Vermont fishing reports
129 reports for Vermont — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Champlain smallmouth stay hot as salmon slide deep
A Bass Federation tournament on Lake Champlain over the August 8-9 weekend produced a non-boater winning bag topping 30 pounds, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater's report out of Sauder's Boat Livery in Southwick — a strong signal that smallmouth are stacked up and biting well heading into the back half of August. USGS gauge 04294500 has water sitting at 74°F as of early this morning, typical for high-summer Champlain and a good indicator that landlocked salmon have pushed down below the thermocline rather than holding shallow. Right now smallmouth on structure and drop-offs is the higher-percentage bite, while salmon anglers should plan on a deeper, trolling-focused approach rather than surface action. No direct Champlain salmon reports came through in this cycle's intel, so treat that species as a wait-and-see rather than a confirmed pattern until cooler nights start mixing the water column. Check local forecast conditions before heading out — no sky or wind data was available for this update.
Champlain smallmouth stay hot as VT rivers run lean
A Bass Federation tournament held on Lake Champlain over the weekend of August 8-9 produced a 30-plus-pound stringer for the non-boater division winner, according to The Fisherman — New England Freshwater — a strong sign for the smallmouth and largemouth mix Vermont anglers are chasing this month. Flow on the Connecticut River watershed is running lean, with the USGS gauge near site 01135300 reading just over 4 cubic feet per second, consistent with a dry late-summer stretch that typically pushes bass toward deeper structure and shaded banks by midday. Regional New England freshwater intel backs up the pattern: Jerry's Bait and Tackle-NE Freshwater reports largemouths still coming on shiners and plastics at nearby ponds, while Roger Aziz, Jr. continues taking smallmouth on spinnerbaits, Aziz-rigged Senkos, and Whopper Ploppers on comparable river structure. No direct walleye or pike reports came in from Vermont water this week, so expect a typical, unspectacular late-summer bite from those species rather than anything hot.
Champlain Smallmouth Stay Strong as Tournament Weights Impress
A Bass Federation tournament held the weekend of August 8-9 on Lake Champlain produced a non-boater win with more than 30 pounds of smallmouth, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater, a solid signal that the bronzeback bite remains productive heading into late August. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for Champlain this cycle, so anglers should lean on typical seasonal patterns: smallmouth pushing to deeper rock piles, humps, and mid-lake structure as surface water warms, with dawn and dusk windows generally producing the best action on dropshot and tube presentations. Landlocked salmon usually slide into deeper, cooler water this time of year, and that bite typically slows until the fall turnover gets underway. As always, check current Vermont regulations before harvesting either species, since size and creel limits can vary by section of the lake and time of year.
Lake Champlain Bass Turn On Ahead of Late-Summer Push
At Lake Champlain, Sauder's Boat Livery reports a fifty-two-year member of the Bass Federation took non-boater honors with a 30-plus-pound stringer during the August 8-9 tournament weekend, a solid signal for the lake's largemouth bite settling into a classic late-summer pattern (per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater). No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for the Connecticut River or Champlain today, so treat water temp and flow as unconfirmed until you check a local reading before launching. Smallmouth bass should still be working deeper structure and rock piles as surface temps hold in typical August ranges, while walleye settle onto main-lake breaks and drop-offs during low light. Pike activity is usually the first species to slow once water temps peak for the season, so expect a quieter bite there until the first real cool-down arrives. First Quarter moon favors morning and evening feeding windows over a slow midday bite.
Champlain smallmouth power big tournament bags
A Bass Federation tournament held on Lake Champlain over the weekend of August 8-9 produced a non-boater winner with a 30-plus-pound total, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater, a strong showing that points to an active bass bite heading into late summer. No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for Champlain this cycle, so anglers should lean on their own electronics and recent trip notes rather than a specific temp number. Smallmouth on big natural lakes like Champlain typically hold on main-lake rock piles, humps and deep weed edges once surface temps climb through August, and that structure-and-depth pattern lines up with the tournament results. Landlocked salmon fishing is quieter this time of year as fish push down toward the thermocline chasing cooler, oxygenated water, a typical summer slowdown rather than a red flag. The First Quarter moon this week should support a modest uptick in low-light feeding activity.
Champlain Largemouth Load Up as August Tournaments Peak
Lake Champlain's bass are putting on a show heading into late August. Per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater's report from Sauder's Boat Livery in Southwick, a Bass Federation tournament fished out of Champlain over the August 8-9 weekend produced a winning non-boater bag of 30-plus pounds from a 52-year federation member, a strong sign the lake's largemouth are stacked up and feeding heavily in typical summer cover. No fresh buoy or gauge telemetry came through this cycle, so treat water levels and clarity as unconfirmed until you check them dockside. Smallmouth on the Connecticut River should still be holding to deeper rock and gravel structure as surface temps stay up, and walleye are likely sliding into the same summer pattern anglers elsewhere have been chasing with forward-facing sonar, per Fishing the Midwest's recent notes on the technique. Trout fishing typically slows this time of year as water warms, pushing fish toward cooler tributary mouths.
Smallmouth Bass Turn On as Champlain Tournament Anglers Score Big
Water in the Winooski River watershed feeding Lake Champlain read 73°F this morning per USGS gauge 04294500, firmly in peak summer smallmouth range. The clearest signal on the lake itself comes from The Fisherman — New England Freshwater, which reports a Bass Federation tournament ran on Lake Champlain over the August 8-9 weekend, with a fifty-two-year club member landing a non-boater-division haul of 30-plus pounds, a strong showing that points to smallmouth still schooled up and feeding hard on the rocky structure the lake is known for. No fresh intel on landlocked salmon specifically; they typically slide deep as surface water climbs into the low-70s this time of year. We're seeing this as a solid stretch for bronzeback fans working main-lake points and drop-offs, while salmon anglers should plan on downrigging or leadcore rather than surface tactics until temperatures ease.
Champlain Bass Keep Rolling Into Mid-August
A Bass Federation tournament fished out of Lake Champlain over the weekend of August 8-9 produced a five-fish bag topping 30 pounds, good enough for non-boater division honors, according to Sauder's Boat Livery (via The Fisherman — New England Freshwater). That's a strong showing for mid-August largemouth and smallmouth on Champlain. On the Connecticut River side, our USGS gauge 01135300 is reading a notably low 6.75 cfs this morning, in line with typical late-summer low-water conditions that push river bass and panfish tight to shade, current breaks and any deeper holes. A direct water-temperature reading wasn't available at this gauge, so plan around air temp and time of day rather than a hard number. Walleye and pike reports specific to this stretch are thin right now, so anglers chasing them should lean on standard August deep-structure and weedline approaches until fresher local intel comes in. Bass remain the headline story heading into the weekend.
Champlain Smallmouth Settle Into Deep Summer Structure
No Vermont-specific reports came through this cycle, so we're leaning on regional New England signal and typical mid-August patterning for Lake Champlain's smallmouth and landlocked salmon fishery. Elsewhere in the region, per The Fisherman — New England Freshwater, smallmouth are running strong on spinnerbaits along the Merrimack River in Massachusetts, a useful proxy for how bronzebacks are likely behaving lake-wide right now, holding tight to rock piles, humps, and drop-offs rather than shallow cover. For Champlain itself, this is peak deep-structure season: smallmouth typically stack on main-lake points and ledges in 15-25 feet, while landlocked salmon and lake trout get pushed below the thermocline and require downrigger or leadcore trolling to reach. No buoy or gauge telemetry was available for the lake this cycle, so treat water temp and flow as unknowns until you check a local source. We're calling species status off seasonal norms rather than fresh intel this week.
Smallmouth bass patterns build on Vermont waters as summer peaks
Direct buoy and gauge readings for the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain weren't available this cycle, but the seasonal signal from nearby New England freshwater fisheries points to a pattern Vermont anglers should be seeing too. The Fisherman — New England Freshwater reports bronzeback smallmouth running steady on spinnerbaits along the Merrimack River, with fish from 10 inches to 2 pounds stacked up in numbers, and largemouth to 5-plus pounds coming on shiners from shore at ponds in the Southwick/Bourne corridor. Vermont's Connecticut River and Champlain smallmouth and largemouth typically track this same mid-to-late-August window, holding tight to baitfish schools and deep drop-edges before the fall shakeup begins. Walleye and northern pike remain standard late-summer targets on Champlain, though no direct regional intel on either came through this cycle. Treat this as a seasonal-pattern read rather than a live VT report, and check with local shops for on-the-water confirmation before planning a trip.
Champlain smallmouth hold deep as summer heat settles in
No NOAA buoy or USGS gauge readings came through for Lake Champlain this cycle, and this week's angler-intel sweep turned up nothing Vermont-specific on smallmouth bass or landlocked salmon — the available blog and forum feeds skewed toward bass-gear reviews, Northeast saltwater stories, and Midwest walleye columns, with no direct testimony tied to Champlain water. Absent fresh reports, what follows leans on general seasonal knowledge rather than confirmed bites. Mid-August on Champlain typically has smallmouth bass holding tight to main-lake rock piles, humps, and steep drop-offs, with deep drop-shot and tube presentations usually outproducing moving baits once surface temperatures climb. Landlocked salmon typically push deeper and feed more sluggishly through peak summer heat, with anglers usually switching to downrigger trolling near the thermocline to stay in the strike zone. We're not able to verify either pattern against this week's feeds, so treat this as a seasonal baseline rather than an active-bite report until better intel comes through.
Champlain and CT River Settle Into Classic August Bass Pattern
No fresh buoy or gauge readings came through for the Connecticut River or Lake Champlain this cycle, so we're leaning on the seasonal pattern rather than a live number. Early August on these waters typically means largemouth and smallmouth bass sliding into a dawn/dusk rhythm, with the hottest window right around first light — per Wired 2 Fish, summer gamefish push baitfish to the surface in short, explosive windows at sunrise and sunset, a pattern that tracks well for Champlain bass right now. Walleye anglers are increasingly leaning on Forward-Facing Sonar to find suspended fish off traditional structure, a shift Fishing the Midwest has been documenting as more anglers move away from bottom-only presentations. Pike tend to sulk in the warmest part of the day this time of year. New moon phase this week can mean stronger low-light bites — worth planning around if you're picking a window to fish.
Fishing in Vermont
Vermont fishing runs on two engines: Lake Champlain, a 120-mile inland sea on the New York border that ranks among the best bass lakes in the country, and a web of cold rivers and mountain streams that hold wild trout from border to border. Add landlocked salmon, big lake trout, northern pike, and one of the better ice fishing cultures in New England, and the small state fishes big.
When to fish Vermont
Landlocked salmon chase smelt near the river mouths as the ice goes out, and Champlain's pike and bass move into the warming bays. The trout rivers come alive once the runoff drops, with the season's first good hatches.
Largemouth bury in the grass beds and smallmouth hold on the rocky shoals, and Champlain fishes as well as any bass lake in the East. The mountain streams stay cold, so brook trout keep feeding all summer up high.
Brown trout and landlocked salmon get aggressive as the water cools, and the rivers around the lake see fresh fish move in. Bass feed heavily before winter, and fishing beneath peak foliage is as good as this sport looks anywhere.
Champlain's bays freeze into a small city of shanties, with anglers pulling perch, pike, lake trout, and salmon through the ice. The inland lakes and ponds fish well too once they lock up.
Waters to know
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Common questions
Do I need a license to fish in Vermont?
Yes, most anglers need a Vermont fishing license. Licenses are sold online through Vermont Fish & Wildlife, and rules vary by water and species, so check the current regulations before you fish.
What fish can I catch in Vermont?
Champlain holds largemouth, smallmouth, lake trout, landlocked salmon, northern pike, walleye, and panfish. The rivers and streams carry wild brook, brown, and rainbow trout, with brookies thick in the mountain headwaters.
When is the best time to fish Vermont?
Late spring through early summer covers the best of everything: post-runoff trout hatches and shallow bass on Champlain. Fall is prime for salmon and brown trout, and winter delivers genuinely good ice fishing.
Where can I check current Vermont fishing conditions?
This page carries our current Vermont fishing reports, built daily from USGS river gauges, flows, and local sources. For a plan built around your exact water and day, try the free Wayfinder trip planner.
Seasons and limits change: verify current regulations with Vermont Fish & Wildlife before keeping fish.
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