Winooski River
Fishing, stocking, and current conditions
Rainbow trout and brown trout water; 9 stockings on the 2026 record, all in May. The most-stocked water on the Washington County record for 2026. A USGS gauge reports from this water, so the conditions card on this page is live.
Washington County · Vermont · see it on the national map
The year here
stocked last 7 days announced ahead · tap a tick for details
What swims here
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
Stocking record 2026
Agency feed checked today.
| Date | Species | Size | Fish | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 4 | Rainbow trout | 200 | completed | |
| May 4 | Brown trout | 200 | completed | |
| May 5 | Rainbow trout | 150 | completed | |
| May 5 | Brown trout | 150 | completed | |
| May 14 | Rainbow trout | 1,080 | completed | |
| May 14 | Rainbow trout | 450 | completed | |
| May 14 | Brown trout | 1,100 | completed | |
| May 14 | Rainbow trout | 990 | completed | |
| May 19 | Rainbow trout | 552 | 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 19
- 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 (rainbow trout stocked 6 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 Washington County stocking: RSS / Calendar (iCal) / Print the schedule