Fishing Water

Acadian Redfish

Alewife

Bass, Striped

Bluefish

Bonito, Atlantic

Cod, Atlantic

Cusk

Eel, American

Flounder, Summer

Flounder, Windowpane

Flounder, Winter

Flounder, Witch

Flounder, Yellowtail

Haddock

Hake (all species)

Halibut

Herring, Blueback

Mackerel, Atlantic

Manatee, West Indian

Marlin, Blue

Marlin, White

Monkfish

Ocean Pout

Perch, White

Plaice, American

Pollock

Porgy, Scup

Red Tide

Sailfish

Sawfish (all species)

Sea Bass, Black

Shad, American

Shark, Atlantic Angel

Shark, Atlantic Sharpnose

Shark, Basking

Shark, Bigeye Sand Tiger

Shark, Bigeye Sixgill

Shark, Bigeye Thresher

Shark, Bignose

Shark, Blacknose

Shark, Blacktip

Shark, Blue

Shark, Bonnethead

Shark, Bull

Shark, Caribbean Reef

Shark, Caribbean Sharpnose

Shark, Common Thresher

Shark, Dusky

Shark, Finetooth

Shark, Galapagos

Shark, Great Hammerhead

Shark, Lemon

Shark, Longfin Mako

Shark, Narrowtooth

Shark, Night

Shark, Nurse

Shark, Oceanic Whitetip

Shark, Porbeagle

Shark, Sand Tiger

Shark, Sandbar

Shark, Scalloped Hammerhead

Shark, Sevengill

Shark, Shortfin Mako

Shark, Silky

Shark, Sixgill

Shark, Smalltail

Shark, Smooth Dogfish

Shark, Smooth Hammerhead

Shark, Spinner

Shark, Spiny Dogfish

Shark, Tiger

Shark, Whale

Shark, White

Smelt

Spearfish, Longbill

Spearfish, Roundscale

Sturgeon, Atlantic and shortnose

Swordfish

Tautog

Tuna, Albacore

Tuna, Bigeye

Tuna, Bluefin

Tuna, Skipjack

Tuna, Yellowfin

Tunny, Little

Turtle, Green

Turtle, Hawksbill

Turtle, Kemp’s Ridley 

Turtle, Leatherback

Turtle, Loggerhead

Turtle, Olive Ridley

Weakfish

Whale, Humpback

Whale, North Atlantic Right

Wolffish

Early morning dry fly sipper. A size 20 black gnat.

Took a winged ant off the surface during a light drizzle

Switched to a squirmy worm after the dry fly bite died.

Blessed to be able to experience this fish🙏

Days on this river go rather Swiftly… We found some pods of rainbows 🌈 willing to take a swung wooly bugger. 

From what I hear on the internet this is supposed to be a difficult river. To the people of western Massachusetts, I say try Putah creek!

Tightlines 🎣 🔥

Pictures don’t do this one justice. This old guy has been in there for a while! 

Belchertown

Massachusetts

The Swift is one of the most unique fisheries in New England. The width of your average 3-car garage in most spots, it features pristine, clear waters (visibility upwards of 20 feet), shallow depths and slow current. 

It is a major benefactor of Massachusetts’ trout stocking program, receiving large scale drops of rainbow and brown trout biannually. Fish are stocked in the 14”-20” range, however, the river holds a bounty of holdover fish in most years with some reaching sizes of 30+ inches and over 10 pounds. 

The Swift is most known for 3 species of fish: the stocked rainbow and brown trouts as well as the native brook trout. Some individuals amongst the brookies have been known to reach and exceed 16 inches. Tiger trout are also stocked in small numbers though, and landlocked Atlantic salmon as well as smallmouth bass have been known to spill over the Windsor Dam from the adjacent Quabbin Reservoir. 

With all these great and interesting qualities, the Swift is unsurprisingly one of the most pressured freshwater fisheries in the whole of Massachusetts. It primarily receives pressure from fly-anglers and you can expect to see dozens of others fishing this small water especially during good weather and on weekends. 

The Swift is beautiful and pristine but very difficult to fish. The key out there is practice and taking advantage of times when the river is empty. In my four years fishing the Swift, I have caught rainbows and browns exceeding 23”, tigers and brookies exceeding 16”, and even a 4.5 lb smallie, and thousands of great fish in between. But it has taken that long to learn it and I continue to unpack it every outing to this day. The Swift will either make or break your day; buckle down, fish slow and use anything you can to your advantage and you will eventually lock into something worth remembering.

Highs and Lows

Solid trout fishing location. Easy access, crystal clear water. Active fishing area! Would recommend it as a great location for all types of fishing.

West branch heaven

The swift river is an amazing place to fish for trout but it’s also one of the hardest in the country due to the fact that’s it’s so pressured and the fish are very intelligent. It’s so crazy we had 18in bows and browns swimming through our legs

Best

West Branch Swift River

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Fishing regulations at West Branch Swift River, MA

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