackle, all ready for his first group’s arrival an hour later.
“I do everything I possibly can to put them on fish,” he said.
Just as his father, Jon Wehner, vintner at Chatham Vineyards, partners with Mother Nature to grow grapes, Jon Henry recognizes some things are out of his hands, and it’s his job to adapt to them.
“I saw a sticker the other day that said, ‘Guide not God,’” he said. “Sometimes working with Mother Nature is very difficult.”
He has been caught in storms, including one last summer when he had to boat as close to the beach as possible and drop anchor to wait out the bad weather. Another required him to navigate rough water and wind so powerful that he had to ride the waves all the way to Chick’s Beach in Virginia Beach.
He’s busy at Tidewater Charters during the colder months, too, thanks to plentiful striped bass that come into the Chesapeake Bay to spawn.
“They’re hungry and huge and like to bite,” he said.
Jon enjoys all of it.
“No two days are the same and that’s what I love about the water most,” Jon said. “You catch a different amount of fish, different species of fish. The weather is different. You have new people on the boat every day. It’s so addictive. If it’s a nice day and I’m on land, I think, ‘What am I doing? I need to be out there.’”
Share a fishing adventure with Jon Henry, Tyler or any of the captains at Tidewater Charters. Visit Tidewater Charters online or call 443-553-0277. Family friendly cruises and tours are also offered.