Our Story
A lifetime of focused passion.
That’s the best way to phrase the way Big Brown has been built.
It was started in 1971 by it’s owner, Charles A. Conklin II, as a hobby. As a ten year old boy, he dug out some ponds, built a dam in the stream to divert water, and caught fish to put in the ponds. Charlie was fond of his fish and named 25 of the most distinctive individuals.
The fish he was fondest of was “Big Brown”, a large brown trout. The first sale was made in 1975. In 1984 after graduation from East Stroudsburg University, Charles turned the hatchery into a full time business. A name was needed, and the first to come to mind was Big Brown Fish Hatchery, after “Big Brown”, that trout he had been so fond of as a young boy. In 1985, the Big Brown Fish & Pay Lakes was opened as a premier trout fee-fishing destination.
Charlie preparing the original ponds for concrete walls circa 1980.
Big Brown Today
About 25% of the hatchery’s fish are stocked into the fish & pay lakes, 65% are sold to private sport fishing, and 10% are sold to food processors. Charlie and the rest of the Big Brown team work to raise the fish with the same care as he did back when he had his pet, “Big Brown”.
Fast forwarding through countless hours of literal blood, sweat, and tears, today Big Brown has 6 full time and 5 part time employees. The hatchery produces 300,000 pounds of Brook, Brown, Rainbow, and Golden Rainbow Trout and approximately 20,000 pounds of Largemouth Bass and Bluegill annually.
1st Privately Licensed Pennsylvania Trout Farm
Historic hatchery and fishing preserve. Fee fishing for trout and bass, nestled in the beautiful Paradise Valley in the Poconos
23 Hatchery Drive, Cresco, PA 18326 570-629-0427 info@paradisetrout.com