Fishing Report - 1/16/26
With the warmer weather this past week, we are finally getting some open water on the rivers around Middlebury. Currently Otter Creek in Middlebury is at 1000 CFS, and in Rutland just below 700. The New Haven is at right around 250 and most rivers are running fairly clear with a hint of the runoff blueish-green color.
With it still being fully the winter season, targeting the warmer days and particularly those with a large increase in temperature from the prior days is key to finding some fish that are looking to feed and replenish some of the weight they lost this past winter. Make sure to be careful on the edges of the river, as there is a lot of ice and of course, some very cold water.
Per usual for the time of year, the fish are holding in the slowest and deepest sections of the river and in order to entice them you will need to use enough weight to get your fly down in those sections. Heavy tan and olive streamers on jig hooks as well as heavy natural nymphs like hares ears and caddis pupas have worked well. It’s also not a bad idea to throw on a squirmy worm or a mop fly to get the attention of a slower moving winter trout.
Registration for the 18th annual Otter Creek Classic opened Wednesday. The 3 day fly fishing tournament will be held April 10th-12th this year. More information and Registration is available on our website mmvt.com at the bottom of the Otter Creek Classic page underneath the fishing tab. Don’t forget to get your tickets for the fly fishing film tour, and OCC support stickers for some chances to win some great prizes as well.
Come by the shop on 56 Main Street, or give us a call if you have any questions or need to pick up any gear. We’re excited for the coming spring and another great year on the water!
-Jake
Previous Reports
We’re coming up towards the end of October and with it the end of the traditional fishing season. Remember, Vermont does have a plethora of year round water available to keep fishing into November and the Winter beyond, however, these last few weeks will be some of the last chances to target fish that are eating consistently and moving aggressively on food.
Get out while you can! The cooler temperatures combined with the recent rain has been making the fishing hot right now!
The New Haven peaked at nearly 800 CFS on Wednesday morning and has dropped down to 75 and has gone from muddy to clear but the fish have seemed much happier and more active on both it and the Middlebury since the increase in flows. The Otter Creek has just peaked today at around 530 and with the colder temperatures, should fish well for trout, pike, and smallmouth as long as the flows stay above 300/400.
Finally! With this week’s inch plus of total rain, we can finally breathe a sigh of relief. The New Haven peaked last night at just over 200 CFS, a flow level it hadn’t reached since 96 days prior, back in June. It’s back down to around 135 CFS, but that is still a steady improvement to the previous conditions. The Otter in Middlebury is up to right around 200 CFS and climbing. If it continues to rise and with the lower temperatures it has, fishing the Otter could be worth considering. The other tributaries, further south, have also been fishing well.
Chilly nights have been a blessing recently, but their positive impact has been (at least) balanced out by how low our rivers have been. The drought from this summer has continued; however, hopefully conditions and the fishing will continue to improve as fall comes into swing.
June 2nd Fishing Report – Vermont
It’s been a wild spring, with water temps and flows bouncing all over the place. I was able to wet wade a stretch of the New Haven last week, but after the recent rains, I’m back in waders and a light puffy. Water temps in Addison County streams had been steadily climbing—we pulled a 58°F on the Middlebury and a 61.4°F on the New Haven last week—but this morning the New Haven cooled off dramatically to 49.6°F.
Here's a mid-March fishing report for Vermont, packed with insights for anglers navigating the unpredictable spring conditions:
Welcome to the uncertainty of fishing in March in Vermont. By the end of last week, rivers were in great shape, especially the smaller freestone streams in the valley with excellent flows and visibility. If you had the chance to fish then, you may have enjoyed some prime conditions. However, expect things to shift quickly as we’re in for another round of rain and snow, which could change the game.
It’s looking like we will have a string of favorable weather here over the next 10 days. Air temps are predicted to reach into the 40’s. With this warm up it’s no surprise to see rivers opening up and some little black stones crawling around in the snow at the water’s edge.
My ideal early spring fishing conditions start in the mid 30’s and end in the upper 30’s. With this much snow on the ground, warmer temps will cause the snow to melt which will stain and drop the water temps.
Otter Creek Classic 17 April, 11-13th 2025
https://www.mmvt.com/fishing/otter-creek-classic
https://flyfilmtour.com/film/2025-fly-fishing-film-tour-official-trailer/
Temperatures are starting off chilly in the morning and warming up quickly in the afternoon, thankfully all the water we have been on recently has stayed nice and cool during our current low water conditions. Nymph fishing under indicators or with euro rods has been our most productive technique as of late. If you’re able to get out at first light streamers can be a fun way to cover more water. I would expect the streamer bite to pick up if we get some rain. The extended forecast shows the potential for some showers over the next 10 days.
A whole lot of recent rain has our rivers high and muddy at the moment. Luckily, the rain, in combination with the stretch of colder weather, has dropped the water temperatures significantly and has allowed a lot of the lower reaches of the bigger water to be able to fished throughout the entire day. The rain will be important with the next stretch of warm weather we’re supposed to be seeing, as it should help to extend our trout fishing season through the warm weather we often see during the end of August and first week of September.
