I've posted all the photos below here and there, but in this post, I've brought them together to give you a fuller look at my beloved pond. I bought it in the spring of 2024, five acres with 471' of "shoreline." I put "shoreline" in quotes because it's really wetlands with an inlet giving me access to open water. The first task was building a driveway. Because of protective laws, the driveway had to stop 250' from the wetlands. Here's the driveway where my property begins:

 

 

Here's deeper into the woods:

 

 

It doesn't look so clean and pretty anymore because of leaves, but it's still smooth and solid. The driveway leads to a little turnaround where a winding path takes me the rest of the way:

 

 

The path actually looks better now than in the photo because I had some crushed gravel spread on it. I pad down that path in the wee-est light in the mornings. Then I reach the wetlands and I can see the 170-acre pond beyond it. You can also see my boardwalk, built from oak trees from my land. The trunks were cut in half lengthwise with pallets and milled oak affixed atop them. The pond looks so close in the photo below, but it takes a minute to reach it on the boardwalk:

 

 

Here's a better look at the boardwalk. The local men loved building it. I was hoping it would last for two years, but now I'm thinking it will last for 20 years...or more:

 

 

At one point, the boardwalk meets an old stone wall and the guys rearranged the stones to make that part of the boardwalk. You can see the stone wall below and you can also see the pallets before the milled oak was attached:

 

 

A friend extended the boardwalk all the way to open water. He didn't make it as sturdy as the first part, but it works:

 

 

Here's the view looking out to the pond from where I dock my canoe in the inlet:

 

 

Again, the pond looks closer than it actually is and my docking area hasn't been sheathed with milled oak yet. And here's the view I see coming back to dock in the full bloom of summer:

 

 

Now let's look at the pond. It's basically a rectangle and only one shoreline is solid and wooded. This one:

 

 

See the house in the woods? It's 250' from the shoreline, as nine of the ten houses are. There's an old camp that's much closer, but it's rarely used. The other shorelines look like this:

 

 

The wetlands filter the water, so it's one of Maine's purest ponds and wildlife abounds. The frogs hurt my ears in the spring and the bees buzzing is quite loud too. There are eagles, loons, owls, and ospreys. Beavers, deer, and otters too. There are distant hills, which I love:

 

 

Most trips, I stop fishing to say, "Thank you." I mostly fish weekday mornings so that I'll have the pond to myself. If I fish weekends, I'll likely see another boat or two. I catch a lot of bass in eel grass, but they're not always there. They come and go:

 

 

For a week in the summer of 2025, I caught them in pondweed too:

 

 

This is my favorite laydown. At its peak, I'll catch half a dozen bass from it:

 

 

This little stream, which leads to a big bog, is the best spot on the pond for big bass. I have yet to fish the big bog. It's not easy to reach:

 

 

I have good luck in the two bays too. Here's one:

 

 

Lily pads abound and they all hold bass, but they're not as good as eel grass:

 

 

There are some shallow corners that can hold big bass:

 

 

There's an island too and I'll sometimes catch bass off of it, but I mostly like to look at it. You can see my favorite laydown again:

 

 

Of course, being New England, the shorelines are afire with color in the fall:

 

 

But foggy mornings might be my favorite time:

 

 

My pond isn't where I catch the most bass nor my biggest bass, but it's my favorite place. There's so much more to love than just bass. Speaking of bass, I did start to catch 19-inchers at the end of 2025. Finally! I'd caught hundreds of 18" to 18.75" bass, but no nineteens until this first one:

 

 

I'm expecting to catch many 19-inchers in 2026, but if I don't, my love won't wane. I'll likely build a small Net Zero home there one day, a home that can heat and light itself and then I won't have to drive the five minutes to my pond. I'll just walk through the woods.  

Absolutely gorgeous!!! I mean just stunning & a perfect fishing spot. 
 

Thanks, @wdp! It feels like Heaven to me. 

Wonderful. Blessed you are. Want more 19"ers, you should eat 12"ers.

11 minutes ago, GreenPig said:

Wonderful. Blessed you are. Want more 19"ers, you should eat 12"ers.

 

I don't catch many 12-inchers, but you're right. Maybe I'll do a couple fish fries in 2026. 

I’m on the coast of Maine and don’t venture Maine’s interior very often. I forget how beautiful Maine is. 
 

Thanks for posting those pics!

That's a whole different world than where i fish. Awesome.

9 minutes ago, detroit1 said:

That's a whole different world than where i fish. Awesome.

 

^This^ is why I love when Bass Resourcers share pics of where they fish. It's cool to see how bass environments vary so. 

 

Congratulations on owning a little slice of Heaven Katie. You are truly blessed.

Yeah, not sure I could survive that…. Just too many targets to cast to.  I’d wear out an elbow or two.

 

Beautiful in so many ways.  Thanks for sharing.  

 

18 minutes ago, casts_by_fly said:

Just too many targets to cast to.

 

Yeah, huh! You can see why I'm a scoot and skitter angler...except at my best laydown. I'll fish one side of the tree, then the tip of the tree, and then the other side. And I'll fish adjacent areas too. That old White pine gathers bass. As with all laydowns, hooking a bass and landing a bass aren't the same thing. 

 

2 hours ago, T-Billy said:

You are truly blessed.

 

Yes, I am, which is why I stop every trip, look up, and say, "Thank you."

 

Next spring, the three massive men are returning for three days. There are a lot of oak trees on the ground and they'll cut them and take the wood to our local Woodshed, where poor folks can get wood for free to heat their homes. They'll also fell dead trees and build a little platform for a few chairs. I think I'll launch and catch some bass for the boys to clean and cook. They'd like that, I think. 

 

 

@Swamp Girl with a tree that sized that you know holds that many bass, I’d carry a small anchor for it.  Anchor 90’ away or so and start from the outside.  You’d be surprised how many fish are out much further than you’d expect.  I’ve seen it on FFS on a couple laydowns on my lakes.  It’s tempting to make that perfect cast right up into the V of the laydown that’s almost on shore but when you do the others just drop away into deeper water.  Like fishing docks, start on the furthest outside spot until they stop eating.  then go 10’ closer.  And then with an anchor you’re not getting pulled into it.  

1 hour ago, casts_by_fly said:

@Swamp Girl with a tree that sized that you know holds that many bass, I’d carry a small anchor for it.  Anchor 90’ away or so and start from the outside.  You’d be surprised how many fish are out much further than you’d expect.  I’ve seen it on FFS on a couple laydowns on my lakes.  It’s tempting to make that perfect cast right up into the V of the laydown that’s almost on shore but when you do the other just drop away into deeper water.  Like fishing docks, start on the furthest outside spot until they stop eating.  then go 10’ closer.  And then with an anchor you’re not getting pulled into it.  

 

That's a great idea. I've been pulled into that tree so many times, killing the fishing. I also like the idea of working my way toward the tree, saving the best for my last casts. 

Just beautiful.

When are you going to build that little cabin in the woods?

10 minutes ago, Kayak Koz said:

When are you going to build that little cabin in the woods?

 

No time frame yet. I've done two major home projects in the last 14 years and I just want to live in my current, beautiful home for a bit before building another. Meanwhile, the pond is only five minutes away.

Stunning Katy, simply stunning.

 

Steve

Thanks for sharing @Swamp Girl! Love the pictures and the write-up. 

 

Outstanding!!

 

I'm so glad you guys enjoyed this post. I think there are some Bass Resourcers who are fully, only bass-focused, but there are others among us who stop and smell the pine-scented breeze.

 

I also think that sharing photos of WHERE we catch bass is informative. Many of the pics above show the exact places where I catch bass. A beginning bass angler could look at them, see similar locations, and chuck a lure into those spots...and likely catch bass.

 

Plus, it's just so interesting to me how different bass homes can be. You've seen where Al @Lottabass catches BIG bass, that funky, green water with dead trees that look like witches' crooked fingers. Seeing Al's photos, if I ever get a chance to cast into algae-thick water, I will. And I won't hesitate to fish roiling water after seeing Russ's @TnRiver46 photos. Or cast at sloped shorelines built from boulders after watching Glenn's @Glenn videos. However, I don't know if I'll ever be brave enough to cast into @PhishLI's thickets!

 

Remember the stream that leads to a bog? This one:

 

 

Well, the bog begins about 20 yards ahead in the photo above and there are clumps of soggy soil that break up the stream. I've forayed up it a bit and there are bass up there and I've landed a few, but lawdy, lawdy, it's like wrestling a bull in a china shop when you've promised to not chip a single plate. There is just so much to avoid in the tussle with almost more wood than water. It looks like this, but MUCH tighter and I'm sitting in a canoe. If I could stand, that would help:

 

Looks great !  I should know this from your posts already, but do you catch many smallmouths in it? It seems like it’s got plenty of largemouths…

I need to do this kind of thing with my little lake !

55 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

I need to do this kind of thing with my little lake !

 

Yes, please! Give us a tour.

 

55 minutes ago, N Florida Mike said:

do you catch many smallmouths in it?

 

No, but the ones I do catch are muscular.

 

Absolutely Beautiful 

Wow …..I really mean…. WOW!!

What a great place!

Love the slide show too.

 

2 hours ago, GRiver said:

Love the slide show too.

 

Thanks! I hope some others will assemble slide shows of their fishing holes too, showing exactly where they catch bass. I can't speak for others, but I learn more easily when I'm shown what type of cover holds bass.

 

2 hours ago, GRiver said:

What a great place!

 

I'm just glad that most people don't feel this way or I would never have been able to afford it. I paid $75,000, but there are two other five acre lots on nearby lakes and the asking prices are $850,000 and $1,250,000. Both lakes are MUCH more developed and have ramps, jet skis, and pontoon boats. Some people prefer such things, which is why the asking prices are so much higher.

 

The wetlands that edge my lot are actually useful to me. I tie my canoe to a pallet, but there's really no need. One time I forgot to tie up and my canoe was exactly where I left it. It's that sheltered. And I've caught up to five bass at a time in my little inlet. I walk beyond my canoe, as quietly and low as possible, and cast into the inlet toward the pond. It's narrow, but holds fish in late spring and early summer. Here:

 

 

My pond doesn't grow platter-shaped bass like the ones @Bluebasser86 catches and it doesn't grow loooong bass like @Pat Brown catches , but they are muscular and powerful and so much fun.

 

When the guys clean up the shoreline next May, I'll share photos of that too.

 

 

There are few things I miss about the north...but its scenery is by far the biggest one.