Left last week for a little R&R in New England.
I fished the Winooski and Lamoille Rivers in Vermont. I've fished these both in the past and know them fairly well. Unlike NY streams which have alot of slippery rounded boulders these two rivers are predomiately fine gravel and are a piece of cake to fish.
Both streams are very big by Vermont standards. The Winooski is likely the biggest trout stream in the state. We have nothing comparable here in southern Ontario. It is couple times the volume of the Grand and comparable to western rivers or larger NY rivers like West Canada Creek.
Of the two I like the Winooski best even though the Lamoille is more remote, less fished and prettier. The Winooski has a great many wild resident rainbows which are rare in the Adirondacks where I normally fish and Ontario (except steelhead). So they're something of a treat.
Okay for the actual fishing. In two trips to the Winooski I caught a dozen trout...all rainbows except for one brown. The fish were all between 12-16 inches. All were caught on dry flies (Summer Haystack...my own tie) and beadhead pheasant tails#14. One fish I suspect was a large brown broke me off on a Marabou Black Ghost.
One the Lamoille I managed 4 trout all browns from 9"-14" in one trip. All caught on a brown hackle-peacock dry.
Vermont trouting
There is alot of room. While I fished I saw other anglers but never was I crowded. No more than 3 or 4 within eyesight at any given time and I could probably see close 1/2 a kilometer on the Winooski.
In Vermont I believe the law states that the river to the high water mark is public. As long as you can access the stream from a public access point (ie road crossing) you're fine. Other than that from what I gather nobody really minds anglers crossing property. They seem pretty relaxed. There is not the plethora of posted signs you see in NY.
It seems like every trickle has brookies too. Within a 25 mile radius of Waterbury for example would be enough water to keep you going for a long time.
In Vermont I believe the law states that the river to the high water mark is public. As long as you can access the stream from a public access point (ie road crossing) you're fine. Other than that from what I gather nobody really minds anglers crossing property. They seem pretty relaxed. There is not the plethora of posted signs you see in NY.
It seems like every trickle has brookies too. Within a 25 mile radius of Waterbury for example would be enough water to keep you going for a long time.