Amherst Lake

Amherst Lake heads the Black River chain of lakes — Amherst, Echo, and Rescue — strung along the Route 100 valley south of Plymouth. The lake covers 83 acres in a narrow, steep-sided trough, and its cold depths support both the 200 two-year-old trophy rainbows stocked for 2026 and a population of brown trout, with lake trout and smallmouth reported in the deeper water. The Black River flows in at the north end and out to Echo Lake at the south.

Fly fishing centers on the two river mouths and the shelf edges. Spring sends trout to the inlet for washed-down food, and the current seam holds fish well into June. Chironomid fishing over the drop-offs is dependable, and trolling a streamer along the west-shore contour picks up browns that rarely show themselves otherwise. The lake's small size makes it a comfortable canoe fishery despite its depth.

A narrow, deep trough of cold, clear water fed by the Black River, with steep contours dropping quickly from the shoreline. The thermocline sets up deep, leaving trout reachable along the edges most of the season.

Fished through the ice for trout and perch in winter.