Above / About 4PM Fri., March 24, Ryan Solomon caught a wide-mouth bass at May Watts Pond. (Photo by Mark Lara)
At 2PM Fri., March 24, three buddies arrived at May Watts Pond to check out fishing conditions on the warmest day in Naperville since October 2016.
During their big fish stories, we learned that Mark Lara, Ryan Solomon and Jake Kaminsky met at the University of Illinois and have remained friends since graduation.
What they figured would be a few minutes of testing the waters turned into hours as the fish were biting, practically jumping onto their hooks.
Armed with a bag of frozen corn for bait and their fishing gear, the young men reported they enjoyed catching and releasing blue gills, bass and carp.
Above / Mark Lara, Ryan Solomon and Jake Kaminsky had their best luck fishing at the east end of the foot bridge that crosses May Watts Pond from Countryside to the playgrounds and May Watts Elementary School. (PN Photo) Since this photo was taken earlier this week, blackened signs indicate a controlled burn cleared all the brush along the north side of this pond.
The landscape surrounding May Watts Pond is a natural tribute to a Naperville woman, May Theilgaard Watts, who enjoyed a passion for preservation and teaching about the great outdoors.
Naturalist Watts (1893-1975), best known for her dedication to establish the Illinois Prairie Path, also is remembered at another park, trail and District 204 elementary school named in her honor, located in the Countryside and West Wind subdivisions in Naperville.
