Deerfield River is a fly fishing location in Franklin County, Massachusetts.
This destination has an elevation of 335 feet. Please view the pinpointed location for Deerfield River on the Google Map to the right.
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Latest trip report: Deerfield River
2 - GOOD on 05/31/2011
Lower sections are at normal flows with good fishing. Upper sections are back to near normal releases and the fishing is also good again. Good fishing is happening now that the flows are stabilizing, especially around the normal fish drop off points of access. Best bets are morning and later day as mid day is hit or miss. Deep water buggering and nymphing remains good for this time of season and the wet fly season is heating up. Fish are spreading out nicely and the forecast for continued good fishing is in the works. Be sure to watch for scheduled fly and spey classes and schools in the area, or call and set up a personalized day of instruction and a wade or float fly fishing trip.
(05/31/11 by NeffGuide)
Deerfield River Description
The
Deerfield River is a tail water that originates in Vermont and flows into
Massachusetts in Monroe. The river is fairly large averaging around 1000
cubic feet per second depending on Dam releases. There are times when
wading is easier at lower flows generally in the evening in morning.
Floating in a raft or pontoon boat is a great way to experience all
sections of this river during appropriate flows.
This is truly a twelve month river and fishes well all year.
Most productive months are April through December. January, February, and
March will produce lower numbers of fish but these are the months when
larger wild browns are an everyday occurrence. The state of Massachusetts
stocks the river from April through October which increases fish
populations in summer months. There are both wild brown trout and wild
rainbow trout reproducing in the watershed, along with a huge number of
holdover stocked fish make for ample opportunity to catch fish. Wild
brook trout are few and far between but you will find them in all sections
of the river system.
The Deerfield can be a challenging river to fish
due to flow changes from the more than a dozen dams on the river. If the
flow changes are utilized anglers can use them to catch fish effectively
all the time. Paying attention to dam forecasts and USGS gauges increase
success and accessibility on the whole river system. There are numbers of
tributaries that have more consistent and natural flows that also hold
populations of trout year round.
While the upper reaches of the
Deerfield river hold trout species only, the lower river offers
opportunities for all three species of trout, smallmouth bass and nice
runs of American Shad during the summer months. The lower river also has
fluctuating levels due to dam releases. From Shelburne Falls down stream
the dam releases seem to be less dramatic and usually come up and down
less than the upper river.
At any given time throughout the year there
are opportunities to catch fish on nymphs, streamers, or dry flies on the
Deerfield. Even in the dead of winter there are trout rising in certain
places on the river. The tail water dams keep the river cool in the
summer and a little warmer in the winter. One quality about this
watershed is that it produces quality fish all year round and that is not
an easy thing to find in New England. The erratic flows keep crowds away
and fish feeding aggressively. It is not uncommon to fish all day without
seeing any other anglers. The high flows do complicate wade fishing but
if anglers pay attention to flows there are always places for wading and
drifting year round.
During summer months the Deerfield can experience
heavy boater and tube traffic. There are a number of river sections that
are very difficult to access by boat and should be sought out by anglers
to avoid heavy traffic weekends.
The diversity of water types the
Deerfield offers is one of the rivers great attributes. A fisherman can
fish fast water, slow water, pocket water, dry flies, wet flies all in the
same day and have success doing all of them. Flies range from huge
sculpins imitations to hatch matching mayfly patterns during sulphur and
Hendrickson hatches!
(04/06/11 by aidema)
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