The Berkshires: Where to Fish for Brook Trout and Brown Trout in Western Massachusetts

Go to Savoy Mountain State Forest in the Berkshires

Savoy Mountain State Forest, in Florida, Massachusetts holds within its eskers one of the most reliable brown and brook trout ponds in Massachusetts. Tiny, round, set deep in a sharp notch in the woods below a steep esker whose banks plunge to the water's edge like the face of a waterfall, the forest's pond is full of trout: not only rainbows but brook trout and brown trout. Surrounded by 14,000 acres of state forest, it's filled with waters clean and clear.

Just one of several freshwater fishing spots tucked away in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts, you can't beat a three or four day fishing stay here, especially if you're a need-to-get-away angler with the willingness to carry in firewood, water, and food to one of the four one-room log cabins available for rent from the state's Department of Natural Resources.

The payoffs: remote loveliness, good fishing, access to the pond's long ice-fishing season.

Built by the civilian conservation corps in the 1930's, the cabins at Savoy Mountain are a good bargain. Summits nearby offer views of four mountain ranges: the Taconic, Green, Hoosac, and Litchfield ranges plus a glimpse of the Adirondacks. The hills which undulate over the forest are gentle and rolling and provide pleasant hiking once you've had your fill of fish.

As for what you can catch here, take your pick among brown, brook and rainbow trout. In addition a variety of panfish populate nearby Bog Pond and South Pond. Ice fishing is an excellent option, but it's the ponds' browns which offer the most satisfaction.

Like all browns in the US, the brown trout at Savoy are the progeny of an import effort in 1882 which brought brown trout to the US from England. Mistakenly regarded as native to Massachusetts since, brown trout in Savoy Mountain's waters haven't lost their characteristic characteristics of caution, guile, and wiliness.