US Fishing·News desk
Vermont rivers still skinny Sept. 10; ISOs on the Winooski when it cools
Vermont’s September rivers are still a drought story with a hatch. The Fly Rod Shop’s Sept. 10 report called water clear, levels incredibly low, and fishing better than the week before. Big-river temperatures ran 60–68°F; humid nights kept them from cooling, but cloudy, cool days put ISOs on the Winooski. Fish are in the usual spots, stacked in faster riffles rather than spread out. Low water also opened access that is usually a fight.
An overnight rise bumped small tributaries and made a brook-trout day worth it. The big rivers barely came up and might run off-color a day, then clear. Carry a thermometer. The shop’s Winooski USGS note was 89 cfs on the update.
Confirm 2026 Vermont regulations — Lake Memphremagog is one lake trout, 24-inch minimum, and the Clyde at Newport is catch-and-release with flies or lures Sept. 1–Oct. 31. Do not invent a salmon run from a shop river sheet.
This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.