CHICOPEE — Kids on school break formed a bucket brigade Wednesday, helping to carry trout from a mobile fish tank to the Chicopee Reservoir.
“I got a big one!” one boy called to his dad, lifting his orange bucket off the ground for others to peer into.
“Let me see!” another boy said back.
About a hundred people of all ages gathered at the Chicopee Memorial State Park Wednesday morning for the second-annual MassWildlife trout stocking there.
The state agency holds trout stocking events across the commonwealth to encourage more fishing, said Brian Keleher, an aquatic biologist for MassWildlife. Chicopee Reservoir was chosen for its “stellar access to the public and closeness to populated urban areas,” he said.
A long line of people wait their turn for a bucket of fish to release during the annual MassWildlife trout stocking at the Chicopee Reservoir at Chicopee State Park. (Don Treeger for The Republican) 4/23/2025The Republican
“We’re very interested in getting people to go fishing,” he said. In 2024, close to 193,000 freshwater fishing licenses were bought in the state, according to data from MassWildlife.
MassWildlife will continue to stock fish across the state until the end of May. The point of stocking ponds and lakes early in the spring is because “trout prefer colder water,” said Keleher.
Youngsters release trout during the annual MassWildlife trout stocking at the Chicopee Reservoir at Chicopee State Park. (Don Treeger for The Republican) 4/23/2025The Republican
“The trout do well now and swim deeper to colder parts of a water body once it gets to the start of summer,” he said.
The stocking on Wednesday moved from 1,200 to 1,400 trout into the reservoir.
Rainbow, brook and brown trout were driven to Chicopee in insulated fish tanks from hatcheries in Sunderland and Belchertown.
“Stocking three different types of trout is meant to provide people with variety in their fishing experience,” said Keleher, who explained that only the brook trout are native to the northeastern region of the U.S.
The trout stocking program in Massachusetts is a “put-and-take,” said Keleher, meaning that the trout are put in water bodies across the state with the intention of being caught.
The agency encourages people interested in fishing to visit its trout stocking reporting website: mass.gov/trout for more information on when and where trout has been placed in water bodies around the state.
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