Vermont fishing reports
50 reports for Vermont — what's biting, water temps, and where to focus.
Lake Champlain Bass Beds Active; CT River Caddis Hatches Peak
Largemouth and smallmouth bass are crowding Champlain's shallows in full spawn mode — MA Bass Federation competitors at Ticonderoga confirmed a productive bite, with state championship results fresh off the water (MA Bass). On Vermont's moving water, USGS gauge 01135300 registered 71.7 cfs on the Connecticut River system early this morning, and Hatch Magazine reports caddis emergences are hitting their spring stride. The Battenkill Fly Fishing & Arts Festival just wrapped May 2 in Arlington, Vermont, drawing regional fly anglers to benchmark spring conditions (MidCurrent). Wired 2 Fish this week outlined a swimbait-to-finesse-bait two-punch for bed fish in shallow cover — well suited to Champlain's weedy bays and rocky transitions. Walleye should also be seasonally active in Champlain's shallower bays as water temperatures climb, though no direct reports were available this week. The waning gibbous moon favors active morning and evening windows. No water temperature reading was available at publication time.
Connecticut River at 84.8 cfs as May Hatches Begin for Vermont Trout
USGS gauge 01135300 logged 84.8 cfs on the Connecticut River watershed as of May 2—a moderate, stable reading that puts wading conditions in solid shape heading into the week. No water temperature was recorded at the gauge, though early May on Vermont river systems typically places surface temps in the high 40s to low 50s°F, right at the threshold where trout metabolism accelerates and mayfly emergences become consistent. Field & Stream's current trout guide highlights the insect life that should be emerging right now—mayflies, caddisflies, stoneflies, and midges—making this a meaningful window for dry-fly and nymph presentations on Connecticut River tributaries. The full moon peaking this weekend adds a timing edge: predator species in Lake Champlain, walleye and pike especially, are known to feed hard in the low-light hours flanking a full moon phase. No Vermont-specific charter or shop intel reached our feeds this cycle; the on-the-water detail below draws on seasonal benchmarks and regional inference where direct attribution isn't available.