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

The week started slow, but Wednesday morning I got up early and made it to Wilna Pond right at sunrise to do a little fishing. I knew it was going to get hot quickly, but I made sure to have plenty of water with me, and I wore a good sunshirt to help keep me cool.

I made my first catch right around 7 a.m., not a big bass, but a solid 2 pound one that ate my Texas rigged creature bait.

Number two took less than 15 minutes to catch. A beautiful 3 pound bass that ate my creature bait as well. I continued to move around, chasing the dream of a big bass and finding plenty of smaller bass.

I made the switch to my spinnerbait in hopes of finding some bigger bass, but found a couple more 3 pound bass. I also switched to a hollow bodied frog and had a bass blow up on it, but he missed it. I threw back past where he was and worked it back again, and he exploded again. This time, he did not miss it.

I waited for him to get it in his mouth and set the hook hard. A solid 2 pound bass that acted much bigger.

I continued to move around and saw a kayaker ahead of me, so I worked up the other side of the pond. I made a few more catches with my creature bait as the sun kept getting hotter. I worked a couple laydowns as I worked my way back to the pier. I made a great pitch to some brush and felt my line twitch and then get tight. I set the hook hard, not sure what size bass it was.

My line started to pull back, and then she made a run under the laydown. I held the line tight and worked her back out into the open water. My rod was bent tight as she tried to run away again. I knew it was a bigger bass, finally.

I grabbed my net, not wanting her to get away. She ran past me to the back of the boat, but I was able to hold tight and work her back toward me. And then I was able to slide my net under her and finally breathe.

I let out my breath finally, seeing such an amazing bass in my net—one of those big bass that Wilna is known to have. While it wasn’t my biggest personally from there, it was a sweet 5.99 pound female.

A few pictures, a weighing, and then she went back into the pond to swim away and grow so she can be someone’s personal best. I fished around a little bit back to the pier before getting off before it got any hotter.

Thursday morning, I checked the weather and decided to slip back over to Wilna again before the rain made its way into the area. I slipped over to a laydown to wait for Tim Gray to get there. I made a few casts with a few different baits, trying to make a bite happen my way.

I switched over to my Texas rigged creature bait and made a cast past some brush. I worked it slowly over and through the wood, dragging it over a bunch of small sticks when suddenly it stopped. I felt the pressure on my line and set the hook hard!

What a feeling as my line didn’t move until I felt a head shake. I felt the bass as it tried to swim back into the brush to help get itself unhooked. I had to pull hard to get her out and grabbed my net so I could capture her easier. What a thrill!

I like the net because it is easier for me and easier for the bass. I can let her settle down while I grab everything I need to give her a weighing and get her ready for release. A beautiful 4.10 pound bass that I released to grow bigger.

By this time Tim finally arrived, and I picked him up and we started fishing. I actually caught three more bass with Tim losing a couple of bass near the boat before he finally found a keeper.

We continued to search when I made a cast up around a laydown and brush pile. I saw the bass as she rolled on my bait and felt her pull my line. I set the hook hard. And then something that doesn’t happen often did. My line snapped as she rolled under the log and out the other side.

All I know is she was big. The last time was also a big bass at Wilna. We kept fishing as the wind picked up and the temperature dropped. Tim caught his 5th bass to take the lead. We decided to leave as it was getting cooler and we didn’t want to get caught by the rain.

Sunday after church, Tim and I slipped over to a local pond to get in a little fishing before the rain arrived. It started off slow, very slow. We were working the shore and the edge of the drop off into deeper water, but we just couldn’t find a bass of any size willing to play with our baits.

We worked to the back of a cove and worked the outside edges of the lily pads. I was throwing my hollow bellied frog into the pads, hoping to at least find one. I threw across the edge of a pad field and worked my frog back, but nothing came for it, and as I cleared the edge of the pads into the open water, a huge explosion. The kind that rattles you inside as a bass engulfed my frog.

I felt her as she rolled with my bait and set the hook hard. There was no give. It was just solid like I was hung on a log, and then the unmistakable head shake. My rod was bent over and my drag was tight, but still the line pulled off the reel.

What a fight. She made a run, but the steady pressure turned her and she ran under the boat. I pulled back hard and grabbed the net, and she made another run under the boat. I got her back out, hoping she would not jump. I finally pulled her up to the surface and slid my net under her. What a beautiful bass and the opportunity to finally breathe.

The first bass of the day and what a monster. As she waited in the net safely in the water, I grabbed the scales and my phone. A few quick pictures and then I got to see just how big she really was—a hefty 6.56 pounds, securing the big fish of the day hopefully.

With a thank you, I put her back in the water and watched as she swam off to grow up some more. We continued to fish hard, but the bass just didn’t want to play.

Slowly we found a few willing to play, but Tim just couldn’t get one to stay hooked up. I was up 4–0 before Tim found his first to make it into the boat. A beautiful 3 pound bass.

We made it around the pond and started a second turn around the pond. Tim found another one sitting on the edge of the pads, another 3 pound bass that fought like she was much bigger.

We kept fishing hard. Tim found another one. And then I found one. We went back into another cove and to the pads in the back.

We were throwing soft plastics, jigs, and of course, my frog. As we were sitting there working one side of the boat, something exploded just feet away from the boat. It startled both of us to say the least, but we didn’t catch anything throwing around the area.

We continued to fish and went a little deeper into the pads. I made a long cast with my frog, hoping to find another topwater bite. And then that explosion as she hit my frog. The pause to ensure she ate it, and then the hard hook set.

Thankfully I had 65 pound braided line as she tried to get free in the lily pads. It never gets old. Not a huge bass, but a solid 4 pounds. And back she went to grow up some more.

Around the Pond

In the local ponds, look for the bass to be feeding up. Work the shallows with slow moving baits like a wacky rigged worm, a Texas rigged soft plastic worm or creature bait, or a jig. Also a moving bait like a spinnerbait, a squarebill crankbait, or a jerkbait.

Work out to the first drop off into deeper water. Pay attention to the laydowns and brush piles. Work them from the outside in to catch as many as possible around them.

Don’t forget the topwater baits. A hollow bellied frog is great in the lily pads, along the edges, and over laydowns. A walking style bait will draw fish up and from a distance as will a buzzbait. Work them along the edges of the lily pads and over laydowns. Also work them along the top of the drop off. Just be ready for that monster bass to explode on it.

Event Reminders

Don’t forget about the meeting May 28, 2026, from 5–7 p.m. at the Callao Fire Department with the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR). This is your opportunity to review and comment on several potential plans for Gardy’s Mill Pond and associated dam.

We have very few public freshwater ponds in the Northern Neck and we cannot afford to lose one. It also serves as a dry hydrant for firefighting, a loss felt when two recent fires on each side of the pond could have used it. Come show your support and let your voice be heard.

And don’t forget about the Kids Fishing Day on June 6 at Wilna Pond. The pier and pond will be closed for the event. It is going to be a fun day, so make sure to get your reservation in as space is limited. See you there.

Safety in Mind

With Memorial Day being the unofficial start to summer, the water will become even busier. It calls to us for adventure and fun. But we need to remember that it is dangerous. Floating debris can be hiding right under the surface. And with more people on the water, we need to be respectful of each other. Knowing the rules of the water is a top priority. They are there to keep us alive.

A life jacket is one of the most important tools we have besides our wits. Make sure to wear it and have your killswitch attached. Leave a float/bank plan with someone. Think safety first, 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 them 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.