Brooks Pond
from the air
Brooks Pond Show map of Massachusetts Brooks Pond Show map of the United States
Location	Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates	42°18′06″N 72°02′31″W / 42.30167°N 72.04194°W / 42.30167; -72.04194
Type	Pond
Primary outflows	5.5 ft³/s (0.156 m³/s)
Catchment area	190 acres (77 ha)
Basin countries	United States

Max. length	≈2.2 mi (3.54 km)
Max. width	≈1.6 mi (2.57 km)
Surface area	≈3.5 mi² (9.06 km²)
Average depth	12 ft (3.7 m)
Max. depth	20 ft (6.1 m)
Shore length¹	≈4 mi (6.44 km)
Surface elevation	665 ft (203 m)

Settlements	New Braintree / North Brookfield / Oakham / Spencer
¹ Shore length is not a well-defined measure.

Brooks Pond is a Massachusetts water body that is privately owned, controlled and managed, and bordered by the towns of North Brookfield, Oakham, Spencer, and New Braintree. It forms the headwaters of the Five Mile River, which is part of the Chicopee River Watershed.

Information

Brooks Pond is a mostly shallow pond dammed up roughly to its present size in 1848. The actual impoundment/size was again altered slightly after the Hurricane of 1938 washed out the existing bridge and resulted in a slight relocation of the spillway outlet/entry into the Five Mile River. Brooks Pond has been demonstrated via two separate recent studies, including one conducted by an expert firm, to originally have been well under 10 acres (40,000 m²) in size in its naturally occurring state, thus disqualifying it as a Massachusetts Great Pond. This has been affirmed in a Massachusetts Court Case (Ref: Worcester Superior Court, Civil Action No. 04-0341, dated December 31, 2009. Judgment on Finding issued January 6, 2010). As noted above, it has been considerably 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.

References

Environmental report
Location and specifications
"Stream flow measurements" (PDF). (1.82 MiB)
"Waterbody specifications" (PDF). (1.40 MiB)

Connecticut River watershed

Tributaries

Connecticut	Blackledge River Coginchaug River Connecticut River Duck River Eightmile River Falls River Farmington River Hockanum River Hubbard River Jeremy River Lieutenant River Mattabesset River Nepaug River Pameacha Creek Park River Pequabuck River Salmon River Scantic River
Massachusetts	Burnshirt River Chapel Brook Chicopee River Connecticut River Cranberry River Deerfield River East Brookfield River Farmington River Fall River Five Mile River Green River Hubbard River Manhan River Mill River (Northampton) Mill River (Springfield) Millers River Mirey Brook North Branch Millers River North Branch Westfield River North River Otter River Quaboag River Scantic River Seven Mile River Tarbell Brook Ware River Westfield River
New Hampshire	Ammonoosuc River Ashuelot River Blow-me-down Brook The Branch Cold River Connecticut River East Branch Mohawk River Gale River Great Brook Halls Stream Ham Branch Indian River Indian Stream Israel River Johns River Knox River Little River Little Sugar River Mascoma River Millers River Mink Brook Mirey Brook Mohawk River Nash Stream North Branch Gale River North Branch Millers River North Branch Sugar River North Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Oliverian Brook Otter Brook Partridge Brook Perry Stream Phillips Brook Simms Stream South Branch Ashuelot River South Branch Gale River South Branch Israel River South Branch Sugar River Stocker Brook Sugar River Tarbell Brook Upper Ammonoosuc River West Branch Mohawk River West Branch Upper Ammonoosuc River Wild Ammonoosuc River Zealand River
Vermont	Black River Connecticut River Deerfield River Fall River Green River Halls Stream Leach Creek Moose River Nulhegan River Ompompanoosuc River Ottauquechee River Passumpsic River Rock River Saxtons River Utley Brook Waits River Wells River West River Whetstone Brook White River Williams River Winhall River

Lakes

Connecticut	Barkhamsted Reservoir Lake Beseck Lake Hayward Lake Pocotopaug
Massachusetts	Brooks Pond Browning Pond Lake Monomonac Quabbin Reservoir Lake Wyola
New Hampshire	Ashuelot Pond Back Lake Canaan Street Lake Cedar Pond Christine Lake Comerford Reservoir Connecticut Lakes Crystal Lake Dublin Pond Eastman Pond Echo Lake Lake Francis (Murphy Dam) Goose Pond Grafton Pond Granite Lake Lakes of the Clouds Little Sunapee Lake Mascoma Lake McIndoes Reservoir Lake Monomonac Moore Reservoir Pearly Lake Silver Lake Spofford Lake Lake Sunapee Surry Mountain Lake Lake Tarleton
Vermont	Ball Mountain Lake Comerford Reservoir Harriman Reservoir Harvey's Lake McIndoes Reservoir Moore Reservoir North Hartland Lake Lake Rescue Townshend Lake

Towns

Connecticut	Chester Cromwell Deep River East Haddam East Hampton East Hartford East Windsor Enfield Essex Glastonbury Haddam Hartford Higganum Lyme Middletown Moodus Old Lyme Old Saybrook Portland Rocky Hill South Windsor Suffield Thompsonville Wethersfield Windsor Windsor Locks
Massachusetts	Agawam Chicopee Deerfield Easthampton Gill Greenfield Hadley Hatfield Holyoke Longmeadow Millers Falls Montague Northampton Northfield South Hadley Springfield Sunderland Turners Falls West Springfield Whately
New Hampshire	Bath Charlestown Chesterfield Claremont Clarksville Colebrook Columbia Cornish Dalton Groveton Hanover Haverhill Hinsdale Lancaster Lebanon Littleton Lyme Monroe Northumberland Orford Piermont Pittsburg Plainfield Stewartstown Stratford Walpole West Lebanon Westmoreland Woodsville
Quebec	East Hereford
Vermont	Ascutney Barnet Beecher Falls Bellows Falls Bloomfield Bradford Brattleboro Brunswick Canaan Concord Dummerston Fairlee Gilman Guildhall Hartford Hartland Lemington Lunenburg Maidstone Newbury Norwich Putney Rockingham Ryegate Springfield Thetford Vernon Waterford Weathersfield Wells River Westminster White River Junction Wilder Windsor

Crossings

Lakes and ponds of Massachusetts by drainage system

Lakes

Connecticut River Watershed	Lake Monomonac Lake Wyola
Housatonic River Watershed	Lake Buel Lake Garfield Lake Onota
Merrimack River Watershed	Fairhaven Bay Haggetts Pond Lake Attitash Lake Boon Lake Cochichewick Lake Cochituate Lake Saltonstall Lost Lake Walden Pond
Providence River Watershed	Lake Quinsigamond
Taunton River Watershed	Assonet Bay Lake Nippenicket Lake Rico Lake Sabbatia Long Pond Pocksha Pond
Others	Buffumville Lake Charge Pond Chebacco Lake Crystal Lake Follins Pond Hickory Hills Lake Indian Lake Lake Ashmere Lake Chaubunagungamaug Lake Massapoag Lake Quannapowitt Lewis Lake Mystic Lakes Pine Lake Prankers Pond Silver Lake Wallum Lake Wenham Lake Whites Pond

Ponds

Agawam River Watershed	Fawn Pond Glen Charlie Pond Halfway Pond Little Long Pond (Plymouth) Long Pond (Plymouth) Mill Pond (Wareham) Spectacle Pond (Wareham)
Connecticut River Watershed	Brooks Pond Browning Pond Quaboag Pond Thompson Pond
Eel River Watershed	Boot Pond Cooks Pond Forge Pond Great South Pond Gunners Exchange Pond Hoyts Pond Island Pond (Plymouth) Russell Millpond
Jones River Watershed	Crossman Pond Furnace Pond Harrobs Corner Bog Pond Indian Head Pond Lower Chandler Pond Maquan Pond Oldham Pond Pembroke Street South Pond Reeds Millpond Russell Pond Silver Lake Upper Chandler Pond West Chandler Pond
Mattapoisett River Watershed	Long Pond Snipatuit Pond
Merrimack River Watershed	Tuxbury Pond
Taunton River Watershed	Assawompset Pond Great Quittacas Pond Little Quittacas Pond Monponsett Pond Robbins Pond Tispaquin Pond Watson Pond Watuppa Ponds Winnecunnet Pond
Wankinco River Watershed	East Head Reservoir Parker Mills Pond Tihonet Pond
Others	Abner Pond Arnold School Pond Barrett Pond Bartlett Pond Bates Pond Beaver Dam Pond Big Rocky Pond Big Sandy Pond Billington Sea Black Jimmy Pond Bloody Pond Bullough's Pond Buckmaster Pond Campus Pond Cedar Pond Clay Pit Pond Cliff Pond College Pond Curlew Pond Deer Pond Dug Pond Dunham Pond Elbow Pond Ezekiel Pond Fairyland Pond Fearing Pond Federal Pond Five Mile Pond Flax Pond (Brewster) Fresh Meadow Pond Fresh Pond Fuller Street Pond Gallows Pond Great Herring Pond Great Island Pond Great Pond Hardy Pond Hedges Pond Higgins Pond Hocomonco Pond Horn Pond Houghton's Pond Indian Pond Island Creek Pond Island Pond (Cedarville) Jacobs Pond Jamaica Pond Keene Pond Kings Pond Lake Lashaway Learned Pond Leonards Pond Little Herring Pond Little Long Pond (Wareham) Little Pond Little Rocky Pond Little Sandy Bottom Pond Little Sandy Pond Little West Pond Long Duck Pond Long Island Pond Lout Pond Mary's Pond Mashpee and Wakeby Ponds Menemsha Pond Micajah Pond Mill Pond (Duxbury) Morey Hole Muddy Pond New Long Pond North Hill Marsh Pond North Triangle Pond Pine Street Pond Ponkapoag Pond Redd's Pond Rocky Pond Round Pond Sampsons Pond Sandy Pond Sargent's Pond Savery Pond Sawins Pond Scargo Lake Shallow Pond Ship Pond Shubael Pond Smelt Pond Smith Pool South Meadow Pond South Triangle Pond Spectacle Pond (Sandwich) Spring Pond Spy Pond Stetson Pond Studleys Pond Tremont Mill Pond Triangle Pond Union Pond Vaughn Pond Walker Pond Wampatuck Pond White Pond White Island Pond