Matthew Dickerson, Addison Independent, June 26, 1997
When the weather is hot, the fishing is not. That's usually the case in Vermont, anyway. Trout fishing in Addison county often peaks mid-May to early-June when water levels and numerous insect hatches keep trout active all day. Once water temperatures reach about 65--the uncomfortable range for trout--fish grow inactive save in early morning and late evening. Late June, July, and August can be pretty slow.
This year, however, May and June temperatures are among the lowest seen in the northeast in three decades: good news for trout fisherman. Streams are staying cold much longer than usual and fishing promises to remain good through June and even into July. With state stocking efforts winding down, now is a good time to fish. For those who like easy prey--hatchery fish which at the sight of fishermen swim to shore waiting to be fed--the Fish and Wildlife Dept. reports several local waters stocked this year. Lewis Creek in Starksboro was among the first, on May 1 getting 1,100 brook trout averaging 8". But don't expect to catch many now; it was also among the first streams to be fished out. Further south, Baldwin Creek received 600 9" brookies. The upper New Haven River was stocked with 800 brook trout on May 15, with the lower portion receiving 800 brown trout. The Middlebury river received 1300 brookies in the upper portion and a mix of browns and rainbows downstream. Otter Creek was also stocked at several spots, with the largest fish--520 15" rainbows and 500 13" browns-- stocked in the Danby area. All these rivers receive substantial fishing pressure, but if you get a hundred yards past the easy-access points you can often find good fishing. Spin fishermen have lots of success this time of year. A silver #0 Mepps is a good bet. For fly-fishermen, nice hatches of a variety of mayflies are now plentiful throughout the day. This week also produced my first trout of the season on an elk-hair caddis, as well as a few on streamer patterns. My favorite wet fly is a #12 weighted brown wooly bugger which works year round. In addition to lake Champlain--scheduled to be stocked with over 250,000 trout and salmon in 97--Lake Dunmore received 200 16" Atlantic Salmon. Silver Lake is a fun hike; if you can portage a canoe, you have a shot at the 1000 9" rainbows stocked in May. Pevious efforts have also left a few surviving brook trout now grown to over 15". Another famous local pond scheduled to be stocked is the Goshen Dam, but as of June 12 had not received fish. A trip earlier in the month revealed one possible reason: the lake had been drained much lower than usual. In fact, the southern bay was no longer a bay but a mud flat, while the island was just a peninsula. For those seeking a wild trout experience, the story is less promising. There are a few holdovers and wild trout in the previous streams, but once the stocked fish arrive the wild trout are overrun. If you are willing to travel south, the Battenkill and Mettawee rivers near Manchester are both managed as wild fisheries with no stocking. Small beaver ponds in the mountains are notoriously great places to find wild plump brook trout, but good luck extracting their locations from anybody. I'd be glad to tell you about my own favorite spots but I'm out of space.