Deerfield River (Florida to Charlemont)

The Deerfield River, running through the hills of Florida, Rowe and Charlemont, is what MassWildlife calls a premier destination for trout anglers. The agency found that more than 80 percent of the brown trout between Fife Brook Dam and the Route 2 bridge in Charlemont are wild fish born in the river, so it stopped stocking browns there. It still stocks rainbows in that stretch, stocks browns farther down, and manages two catch-and-release areas.

When to fish

• Spring and fall: MassWildlife stocks the river in Florida, Charlemont, Buckland, Shelburne, Conway and Deerfield in both seasons.
• All year: the wild browns in the upper river don't depend on stocking.

Where to fish

• Upper catch-and-release area: from Fife Brook Dam down to the Hoosac Tunnel. Artificial lures only; every fish goes back.
• Lower catch-and-release area: from Pelham Brook down to the Mohawk Campground in Charlemont, under the same rules.
• Fife Brook Dam to the Route 2 bridge: the wild brown trout water.
• Below Route 2: stocked browns and rainbows, with trout harvest allowed under the state's major-river limits outside the catch-and-release areas.

Getting there

Route 2 crosses the river in Charlemont. DCR's Mohawk Trail State Forest on Cold River Road in Charlemont has camping and trout fishing in its own streams. Check the USGS streamflow gauges near Rowe and at Charlemont for current conditions before you wade. You need a Massachusetts freshwater fishing license, and small lead sinkers and lead jigs are banned in fresh water.