Berkshire mountain area Massachusetts

[jcjunior]

Me and wife are looking to relocate to this area from Long Island ny. Anyone on here from this area? Any advice? Areas to avoid or areas to try and be near? The fishing would be a bonus 

[MN Fisher]

@Boomstick - Dean, you're from that area...give the lad a little help?

 

My knowledge of even central Mass is almost 50 years out of date as that's when we left Worcester.

[guidoStow]

Are you looking to work (what field, do you have a specific job prospect) or retire?

[GrumpyOlPhartte]

I live in Pittsfield and kayak fish (aithough at 73 it’s getting tough to get in and out of the darned thing any more).  Been here over forty years so maybe I can help .  PM if you have specific questions.  One general caution - housing and rent are going crazy (for this area).  Don’t know if I can help since I don’t keep up with a lot of stuff.  

[Boomstick]

I live in North Adams. We don't have a lot for bass in North Adams (there is Windsor lake which is small and mostly small bass although now and then someone gets a good one) but it's not that far from Cheshire Lake, Pontoosuc Lake and Onota Lake (I just fished the causeway at Onota yesterday and had my knot broke on a pretty good bass and stopped at Cheshire on the way home and caught another).  Then there's the Stockbridge Bowl in Lenox which is solid fishing, and if you go towards Lee, Becket or Otis there's a ton of small lakes around, some of which are small but yield some pretty decent bass. I've spent days lake hopping shore spots down there because there's a lot of them. There's also a few small lakes and ponds over the New York line from south county, but I haven't really fished them much.

 

Several lakes in the Berkshires will only have largemouth and minimal or no smallmouth population, which is not normal for the surrounding area as well. 

 

Cheshire's southern basins are weedy and I usually fish them with frogs in the summer. Nothing giant, but it's our local spot with lily pads. If you have a bad day catching bass on Cheshire's northern basin, throw a 1/4oz spinnerbait and you'll catch chain pickerel like it's going out of style. Pontoosuc and Onota will typically yield larger bass.

 

Pontoosuc does not offer too many great shore areas. There is one by the d**n that's usually taken, and one by a bridge and a causeway which have produced bass, but are generally better for trout and carp. The boaters on this lake are notorious among the locals for being jerks too so careful if you're on a kayak - one of them ran their boat at high speed two feet from my kids kayak needlessly and I've heard the same from countless others. Onota has a few shore spots, Burbank park, Thomas Island Rd and my favorite, the causeway on Dan Casey Memorial drive. That entire half of the lake is shallow, but in the springtime once they move shallow you can get some good ones. There is also a culvert which is mostly (maybe fully?) collapsed but large bass tend to sit in.

 

Being from the northern part of the county, I usually go into Vermont when I take the kayaks out. With traffic in the past few years, it's almost a guarantee that it will take me a hour to get to Pittsfield of driving behind someone constantly braking for hallucinations which makes it not a fun drive. I can hit Emerald Lake in a little over a hour which is a great small lake with tons of drop offs that is usually tough fishing but holds some giant bass. I can hit Lake St Catherine in about a hour and a half and it's a much more pleasant drive and the Wells General store which is on the way has the best sandwiches I've ever had as well. Neither lake is as heavily fished as most of our lakes as well. If I'm feeling a little more ambitious, I can drive to Lake Dunmore as well which is the clearest water I have ever seen (the trails over the mountains on the northeast side that lead to a vista overlooking the lake as well as the other way around Silver lake are amazing as well).

 

Another spot that's a bit of a drive is the Oxbow in Northampton which is a great spot if you're a kayaker. And if you drive a couple hours into New York, the northwest side of Great Sacanadaga Lake is typically a great spot for smallies. I've had a blast on the fishing pier in July watching the drunk boaters go by but generally that arm of the lake is pretty good and there is a bridge south of the boat launch that wields smallies and walleye.

 

Pittsfield itself is getting pretty rough. There aren't too many affordable areas where you won't get broken into left anymore. Personally, I would probably avoid moving to Pittsfield altogether but any other town in the county should be alright. And if you have kids and move to North Adams, look into school choice as soon as they hit 7th grade (there are options but the main high school here is terrible). South county is alright but super pricey - even food at the Supermarkets is pricey down there. North county is generally fine as long as you like the house you end up in. Prices are high all over, but still very friendly compared to NYC.

 

For work in the area, unless you work in contracting, electrical, plumbing or can work remotely, there is not a whole lot.