In this mountainous region, there are a number of fine trout streams and lakes. The central region is scenic, bolstered by the 3,000-feet and higher mountains of the Green Mountains. The runoff from the Green Mountains each spring makes for high water conditions, but is also responsible for midsummer fishing in cold, clear water.
Anglers can find uncounted brook streams and beaver ponds to fish in the fall and spring when trekking in the backcountry of the Green Mountains. Lake fishermen can fish for various trout species in Lakes Dunsmore (where the state record rainbow trout was caught in 1976, weighing 13 lbs., 8 oz.), Bomoseen, and St. Catherine.
The Mad River
The Mad River is a notable trout stream for its quality fishing for brook, rainbow, and brown trout. It is unusual in that it flows northward. The Mad River is cool in summer, fed by springs and many feeder creeks.
Access is good throughout most of its course. The upper river is heavily posted and access is best made from VT 100. Parts of the Mad River are heavily fished, but these are in easy-access points. Walking up or down river will put anglers in relative solitude.
Short, light rods are best on the Mad to work the dense streamside vegetation. There are long slow stretches of brown trout water in the lower section. Fish to fallen logs and submerged boulders, in the riffles, and to the undercut banks.
The Dog River
Like the Mad River, the Dog River is narrow for most of its run and widens when it approaches its mouth at the Winooski River. This isn't one of the prettiest rivers you'll ever fish, but it does hold big fish for its size.
The Dog River is one of Vermont's finest brown trout streams, with many fish over 20 inches.
In its upper section, the river holds an abundant population of brook trout.
Spin fishermen do well searching the fastwater for stocked rainbows, while fly fishermen angle for lunker browns in the long pools with streamers. Some of the rainbows get surprisingly large, so be prepared. Access is good off VT 12 for most of the river's course.
The Winooski River
The Winooski River is known for its spring-run rainbow action. Fall fishing for brown trout in the shallows and tributaries can be exciting on the Winooski as well.
Many anglers float parts of the river in canoes, allowing them to get to tough lies. There are boulders, logs, and overhanging brush in many places; slow, deep runs and pools in the wider parts; and fast riffles in the narrows in others.
The Winooski has lots of challenging water for the spin and fly fishermen alike. Fly fishers tend to be found in the upper and middle sections. Spin fishermen will be found tossing spinners into shallow areas.
The Little River is a tributary to the Winooski which has been known to produce an occasional big brown from its usually small waters. The Little River is a short stream, a tailwater only three miles long. When the summer heat puts down trout in other rivers, the constant cold water release from Waterbury Dam keeps the trout active in the Little River.
New Haven River
A small stream that shouldn't be overlooked is the New Haven River, which enters into Otter Creek to the west of the Green Mountains. The New Haven holds brook trout in its upper waters above beautiful Bartlett's Falls, and rainbow and brown trout below the falls.
For the most part, the fish aren't big until the lower section of the river, especially near the mouth at Otter Creek. There are consistent water types for the angler, including riffles, runs, and pool configurations all along the 30-mile course.
Additionally, the tributaries of the New Haven have nice small stream fishing. Try Muddy Branch, Beaver, Cota, Murphy, and Notch Brooks for pan-size brook and brown trout.
The White River
If you want to fish a river in Vermont that offers a diversity of water types, then the White River should be the one.
There are five branches in the upper reaches of the White, and in them anglers can fish for brook, rainbow, and brown trout. The main stem runs for 57 miles before it empties into the Connecticut River.
The White is known for its trophy browns, but the quality of the water is so good, so clear, so fertile, that it is hard to believe that some sections of the river do not support quantities of trout.
Trout fishing on the White usually begins in May when the bait fishermen use their baited hooks to take advantage of the high, roily water and hungry fish holding deep. By June, the river runoff is gone, and fly fishermen hit the water. Insect hatches are infrequent, but caddis imitations tend to work well throughout the river.
This is a wadeable river where fishermen can work long, slow glides or fast whitewater or deep pools, where most of the big fish are caught. Because of the clarity of the water, White River trout can be spooky. Access is good from the state roads, which generally follow the river's path.
from Away.com
