Yakkin' Lake Arrowhead, Waterboro/Limerick, Maine

My daughter, Chelsea and I, after doing some housework chores, decided it was way too nice to stay home. So, we loaded up our two yaks and headed to one of our favorite paddles; Lake Arrowhead. We use the boat launch at the damn at the end of the lake. It's on New Damn Rd. in Waterboro. Arrowhead was originally called, and in some circles is still called, "Little Ossipee Flowage" or "the flowage" and damned decades ago creating the Lake Arrowhead Community . The change in this lake also created the only trophy bass fishing lake in the state and an overwhelming array of coves, backwaters and ecologically diverse water habitats.
On this day, as can be seen, the wind was non-existant and the paddling was easy enough to cover acres of water in no time. We chose to eat our picnic lunch while our boats were hooked together in the middle of a flat-calm cove. The red-winged blackbirds were everywhere and we caught two great blue herons (only one I could photograph) fishing in the shallows. We spotted only one jet-skier and one pontoon boat in the two and one half hours we were there. We also saw kingfishers and one turkey vulture circling overhead. It was quiet enough to hear voices in the yards of the camps and homes along the lake. The water was clear and high, which was nice compared to years passed when the damn had been damaged and the water level had dropped dramatically. We spoke to a couple of anglers (bass men) who said the fishing was better than they'd seen it in years. We had lived here one summer, almost 15 years ago before we bought the home we're living in now. That was the best summer in my family's memory. The bass were plentiful (caught a 3.5 pounder!), the community had several tended beaches then, we frequently visited "the rope swing island" and that was the summer we had only 3 days of rain, so sooo much sunshine. Now the bass have good years and bad, the beaches are no longer tended, the docks have been removed and the rope swing was cut down, but it still is a magical place to explore.