Lake Mansfield Fishing Spot

• Acreage: 40
• Public Fishing: Yes
• Mean Depth: 7'
• Max Depth: 16'
• Website: http://www.mass.gov/dfwele/dfw/habitat/maps/ponds/pdf/dfwmansf.pdf
• Last Modified By: carpmaster on 08/06/09 05:01 PM
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This small, 40-acre pond is situated on the side of a mountain, half a mile northwest of the center of Great Barrington. Maximum depth is 16 feet; average depth is around seven feet. Transparency is good, extending to eight feet, and aquatic vegetation is light and well scattered. The shoreline is primarily wooded, and there is only one house on the pond. Public access is provided by a gravel boat ramp on the southeast side of the pond. Shore anglers can utilize the parkland along the east side of the pond. Fish Populations: chain pickerel, brown trout, largemouth bass, yellow perch, white perch, brown bullhead, pumpkinseed, rock bass, lake chub sucker and golden shiner.

This pond receives considerable pressure from local anglers, and due to its small size, it cannot keep up with demand. All the game and panfish species appear to be of low average size and moderately to heavily over fished. The only species not being over fished is the white perch, which has always been notoriously difficult to catch. Target these tasty panfish during the winter through the ice, or by drifting small worm/spinner combinations during the spring and summer. The few hundred trout stocked here each spring help dissipate the pressure on the resident fish, but the fishery is so small and of such limited duration that it is primarily of interest only to local anglers. This is a pretty little pond, however, and always a pleasant place to spend a day dunking worms.