East Branch Swift River - Petersham
Fishing, stocking, and current conditions
Brook trout, brown trout, and rainbow trout water, stocked 3 times in 2026, spread April to May. A USGS gauge reports from this water, so the conditions card on this page is live.
Massachusetts · see it on the national map
The year here
stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details
What swims here
Rainbow trout
Brook trout
Brown trout
Stocking record 2026
Agency feed checked today.
| Date | Species | Size | Fish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 8 | Rainbow trout | completed | ||
| May 4 | Brook trout | completed | ||
| May 14 | Brown trout | completed |
When to fish East Branch Swift River - Petersham
| Major periods (~2 h) | Minor periods (~1 h) | |
|---|---|---|
| Today | 9:26-11:26 am and 9:48-11:48 pm | 3:41-4:41 am and 3:58-4:58 pm |
| Tomorrow | 10:12 am-12:12 pm and 10:36 pm-12:36 am | 4:52-5:52 am and 4:20-5:20 pm |
Moon: waxing gibbous, 92% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Eastern Time (EDT).
What the record actually says
- Last stocked May 14
- Flow 27% of the seasonal median
Computed this evening, Oct 23 · Massachusetts fishing forecast
Gear for this water
It has been a while since the trucks came. The holdovers have spread out and wised up; downsize and fish natural.
For the trout (rainbow trout stocked 1 time here in 2026, moving water)
| Inline spinners | 1/16 to 1/8 oz silver or gold; swing them across the current seams |
| Drifted bait | single salmon egg or half a crawler under light split shot, rolled along the bottom |
| Small jerkbaits | floating minnows in the 2 to 3 inch class for the deeper bends |
Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.
Nearby stocked waters
The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.
| Water | Distance | Most recent |
|---|---|---|
| Quabbin Reservoir - Hardwick | 3.3 mi | Apr 15 |
| Quabbin Reservoir - New Salem | 3.3 mi | Apr 14 |
| Quabbin Reservoir - Petersham | 3.3 mi | Apr 15 |
| Quabbin Reservoir - Belchertown | 3.3 mi | May 26 |
| Quabbin Reservoir - Pelham | 3.3 mi | Apr 16 |
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