WEST HARBOR POND
WATERSHED ASSOCIATION
PRESERVING AND PROTECTING WATER AND WILDLIFE
IN THE HEART OF THE BOOTHBAY PENINSULA
Photo: David Dalena
Photo: Lois A. Glaser
Photo: David Dalena
Photo: David Dalena
WEST HARBOR POND UPDATES
2026 West Harbor Pond Fishing Derby Wraps UP
The 2026 WHP Fishing Derby came to a close after another season of great catches, shared stories, and the easy camaraderie that makes West Harbor Pond such a special place. This year’s derby winners are: in August, George Valasek in the youth category with a standout 19" largemouth bass, and Lisa Valasek in the adult category with a strong 14" largemouth bass. Our July winners are James Byrne, with skilled assistance from Xavier Williams, for their impressive 15" largemouth bass. Congratulations to all of our winners. Thank you to every angler, every shoreline cheerleader, and everyone who helped keep this tradition thriving. Until next year, may your lines stay tight, your mornings calm, and your fish stories just bold enough to make us smile. For all of the details of this season's catches, go to the Great West Harbor Pond Fishing Derby webpage.
West Harbor Pond Watershed Association
2026 Annual Meeting
The 2026 annual meeting of the West Harbor Pond Watershed Association, was held on Sunday, August 16th. The speaker this year was Billy Helprin, Director of the Somes-Meynell Wildlife Sanctuary on Mount Desert Island and an expert on loons. He enlightend the WHPWA members with his talk “Loon Adaptations: It's Hard to be Expert at Everything.” There was also a short business meeting. Notes from the meeting can be found on this page.
WEST HARBOR POND
West Harbor Pond is a beautiful 84-acre freshwater lake in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Designated and protected by the state as a Great Pond, it is home to an abundance of fish and wildlife.
As part of the watershed connecting Knickerbocker Lake to Boothbay Harbor's inner harbor and the Gulf of Maine, West Harbor Pond is a pathway for migrating alewives and glass eels. The population of large- and small-mouth bass and white perch keeps fishermen busy.
The Pond is a bird lovers’ paradise with regular sightings of bald eagles, osprey, owls, blue heron, loons, and white egrets. It is home to kingfishers, cormorant, and an ever-changing population of ducks including buffleheads, wood ducks, and other migratory waterfowl. Along its shores, deer, wild turkey, fox, and mink are plentiful. Turtles and beaver make their home in the Pond. See examples of Pond wildlife in our Photo gallery.
West Harbor Pond is also a place of stillness. State law prohibiting motorized craft over 9.9 hp means that there are few motorboats on the Pond. Most folks venture out in canoes, kayaks, paddleboards, rowing shells, and row boats when they wish to enjoy the benefits of this special place.
We might think of West Harbor Pond mostly in the warmer seasons, but in winter it becomes a special place as winter weather turns it into a home for winter's special seasonal activities as well.
Summer on the Pond
- Swimmers of all ages gliding through clear water
- Fishermen in kayaks, boats, and on the shore--and the Fishing Derby!!!
- Children splashing and laughing as they jump from floats or rope swings
- Ladies gathering in kayaks to enjoy a leisurely paddle and cocktail hour
- Vacationing and resident dogs love to swim, too...
- Wildlife: Osprey flying overhead or diving for a meal. Herons on shore tending their clutch. Beavers swimming, carrying bottom plants for lunch. A pair of loons swimming and diving. "Glenn" and "Frye", our resident bald eagles. Mallards, cormorants, gulls, turtles, and on it goes.
LATEST NEWS FROM THE WHPWA
Loons on the Lake
In the Summers of 2022 through 2024 West Harbor Pond became the pond of choice for a loon couple to bear and raise its chick! Please visit the WHPWA website News Page to learn more and to see photos of the 2022 happy family.
WHPWA and the Lakes Stewards of Maine
In 2025, the WHPWA will continue in its relationship with the Lake Stewards of Maine, the organization that oversees the collection of water quality data from lakes across the state. We have been collecting and providing water transparency data to LSM since 2010. Beginning in 2022 we have been providing our temperature and dissolved oxygen data to LSM.
In May 2022 West Harbor Pond was featured as the “Lake of the Month” on the LSM’s website, where they posted an article about the Pond on their home page. You can read this article at https://www.lakesofmaine.org/featured-lakes.html .
For more information about the WHPWA relationship to the Lake Stewards, go to the Lake Stewards page on this website.
Loon photo by Lois Glaser
UPCOMING EVENTS
Moonlight Paddles On West Harbor Pond
Moonlight Paddles for the 2026 season have not yet been scheduled.