The Biggest Trout in MA Rivers

Troy Holt

I know many people who routinely drive 2-3 hours to try to get a good shot at some big trout.  And just to be clear, I’m defining big as 17+ inches or above 2.5 pounds.  Now it’s true that in most of the local rivers near your house, a majority of the trout are probably about 12 inch stocked rainbows, but that doesn’t mean that there aren’t some real giants!  So to give some inspiration to fish the local river 30 minutes away, instead of driving 2 hours, I’ve made a list of many of the rivers in MA, and listed the biggest trout I know has been caught there.  To be clear, all of these trout were caught by me or one of my friends, so these are not just weights that I found listed on some obscure blog, that are almost certainly not real.  And also, while I do like to encourage fishing all over MA, and will reveal many good spots, there are certain places that I keep to myself.  So if there is a river near you, that holds trout, it still could hold some trophy trout!

Some of these are small rivers, so I noted if a 12-14 inch trout has been caught there.  For example, you wouldn’t expect a 12 inch trout in a tiny brookie stream.
Note, most of these rivers are in Northeast MA, since this is where I live.

  1. Parker River – 25 inch rainbow trout (6 pound 2 ounces)
  2. Ipswich River – 20 inch rainbow trout
  3. Swift River – 21 inch rainbow trout (but there are bigger ones in there!)
  4. Deerfield River – 20 inch brown trout
  5. Squannacook River – 18 inch brown trout
  6. Nissitissit River – 18.5 inch rainbow trout
  7. Shawsheen River – 16.5 inch rainbow trout
  8. Fish Brook – 12 inch brook trout
  9. Beaver Brook – 13 inch brown trout
  10. Trap Fall Brook – 11 inch brook trout
  11. Assabet Brook – 14 inch rainbow
  12. Quinapoxet River – 24 inch lake trout/20 inch brown trout
  13. Stillwater River – 19 inch brown trout
  14. Quaboag River – 17 inch rainbow trout
  15. Powow River – 16 inch rainbow trout
  16. Ware River – 17 inch brown trout
  17. Millers River – 17 inch brown trout
  18.  Assabet River – 16 inch brook trout
Yes, I know there are no pictures, but the goal of this was just to establish a list, that I will hopefully update periodically.  I’ll post some pics in the future.
These are just a few, of the many rivers that hold nice sized trout.  Basically every river that is stocked holds a few trout 17+ inches.  Go out, explore, give your local waters a chance! And if you know of some bigger trout from these waters, or other rivers that hold BIG trout, just leave a comment and I’ll add ’em on.
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3 thoughts on “The Biggest Trout in MA Rivers”

  1. Nice list. Which fish brook are you referring to because there is one that is a trib of the ware river and one that is in Ipswich? Also, was the brookie in the assabet river a native?

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  2. Oh sorry, I didn't see this comment until now. I was referring to the tributary of the Ipswich. And I believe the brookie in the Assabet was not a native, although there are some in there. It was more likely a holdover, that had been in the river for years, since they don't stock them very big in there.

    ~Troy

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