Winooski River

Fishing, stocking, and current conditions

Brown trout water, stocked 3 times in 2026, all in May; 3,070 fish reported. One of 5 stocked waters on the Chittenden County record. A USGS gauge reports from this water, so the conditions card on this page is live.

Chittenden County · Vermont · see it on the national map

last stocked May 4 172 days ago

flow 49% of seasonal normal

best window 9:52-11:52 pm solunar major today

Water right now 2.02 ft gage height flow 422 cfs, 49% of the Oct 23 median NWS forecast: steady through Monday USGS gauge 04290500 (WINOOSKI RIVER NEAR ESSEX JUNCTION, VT) · read 8:30 pm this evening

3 stockings 2026

3,070 fish reported

The year here

stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details

What swims here

Brown trout 3 stockings

Stocking record 2026

Agency feed checked today.

Date	Species	Fish	Status
May 4	Brown trout	1,650	completed
May 4	Brown trout	970	completed
May 4	Brown trout	450	completed

When to fish Winooski River

	Major periods (~2 h)	Minor periods (~1 h)
Today	9:29-11:29 am and 9:52-11:52 pm	3:45-4:45 am and 4:01-5:01 pm
Tomorrow	10:15 am-12:15 pm and 10:39 pm-12:39 am	4:57-5:57 am and 4:21-5:21 pm

Moon: waxing gibbous, 92% lit. These are solunar periods, the traditional feeding-time theory: majors around the moon's transit overhead and underfoot, minors around moonrise and moonset. Theory, not a measurement. Times are Eastern Time (EDT).

What the record actually says

Last stocked May 4
Flow 49% of the seasonal median

Computed this evening, Oct 23 · Vermont fishing forecast

Gear for this water

It has been a while since the trucks came. The holdovers have spread out and wised up; downsize and fish natural.

For the trout (brown trout stocked 3 times here in 2026, moving water)

Drifted bait	single salmon egg or half a crawler under light split shot, rolled along the bottom
Small jerkbaits	floating minnows in the 2 to 3 inch class for the deeper bends
Waders or wet-wading boots	stocked stream fish stack in the obvious pools; getting to the next one is the edge

Suggestions follow from what the state actually stocks here and what kind of water it is, nothing else. No sponsored placements.

Nearby stocked waters

The closest waters with stocking pages of their own, straight-line miles from this one.

Water	Distance	Most recent
Lake Champlain	4.5 mi	Apr 15
Lamoille River	6.0 mi	May 21
Browns River	15 mi	May 19
Huntington River	19 mi	May 5
Lewis Creek	20 mi	May 8

Follow Chittenden County stocking: RSS / Calendar (iCal) / Print the schedule

Records from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department (official page). Placement from USGS GNIS. Schedules change without notice. Seasons, limits, and licenses: Vermont fishing regulations.