Live wading and fishing conditions for 30 Vermont rivers
Every river below is monitored through its USGS streamflow gauges, refreshed every 15 minutes and rated in plain language for wading safety. Select a river for the live dashboard with current flow, trend, weather and community reports.
White River
Vermont's longest free-flowing river and its marquee freestone trout water — the White runs undammed from the spine of the Green Mountains at Granville down to the Connecticut at White River Junction, holding wild rainbows and browns in the main stem and native brook trout up its five branches. It's a classic wade river that pushes hard on snowmelt and settles into gin-clear pocket water by summer.
Region: Connecticut Valley · Fish for: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: White River At West Hartford, Vt
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Otter Creek
Vermont's longest river, a slow, meandering giant that drains the Champlain Valley from the marble country around Rutland north through Middlebury to Vergennes. The upper reaches hold trout, but Otter Creek is best known as warmwater — big smallmouth, northern pike, and a spring walleye run in the deep, dark lower river, plus largemouth in the sloughs and backwaters.
Region: Champlain Valley · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike · USGS gauges: Otter Creek At Center Rutland, Vt, Otter Creek At Middlebury, Vt
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Winooski River
Central Vermont's main artery, cutting from Cabot through Montpelier and the Waterbury gap to Lake Champlain at Burlington. The mid reaches hold stocked and wild trout; the lower river is a warmwater and migratory fishery — smallmouth, walleye, and pike, plus a landlocked-salmon and steelhead-style run that stacks fish at the Salmon Hole below the Winooski One dam each spring and fall.
Region: Winooski Valley · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Walleye · USGS gauges: North Branch Winooski River At Wrightsville, Vt, Winooski River At Montpelier, Vt, Winooski River Near Essex Junction, Vt
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Clyde River
The Northeast Kingdom's storied salmon river — the Clyde runs from Island Pond down to Lake Memphremagog at Newport, and its fall landlocked-salmon run, restored after the Newport dam removal, is legendary. Between salmon seasons it's fine brook- and brown-trout water in the runs and around the ponds.
Region: Northeast Kingdom · Fish for: Landlocked Salmon, Brook Trout · USGS gauges: Clyde River At Newport, Vt
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Lamoille River
A long, scenic river winding from Greensboro through Johnson and Cambridge to Lake Champlain at Milton. Trout hold in the cooler upper and middle reaches around Johnson and Jeffersonville; the lower river below the falls is warmwater and migratory — smallmouth, walleye, pike, and a Champlain landlocked-salmon run.
Region: Lamoille & Missisquoi · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Lamoille River At Johnson, Vt, Lamoille River At Jeffersonville, Vt, Lamoille River At East Georgia, Vt
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Missisquoi River
The Northeast Kingdom's big river, looping north into Quebec and back to the Champlain delta at Swanton. Trout hold in the upper freestone reaches around North Troy and Enosburg; the lower river and its famous delta are prime warmwater and migratory water — walleye, smallmouth, pike, carp, and a Champlain salmon run.
Region: Lamoille & Missisquoi · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Walleye · USGS gauges: Missisquoi River Near North Troy, Vt, Missisquoi River Near East Berkshire, Vt, Missisquoi River At Swanton, Vt
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Connecticut River
Vermont's eastern border river and New England's largest — the Connecticut here is big, slow, and impounded, running past Wells River and Newbury. It's a warmwater and mixed fishery: smallmouth on the ledges and bars, walleye and pike in the slow reaches and dam pools, with trout in the cold tributary mouths. Strictly a bank-and-boat river.
Region: Connecticut Valley · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Walleye · USGS gauges: Connecticut River At Wells River, Vt
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West River
A major southern-Vermont river running from the Green Mountains at Weston through Jamaica and Townshend to the Connecticut at Brattleboro. Its flow is shaped by the Ball Mountain and Townshend flood-control dams — famous for their scheduled whitewater releases — so levels can swing on dam operations, not just rain. It holds stocked and wild brook, brown, and rainbow trout, plus smallmouth in the lower river.
Region: Connecticut Valley · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: West River At Jamaica, Vt, West River Below Townshend Dam Near Townshend, Vt
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Passumpsic River
The main river of the eastern Northeast Kingdom, gathering the East Branch, Moose, and Sleepers Rivers around St. Johnsbury before joining the Connecticut. It's a solid trout river — stocked and wild brook, brown, and rainbow trout in the runs, with smallmouth taking over the warmer lower reaches.
Region: Northeast Kingdom · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: East Branch Passumpsic River Near East Haven, Vt, Passumpsic River At Passumpsic, Vt
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Ottauquechee River
A scenic east-slope trout river running from Killington through Woodstock and the dramatic Quechee Gorge to the Connecticut. It holds stocked and wild brook, brown, and rainbow trout in the upper freestone runs, with a cold tailwater reach below the North Hartland flood-control dam and smallmouth in the lower river.
Region: Connecticut Valley · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Ottauquechee River Near West Bridgewater, Vt, Ottauquechee River At North Hartland, Vt
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Black River
The southern Black River — Vermont's other river of that name — runs from the Plymouth ponds through Ludlow and Cavendish to the Connecticut at Springfield. It's a stocked and wild trout river through the upper runs, with brook, brown, and rainbow trout and smallmouth taking over the warmer water below Springfield.
Region: Connecticut Valley · Fish for: Brown Trout, Brook Trout · USGS gauges: Black River At North Springfield, Vt
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Mad River
The classic wade-fishing river of the Mad River Valley, running from Granville Gulf through Warren and Waitsfield to the Winooski at Moretown. Cold, clear, and lined with legendary swimming holes, it holds wild and stocked brook, brown, and rainbow trout in beautiful pocket water and ledge pools.
Region: Winooski Valley · Fish for: Brook Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Mad River Near Moretown, Vt
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Black River (Coventry)
One of Vermont's two Black Rivers — this one drains the Northeast Kingdom's hills through Irasburg and Coventry to the South Bay of Lake Memphremagog. It's a mixed coldwater and warmwater river: brook and brown trout in the upper runs, with a Memphremagog salmon run and pike pushing up into the slow lower reaches near the bay.
Region: Northeast Kingdom · Fish for: Brook Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Black River At Coventry, Vt
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New Haven River
A gem of a freestone trout river tumbling out of the Green Mountains at Lincoln Gap through Bristol to Otter Creek. Cold, clear, and boulder-strewn, the New Haven holds wild rainbows, browns, and brook trout in classic pocket water — one of the Champlain Valley's best wade-fishing rivers.
Region: Champlain Valley · Fish for: Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: New Haven River @ Brooksville, Nr Middlebury, Vt
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Barton River
A Northeast Kingdom trout and salmon river running from Crystal Lake and the Willoughby River confluence down to Lake Memphremagog at Coventry. It holds wild and stocked brook, brown, and rainbow trout, and its lower reaches host a fall Memphremagog landlocked-salmon run alongside the Willoughby, one of the region's best-known salmon tributaries.
Region: Northeast Kingdom · Fish for: Brook Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Barton River Near Coventry, Vt
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Moose River
A wild, boggy Northeast Kingdom trout river draining the Victory Basin down to the Passumpsic at St. Johnsbury. It runs cold and tannic through big wetlands, holding native brook trout and stocked browns in the runs and around the deadwater edges — remote, lightly fished water.
Region: Northeast Kingdom · Fish for: Brook Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Moose River At Victory, Vt
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Williams River
A small east-slope freestone river draining the hills above Chester and Rockingham to the Connecticut. It's a pleasant, lightly pressured trout stream — stocked and wild brook and brown trout in the runs, with rainbows and smallmouth in the lower water.
Region: Connecticut Valley · Fish for: Brown Trout, Brook Trout · USGS gauges: Williams River Near Rockingham Vt
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Poultney River
A southwestern-Vermont river forming part of the New York line as it runs from the Taconics down to the south end of Lake Champlain near Fair Haven. The upper river holds trout; the lower reaches are warmwater — smallmouth, northern pike, walleye, and perch in the slow water toward the lake.
Region: Southwest Valleys · Fish for: Smallmouth Bass, Northern Pike · USGS gauges: Poultney River Below Fair Haven, Vt
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Dog River
A pretty little freestone trout river running from the Northfield hills down to the Winooski at Montpelier. Cold and clear through the runs and pocket water, it holds wild and stocked brook, brown, and rainbow trout — a favorite wade stream for central-Vermont anglers.
Region: Winooski Valley · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Dog River At Northfield Falls, Vt
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Ompompanoosuc River
A small east-slope trout river running from the Vershire hills through Thetford to the Connecticut, with a flood-control dam and reservoir at Union Village. The upper and branch reaches hold brook and brown trout; the tailwater and lower river add rainbows and smallmouth.
Region: Connecticut Valley · Fish for: Brown Trout, Brook Trout · USGS gauges: Ompompanoosuc River At Union Village, Vt
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Walloomsac River
A small southwestern-Vermont trout river running from the hills above Bennington west toward the Hoosic and the Hudson system in New York. It's a modest but productive freestone stream, holding stocked and wild brown and brook trout in the runs and pocket water around Bennington and North Bennington.
Region: Southwest Valleys · Fish for: Brown Trout, Brook Trout · USGS gauges: Walloomsac River Near North Bennington, Vt
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Little River
A cold Winooski tributary running from the high country around Stowe down through the Waterbury Reservoir to the Winooski at Waterbury. The upper river holds wild brook, brown, and rainbow trout in mountain pocket water; the reach below the Waterbury Dam is a cold tailwater whose flow is set by releases.
Region: Winooski Valley · Fish for: Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout · USGS gauges: Little River Near Stowe, Vt, Little River Near Waterbury, Vt
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Wells River
A small freestone trout river dropping out of the hills around Groton State Forest to the Connecticut at Wells River. It runs cold and clear through the runs and pocket water, holding native brook trout and stocked browns and rainbows — a quiet, wadeable stream.
Region: Connecticut Valley · Fish for: Brook Trout, Brown Trout · USGS gauges: Wells River At Wells River, Vt
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Lewis Creek
A Champlain-valley creek dropping from the Hinesburg hills through North Ferrisburg to the lake. The upper reaches run cold enough for brook and brown trout; the slow lower water near the lake is warmwater, holding smallmouth, pike, and fallfish.
Region: Champlain Valley · Fish for: Brown Trout, Smallmouth Bass · USGS gauges: Lewis Creek At North Ferrisburg, Vt
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Little Otter Creek
A slow, marshy Champlain-valley creek winding through Ferrisburgh to the lake. It's classic warmwater and marsh water — northern pike, largemouth, smallmouth, and yellow perch hold along the weed edges, wood, and channel through the wetlands near the lake.
Region: Champlain Valley · Fish for: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Little Otter Ck At Monkton Rd, Nr Ferrisburgh, Vt, Little Otter Creek At Ferrisburg, Vt
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Dead Creek
The heart of the Dead Creek Wildlife Management Area near Addison — a famous slow, marshy Champlain-valley creek and impoundment system. It's premier northern-pike water, with largemouth, yellow perch, and carp through the marshes, sloughs, and channels of the WMA.
Region: Champlain Valley · Fish for: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: East Br Dead Creek Near Bridport, Vt, West Br Dead Creek Near Addison, Vt
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LaPlatte River
A small Champlain-valley river running through Hinesburg and Shelburne to the lake at Shelburne Bay. It's mostly warmwater — largemouth and northern pike in the slow, weedy lower reaches, with smallmouth and perch and a marshy mouth that holds fish year-round.
Region: Champlain Valley · Fish for: Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike · USGS gauges: Laplatte River At Shelburne Falls, Vt
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Lemon Fair River
A slow, meandering Champlain-valley river winding through the farm country around Shoreham and Cornwall to Otter Creek. Sluggish and weedy, it's a quiet warmwater fishery — northern pike, largemouth, yellow perch, and carp in the slow channel and backwaters.
Region: Champlain Valley · Fish for: Northern Pike, Largemouth Bass · USGS gauges: Lemon Fair R Blw Shacksboro Rd, Nr Shoreham, Vt
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Rock River
A small northern-Vermont river draining the hills above Highgate to the Missisquoi near the delta. The cooler upper runs hold brook and brown trout; the lower water near the Missisquoi adds smallmouth and fallfish — a modest, lightly fished stream.
Region: Lamoille & Missisquoi · Fish for: Brown Trout, Smallmouth Bass · USGS gauges: Rock River Near Highgate Center, Vt
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Pike River
A small northern-border river running through the Franklin and Enosburg hills toward Missisquoi Bay and Quebec. The upper reaches hold brook and brown trout; the slow lower water near the bay is warmwater, holding smallmouth and northern pike — quiet, out-of-the-way fishing.
Region: Lamoille & Missisquoi · Fish for: Brook Trout, Smallmouth Bass · USGS gauges: Pike River At East Franklin, Nr Enosburg Falls, Vt
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