I left the office early last Friday, taking up On The Water TV Producer, Adam Eldridge, on his invitation to spend the weekend camping and fishing at the Chiltonville Fly-Fishing Club and Gilbert Trout Hatchery, the oldest, continuously running privately owned trout hatchery in the country.
Just a few turns off Route 3, the paved road yielded to a dirt path pitted with rain ruts, and the excitement of camping in the wildness under a clear October sky took hold, and I gave my shocks a workout as I bounced along the dirt a little faster than I should have. Before long I passed a beautifully carved wooden sign letting me know I’d arrived.
Eager to fish, I unloaded a few things from my truck and tossed on my waders. Before wetting a line, I chipped in on the chores that have kept this hatchery operating for the past 146 years! After unclogging some river vents and cleaning out some fish pens, I set off to see if I could catch one of the trout that had been liberated in the waters upstream of the hatchery. Fishing in the fly-fishing only, I raised a beautiful brook trout on an ARF Midge.
For a small yearly fee you can become a member of this Fishing Club, granting you access to the trout-filled waters. There is a quaint cabin on the grounds with a wood-burning stove, and walls with pictures depicting the history of the hatchery.
Within a mile of the club is a pond with great fishing for warmwater species like bass, pickerel and perch. On Saturday morning, when Adam and I were joined by a few of our co-workers, we hit this pond. We spent a few hours exploring the banks by foot, casting earthworms. The fish weren’t huge, but they were plentiful.
For more information on the Gilbert Trout Hatchery and the Chiltonville Fly Fishing Club, visit http://www.chiltonvilleflyfishermen.com/. To purchase brown, brook, rainbow or golden rainbow trout for your fishing club or private pond (in Massachusetts only), you can contact Darlene Nickerson at 508-951-4685.