Wagamons Pond: Two Delaware Record Bass

Wagamons Pond in Milton covers about 41 acres. It has produced both of Delaware’s recent largemouth bass records, and both fish were released.

The story

In March 2012, James Hitchens of Georgetown caught a 10-pound, 10-ounce largemouth on a live shiner. He let it go. It became the state record.

On February 20, 2016, A.J. Klein of New Castle was fishing the pond with Joe Lattis. The morning had been slow. They were using shiners and spinnerbaits when Klein landed a bass that was 27 inches long with a 20.5-inch girth, and weighed 11 pounds 1.6 ounces. The fish was weighed at Bill’s Sport Shop in Lewes and certified by DNREC Natural Resources Police. Then it went back into the water. DNREC lists it as the state record.

Why it’s remarkable

Both records came from the same small pond, and both fish were released. A local columnist speculated that the 2016 fish might be the same one Hitchens caught in 2012, grown larger. That is unproven, and nothing in the sources confirms it.

Where the sources disagree

The Cape Gazette and The Fisherman report the 2016 fish as 11 pounds 10 ounces. DNREC and Bassmaster report 11 pounds 1.6 ounces. We use DNREC’s number because it is the one on the agency’s records list. Sources also give the 2012 catch date as March 22 or March 23, so we say March.

The pond behind the records

Wagamons Pond is 41.1 acres in Milton, in Sussex County, and DNREC counts it among the state’s top bass ponds and tournament waters. A DNREC boat ramp and courtesy dock opened in April 2021. DNREC also treats the pond every year for hydrilla, an invasive aquatic plant, which is one reason anglers might choose weedless baits such as soft plastics and spinnerbaits. That link is our inference and not an agency finding.

DNREC’s survey numbers show how a small pond can still be a good one. In 2010, electrofishing turned up 113 largemouth bass per hour, 32 of them over 15 inches, along with 94 bluegill and 109 redear sunfish per hour. In 2015 the numbers were lower, at 44 bass per hour with 12 over 15 inches, 77 bluegill and 17 redear. Surveys are snapshots, and a pond can change between them.

Catch and release

Both record fish went back into the water, and that is worth noticing. Klein’s 2016 bass was weighed at Bill’s Sport Shop in Lewes, certified by DNREC Natural Resources Police, and released.

Fishing the water

DNREC’s 2010 survey recorded 32 bass over 15 inches per hour of electrofishing at Wagamons. That points to a healthy fishery, but it does not guarantee a catch. The Wagamons Pond guide covers access, rules and tackle.

For the full records list and the other stories, see the Delaware Dock Tales index.