Trout Fishing Odyssey in Vermont 2021

Trout fishing in Vermont is always a blast, whether you're stalking wild gems on small woodland streams or seeking out holdover brutes in the bigger waters. 2021 was no exception. In Episode #59, I bring my 3wt and 5wt rods up to the Green Mountain State for some exciting fly fishing in early June.
➤ Location(s)Black River, Windsor County, Vermont
Missisquoi River, Vermont
Other small streams
➤ Gear Used8.5' 5wt w/floating line
7.5' 3wt w/floating line
➤ Online
Connecticut Angler website: www.connecticutangler.com
​​​Facebook: / theconnangler
​​​Instagram: / theconnecticut
➤ Music Credits
"As I Daydream" & "Slow Ride"
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[@TipoftheHook]

Lovely place and awesome fishing man💯, those fish colors are just unbelievable😳! I wish all fishermen were as positive as you are 🤩! I do the same, but in Kazakhstan 😉👍🖐

[@DouglasLyons-yg3lv]

Stocked fish love indicators. 😂

[@mikeamizzle]

I cant thank you enough for sharing the beauty of our region so well. Fellow CT angler here as well. Tight lines man.

[@gregsv64]

Hey there, I'm from Brattleboro Vermont and I love the channel. Keep up the great work.

[@jasonrowett2705]

Can’t wait to see the beauties you caught up north!

[@tylerwebb5981]

I recognize that spot on the Black. I was there last month!!! Gorgeous country.

[@wildbrookies]

Just found this! Glad i did!

[@dalerash6285]

Lake Willoughby used to be our family playground, beautiful area !

[@ConnecticutAngler]

Lake Willoughby is beautiful, for sure! I’ve driven by and stopped at the lake several times in the past, but never fished it. Though I have wet a line over at Willoughby Falls which is only about a 15-minute drive to the east.

[@frankmonroe8320]

Great vid man! I really appreciate you taking us along. Been waiting for this trip. Fish on!

[@ConnecticutAngler]

Thanks for watching!

[@MichaelAndrewsCTtroutBum]

I think that first fish may be the biggest brown you've posted on your page? Beauty. I love VT, so many awesome spots. Nice job!

[@ConnecticutAngler]

Yeah, y'know I hadn't thought about it, but you're probably right... that likely was the biggest brown I've caught since I started the channel. And yeah, Vermont is such a fine state to fish. I sort of regret that I filmed so little while I was up there and didn't get to show so much: small stream fishing for little wild rainbows, smashing some nice smallies on the lake, nabbing a laker in 15ft of water. So much more happened that I just didn't have footage for. But it's funny... most of the year, I'm going solo... so when I'm fishing with friends, I just want to fish and hang out and filming takes a back seat.

[@deandutkiewicz5739]

The best video I have seen that you ever did. Looks a excellent keep it up 👍

[@deandutkiewicz5739]

Thank you

[@FlickyFlies]

Awesome video! Subscribed.

[@ckalnicki]

I love fishing the Mad river in Waitsfield/Warren.

[@pickinguitar328]

Awesome man. I live in central VT and spend a lot of time in the white river, winooski and dog river. Tight lines!

[@ConnecticutAngler]

I’ve actually spent relatively little time on those rivers, which is crazy because I’ve fished all over Vermont for almost 20 years now. I’ve definitely fished the White, though I feel like success on that stream requires lots of scouting for productive spots. So much of the White amounts to broad, shallow, sun-baked riffles. I know there’s great spots, I just don’t always know where to find them. Winooski I’ve hit occasionally, but not often enough to have any specific memories of it. Can’t say I remember fishing Dog, at all. Our most recent trip this past June was all Central VT: Black River, Otter Creek, East Creek, Ottauquechee, to name the bigger water. Lots of smaller streams, as well.

[@TheHateChef]

Wow. How on earth did you leave the Black?

[@williamseitz5057]

great video, thanks for sharing. can i ask, what stretch of the black river were you fishing?

[@michaelcoleman9182]

Great video! Now I've got to go and checkout some VT streams!

[@ConnecticutAngler]

So many fine streams up there; it won’t disappoint!

[@Wkndr]

You mentioned the black was a stocked river but those browns look wild to me

[@ConnecticutAngler]

Appearance alone is a very hit-or-miss indicator of wildness, contrary to popular belief. Once exposed to an environment with a more natural diet, the color of stocked trout can begin to change surprisingly fast. And in a stream like the Black, which has fairly good holdover potential, longer-lived stockers have time to both color up and heal any hatchery fin damage. Fisheries biologists who deal with these distinctions professionally echo the same sentiment. Could some of those fish I caught have been wild? Sure. Entirely possible. But when they’re from a heavily stocked river with holdover potential, as the Black most certainly is, it’s actually very tough to know with any reasonable certainty. I generally prefer not to make claims about wildness unless I can be particularly certain (ex. if the stream is not stocked or the fish is well below stocking size).

[@vermont_rider]

Great video 👍. I live in central Vermont and do quite a bit of fishing around here. Just started fly fishing last year. Question…. What are using to film… your phone or a GoPro camera? Very good quality btw

[@ConnecticutAngler]

Thanks for the kinds words! All of the first-person stuff is with a GoPro 9. B-roll is mostly all shot with my iPhone.

[@dragonbob2924]

Nice fish. I imagine Vermont has better fishing than new Hampshire even though NH has bigger mountains. If you were in Northeast Vermont then you should've hit the Upper Connecticut River. Big tailwater trout over there.

[@ConnecticutAngler]

I haven’t done a whole lot of fishing in New Hampshire really, and what I have done has been mostly for bass, so I don’t have a great point of reference to gauge it against Vermont. We have hit the Upper Connecticut sporadically over the years, though we tend to be so preoccupied with other rivers in that region that we’ve never really focused on it much.

[@moose11vt]

Hate to say it, but NH has much better water. The Black River is stocked with "trophy trout" in May and most don't last over the summer. Our rivers get too low & warm in the summer months.

[@hookinwidhutch3795]

Where on the black river were you, if you don’t mind me asking! I’d love to make the trip to fish this area. Black river is about 2 hours from me, I’ve never gotten myself and the fly rod out there.

[@woodsspy327]

Nice video. I am new to fly fishing, but can you use a stimulator, elk hair caddis or hopper for an indicator with the nymph instead of only an indicator?

[@ConnecticutAngler]

For sure! That constitutes a dry-dropper rig, which I use pretty pretty extensively. I tend to use an elk hair caddis most often because it’s a very buoyant fly for it’s size and consequently holds up nymphs pretty well while still presenting a relatively small profile. But sure, in rougher water or when fishing a heavier nymph, you could use a bigger hopper pattern instead. Dry-droppers are a very effective rig. Though, there are cases in which that rig isn’t the best choice. These could include very rough/fast water, since the dry will invariably drown too often. Also, on rivers with highly variable depths, it pays to have an indicator, as it’ll permit you to quickly and easily dial in new depths for the nymph as you cover different sections, whereas a dry-dropper rig would demand constant retying.

[@woodsspy327]

@@ConnecticutAngler Thank you for your reply and your videos. I really enjoy them. I would like to see you fish some waters in in my area - the Catskills, perhaps the Neversink, Beaverkill, Willowemoc, East and West Branches of the Delaware and Esopus, and there is a very nice tributary at the top of the Willowemoc named Fir Brook that holds beautiful Brookies. Have you ever tried Euro Nymphing tight lining with a 10'6" 3 wt. with sighter line. That is supposed to be very effective in the last case you mentioned above. I hope to try that some day.

[@ericbak4272]

You got any thing that might help me with the insect hatch in CT im still very new to fly fishing and recommendations

[@ConnecticutAngler]

I'm not much of an entomologist myself, honestly. I pick some bits up here or there, but I don't get particularly technical with it. If you search "Connecticut hatch chart" there's actually a great deal of info out there. My two cents: if you're very new, don't get too bogged down on trying to match specific insects. Oftentimes (most times, really) you can do pretty damn well with just a handful of essential patterns. Success comes down more to reading the water well enough to find fish and presenting those essential flies effectively. That isn't to say you won't bump into scenarios over time in which presenting a carefully matched imitative fly will decisively win the day, but looking at the broadest cross-section of waters and fishing scenarios in Connecticut, such instances are squarely in the minority.

[@JayAttackReact]

Where can I order that reel you used here?

[@ConnecticutAngler]

The 5wt reel that I used on the bigger water is a Lamson Liquid. Generally goes for $100 give or take and it’s a seriously great value. The 3wt I used on the smaller stream is a Redington ID which generally goes for around $60 or so (I think). It’s a decent reel, but I opted for it mostly because it has a solid face on one side for vinyl graphics. My plan was to add a custom vinyl branded for the channel, but I haven’t gotten around to it yet.

[@Kiddsday2]

Is this winooski river

[@ConnecticutAngler]

Rivers in this vid were the Black and Mississqoi. There were also brief clips of other streams we fished, but where I didn’t do any recording: the Willoughby, Pherrins are the bigger ones.

[@manueltecchiolli]

Hey! I am coming to Vermont next summer and I would like to ask you a couple of questions. Would you be so gentle to give me the opportunity to ask you a couple of questions via Email? :) Many thanks! Congrats for your video, it's amazing!!