Great Spots to Catch a Fish in Berkshire County

Windsor Lake in North Adams is regularly stocked with trout. 

Summer may be winding down, but there is still plenty of time and great weather to catch some fish.

Most major lakes, ponds, and rivers, including the Housatonic, are open to fishing year-round with catch limits; smaller rivers and brooks have catch limits of three after Sept. 11 and eight after April 1. Find a list of fishing seasons and limits here. 

Berkshire County has scenic places to sail this fall as well as stand on the edge and cast out.

Pontoosuc Lake
Pittsfield

This lake is popular not only in the summer months but also in the winter months for ice fishing. This spot is best known for its yellow perch.

Farnam's Causeway
Cheshire

The causeway on Farnam's Road splits Cheshire Reservoir. There are multiple fishing piers on the north side and a boat launch on the south side, plus public restrooms. 

If you forget any fishing necessities there is also a shack that carries live bait. This spot is popular for large mouth bass.

Laurel Lake
Lee 

Laurel Lake is not only a great view but a great place to boat or fish. Bass are a popular catch. There's a public paved ramp and large parking lot located on the southern tip of the lake and there is no fee to launch.

Beartown State Forest and Campground
Great Barrington

Enjoy a picnic while also using the pier to fish out of Benedict Pond. If you need a break from fishing you can enjoy a lunch at one of the many park benches, a dip in the public beach, or a walk along the water on one of the trails.

The launch at Onoto Lake in Pittsfield. 

Stockbridge Bowl
Stockbridge

This is another spot you can boat but also fish from the edge. The lake is also a popular scenic spot. Fishermen are known to catch trout, bass, and sunfish here.

North Adams Updated on Schools, Council President Honored With 'Distinction'

By Tammy Daniels iBerkshires Staff
12:31PM / Wednesday, March 25, 2026

Superintendent Timothy Callahan gives a presentation on the school system at Tuesday's City Council meeting. 

NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The City Council got an update on what's up in the school system and its president was inducted into the mayor's Women's Leadership Hall of Fame.

 

Mayor Jennifer Macksey, as the city's first woman mayor, established the Hall of Fame in 2022, during March, Women's History Month, to recognize local women who have had a positive impact on the city. Past inductees have included the council's first woman president Fran Buckley, Gov. Jane Swift and boxing pioneer Gail Grandchamp. 

 

She described President Ashley Shade as a colleague and a friend and a former student. 

 

"Ashley is known not just for her leadership, but for her compassion, her ability to listen, to understand and to stand up for those whose voices are often gone unheard," the mayor said. "She has been a tireless advocate for the LGBTQ plus community and marginalized communities at both the local and national level here in North Adams."

 

Elected in 2021, Shade is the first openly transgender person to hold the role of council president in Massachusetts. She also leads the first-ever woman majority council in the city's history. 

 

The McCann Technical School graduate also has served on boards and commissions, "always working to make our city more inclusive, equitable and welcoming," said the mayor. "Ashley not leads not only with strength, but with a heart, and our community is a much stronger place because of it."

 

Shade, wearing her signature pink suit, was presented with a plaque from the mayor designating her a "woman of distinction."