Puffers Pond, Amherst, MA

Factory Hollow Pond, known to almost everyone as Puffer's Pond, is a small round pond in Amherst, MA that is known more for trout fishing than bass fishing.  There is access to nearly every part of the pond from the shore and if you wanted to you could get a small boat in there as well.  The bass I have caught here were pretty small but I only fished here during the post spawn period.

Puffers get's pretty deep in the middle, about 15 feet from what I've heard, but the northern shore is pretty shallow and the weeds just off the shore give the fish good structure to hide by.  There are lilly pads running along the northern and north eastern shores that you can fish as well as a few downed trees on the western shore.

On the south western shore, there is a tall rock wall that goes deep into the water that you can fish if you can cast it far enough out there.  I've also seen a few kids fishing from atop the rock but I'm not sure how to get up there or if it's even legal to be up there.  For the most part, Puffer's Pond isn't an ideal fishing spot but when you're crunched for time and want to get in a few casts, you could do a lot worse than Puffer's.

One thing you have to be aware of though is that this is the "beach" for Umass students.  On a hot spring/fall day, expect to see hundreds of students laying on the beach and swimming so don't expect to have a very successful day. 

Successful Bait: Worms- Watermelon, pumpkin seed green.  Poppers- Yellow & Black pattern.
Shore Fishing? Yes 
Boat Access? Yes 
Boat Ramp? No

See Puffer's Pond in Google Maps

Swains Pond, Melrose, MA

Swains Pond is a tiny little pond located in Melrose, MA.  I fished it for about 3 hours and caught just over 10 bass.  Nothing too impressive, but for the size of the pond, the fish were actually good size.  It's located right near a couple other ponds as well in case you want to hop around that day.

I fished almost exclusively on the eastern shore of the pond where the lilly pads were really thick but gave the fish perfect coverage from the summer sun.  I did catch a few out in the middle, but your best odds are sticking to the shore.  The southwest corner also produced some action for me as well.

Although the pond is small, if you did want to put a boat in it, it wouldn't be such a bad idea.  There is a steep rock wall on the northwest corner that gives the first some good structure to sit on.  There are also some thick bushes on the northern shore giving the fish good coverage and giving you a perfect fishing spot. 

There's not much more to say about Swain Pond.  Lots of fish, not too much water to cover, and parking right next to the pond.  Good luck!

Successful Bait: Worms- Watermelon,  Red, Brown.  Poppers- Silver w/ Blue back
Shore Fishing? Yes 
Boat Access? Yes 
Boat Ramp? No

See Swains Pond in Google Maps