@Swamp Girl Your photos and more importantly the scenery in them that you shared are as beautiful as your writing skills, the love you feel for your land and the animals that share it with you is felt in your words. Although I’ll never get my wife to live in such a remote area and truthfully I’m not sure I could at this point in my life either it makes me happy to see it hasn’t been overtaken by people with too much money and in my opinion zero respect for the beauty created long ago by someone or something depending on one’s personal views. 

1 hour ago, Eric 26 said:

@Swamp Girl Your photos and more importantly the scenery in them that you shared are as beautiful as your writing skills, the love you feel for your land and the animals that share it with you is felt in your words. Although I’ll never get my wife to live in such a remote area and truthfully I’m not sure I could at this point in my life either it makes me happy to see it hasn’t been overtaken by people with too much money and in my opinion zero respect for the beauty created long ago by someone or something depending on one’s personal views. 

 

Thank you, Eric. Southern Maine has been swarmed by people with too much money. I fear the same with mid-coast Maine, but my pond has natural defenses, i.e. wetland on three shores. So, fingers crossed it stays green!

@N Florida Mike: Here's the biggest smallmouth I've ever caught at my pond. She was only 18 inches, but thick:

 

I wonder why there’s fewer smallmouth than largemouth?  I’ve never caught one so … maybe it’s obvious but I don’t know much about them. 

1 hour ago, N Florida Mike said:

I wonder why there’s fewer smallmouth than largemouth?  I’ve never caught one so … maybe it’s obvious but I don’t know much about them. 

 

Mike, I think smallies often struggle to compete with lmb, but it's also an issue of habitat. My pond has some rocky bottom, but more muddy bottom, thus more habitat for the largemouth.