Did you get out over the weekend or one afternoon and do any fishing?

The best-laid plans don’t always work out. Thursday was a beautiful day, and I planned to go fishing, but things just didn’t work out. I knew it was going to be a short day, especially with a Friends of the Refuge meeting at 4 p.m. I love my fishing, and while so many people would be totally upset about the change in plans, I believe there was a reason why it didn’t happen. Was I supposed to be somewhere else, maybe to touch a life, to be a difference? I don’t know, but I instead went to town and had a lot of interactions with a lot of people at Food Lion. Hopefully, I was in the right spot at the right time and was a difference.

Friday morning, I made the trip out to Goochland and Boy Scout Camp Brady Saunders. I was given the opportunity to fish in the original lake that I remembered from my days at the camp, especially the summer I worked there as a 15-year-old kid.

It was a learning experience that I treasure. I got to work with a lot of young men from all over. I learned work ethics and did something new—taking charge of others, becoming a leader. It was just a summer job, but it stuck with me to this day.

I met up with Tiffany Risch and Jacob Stephens, and we launched our kayak into a new lake with great hopes. Jacob started us off with a small bass, and then Tiffany hooked into a small bass. Both of them fought way harder than their size. You would have thought they were 3–4-pound bass. I missed my first bite, but then it happened.

I felt the bass as it picked up my micro jig, and I leaned back into it. What a fierce fight, digging as it tried to pull line off my reel. It felt like fighting a big bass, and I knew it was— well, until it finally made its way to the surface. That little 1 pound bass wasn’t big, but it was a piece in the puzzle.

We kept fishing hard, with us all making multiple catches, laughing hard, and just enjoying being out on the water together. We worked all around, covering a lot of water, looking at everything, and for me, taking note of what will be there when everything starts to grow again. Jacob caught a nice 15–17-inch chain pickerel close to the dam, and I managed to catch one on a lipless crankbait in the same area.

I switched up to a soft plastic swimbait and made a cast up into the area that would be covered in lily pads this spring and caught my biggest bass of the day, about 2–2 1/2 pounds.

We made the choice to change to the other lake there, and Jacob also caught a nice bass around the same size as my big bass, if not a little bigger. What an awesome day with friends. I then made the trip out to my daughter Vanessa’s and picked up my grandson Bentley so we could go fishing Saturday. Of course, I had to spend time with River, Landon, and Sebastian before I left for home to unload and get ready.

Saturday morning, Bentley and I followed Tim Gray down to a private pond to do a little fishing. We launched the boat, and there was a slight chill in the air, especially with the wind blowing a little bit. We worked our way down and around a corner, slipping over on the side where it blocked the wind and felt warmer. We changed up some baits and were laughing as we searched for that first bite.

I decided to try throwing a lipless crankbait out into the deeper water leading back into the cove. I made a bunch of casts, hitting some grass on one cast. I cleaned off my lure and made another cast to the same area again, and I felt a bump, let the bait stop for a quick second, then lifted the rod a little to make it jump and started to reel and felt it as the bass hit it hard.

I used a sweeping motion to apply pressure so as not to rip the bait out of his mouth. And what a fight. I thought for sure I had a big bass too. I got Bentley to get the net. We were ready for a monster bass. But Bentley must have netted the wrong bass because it wasn’t as big as I thought. He was beautiful indeed, but was only about a pound and a half.

A quick picture and back it went with a kiss and a thank you.

We continued to fish around. I took Bentley around the lake, letting him see more of what was there to fish. Bentley had a few bass hit his bait but just never took it fully. He set the hook on one, and I did the same, but both missed the hook. We kept looking and actually moved back up to where we started and went back into the cove a little more.

I switched over to a smaller flat-sided diving crankbait and caught my second bass of the day, fighting as hard as the first. Once again, Bentley got the net and did a superb job of landing him. He was only about 2 pounds, but it felt good.

Another quick picture and a kiss goodbye, and off he swam. One thing I have learned is to let Bentley fish some things he wants. He chooses his bait and where he wants to fish. He wanted to fish an area that did not give me a way to cast, but I moved the boat to the spot and allowed him to do his thing.

He is learning to fish those difficult spots, the same thing I would do. Sometimes we have to remember to allow them to fail or succeed on their own with our support. His comment after no bites said it all: They should have been there!

After the water warms more, they will be for sure. What an amazing and fun day. Tim caught a bunch of small bass too, so it was a winning day.

Warming Waters

The warmer weather is warming up the water. It isn’t there yet, but the bass are starting to think about the spawn. The warmer weather is helping to warm the shallows, and the baitfish are taking advantage of it and are moving up, and where they go, the bass will follow.

Shallow-running crankbaits and spinnerbaits, along with soft plastics and jigs, are key baits for the shallow bite. Once the water reaches the 50s and stays there, the use of topwater baits also comes into play, like poppers, walking baits, and even a frog.

While some bass, including some big ones, will move into the shallows, the majority of the big bass will be moving to the deeper areas near the spawning areas. Work along the first drop-off with moving baits like a deeper-diving crankbait, a lipless crankbait, a suspending jerkbait, and either a spinnerbait or a bladed jig. Patience is still your best friend. And always keep some handy to throw around the laydowns and brush piles.

Bassmaster Classic

As you read this, I will be on my way to the Bassmaster Classic in Knoxville, Tennessee. I will be able to talk to the professional anglers fishing in it and to those who will be working the Expo. It is the perfect opportunity to learn from them and hopefully become a better angler. It is also a great chance to see some of the newest baits and find some great deals on baits and gear.

I’ll be talking about it next week and hopefully passing on some great information. If you ever get the opportunity to go to the Classic, it is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Safety in Mind

Fishing is fun, but you need to do everything possible to stay safe. Leave a float/bank plan with someone, and let them know if you make changes to it.

Wear your life jacket! This is the most important safety device you have. When the main motor is engaged, have it on. As the operator of the boat, have your kill switch attached to it. This kills the motor if you are thrown from the boat. And if in a kayak or canoe, wear it always.

Carry a first aid kit with you. You don’t want to use it, but if you need it, it is so important. Be safe, have fun, and live to fish another day!

If you get to go fishing one afternoon/evening or this coming weekend, take some pictures of your catch or the kids having fun. I want to see them and share it here for everyone to see just how beautiful the Northern Neck is for fishing. Send your pictures, fishing reports, questions or comments, to FishingNNK@gmail.com. This column is about you and for you and fishing in the Northern Neck. Remember, “Do yourself a favor, take a kid fishing.” Make a memory to last a lifetime.