Brooks Pond is a Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...

 water body bordered by the towns of North Brookfield

North Brookfield, Massachusetts

North Brookfield is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 4,680 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place North Brookfield, please see the article North Brookfield , Massachusetts.- History :North Brookfield...

, Oakham

Oakham, Massachusetts

Oakham is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,902 at the 2010 census.- History :Oakham was first settled in 1749 and was officially incorporated in 1762...

, Spencer

Spencer, Massachusetts

Spencer is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,688 at the 2010 census.For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Spencer, please see the article Spencer , Massachusetts....

, and New Braintree

New Braintree, Massachusetts

New Braintree is a town in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 999 at the 2010 census.- History :New Braintree was first settled in 1709 and was officially incorporated in 1751....

. It forms the headwaters of the Five Mile River

Five Mile River (Quaboag River)

The Five Mile River is a river in central Massachusetts, part of the Chicopee River watershed. It rises north of Denn Pond in the town of Oakham within Rutland State Forest and flows south through Denn Pond to Brooks Pond, northeast of North Brookfield, then continues south to its mouth at the...

, which is part of the Chicopee River Watershed.

Information

Brooks Pond is a mostly shallow lesser pond as determined under Massachusetts Commonwealth law and regulations. It has been demonstrated via two separate recent studies, including one conducted by an expert firm, to originally have been well under 10 acres (40,468.6 m²) in size in its naturally-occurring state, thus disqualifying it as a Massachusetts great pond. At present, it has been enhanced in size by an earthen dam and cast spillway, and some parts range to 26 feet (8 m) in depth. The water is generally clean but exhibits slight coloration from leaf tannin and gets quite warm in the summertime. Brooks Pond is near a watershed boundary where waters to its north and west are part of the Ware River watershed and waters to its south and east are part of the Quaboag River watershed. Situated in a heavily forested area, the character of the pond in decades past--of mainly just summerhomes--has yielded to increasing numbers of permanent, full-time residences along its lengthy shoreline.

Fishing

Brooks Pond offers limited fishing opportunities chiefly for the more experienced angler. While there are many warm-water fish present, the large shallow expanses extending beyond the original pond are too shallow, warm and de-oxygenated to support larger fish for much of the year. Less experienced and less skillful anglers thus catch mostly small fish and recite the old saw that the pond is over-fished--which it may be. Nevertheless, despite that popular mantra, Brooks gives up a few hefty largemouth bass to those with the skills to locate and catch them.