Vermont writes almost every season it has as a weekday, which makes it the state where copying last year’s dates goes wrong most reliably. Every date on this page is calculated from the rule in the regulations.
Every season we have verified in Vermont
One block per rule, because a single species can be on two calendars in the same state depending on the water. The band under each heading is the legal season; the row under it is what our own data says the fish are doing.
Trout — Streams
The second Saturday in April to October 31, which put the 2026 opener on April 11. There is no minimum length on stream trout here, which is unusual, and the eight-fish limit is generous by New England standards.
- Limit
- 8 brook, brown and rainbow trout combined.
Trout — Lakes
Same opener as the streams, but lakes reopen from January 1 to March 15 for the ice, so lake trout anglers get two bites at the year. Lake trout follow the same pattern with an 18-inch minimum and a two-fish limit shared with landlocked salmon.
- Limit
- 6 fish.
Bass — Statewide
Harvest opens the second Saturday in June and runs to March 15. Outside that window catch-and-release with artificial lures and flies is permitted all year, so the closed months are about the cooler again rather than the cast.
- Size
- 10 inches.
- Limit
- 5 combined.
Walleye — Statewide
The first Saturday in May to March 15. An 18-inch minimum is a big walleye and a serious restriction; three fish is a modest limit for the northern states.
- Size
- 18 inches.
- Limit
- 3 a day.
Northern pike — Statewide
No closed season on pike at all, which makes it the species to chase in Vermont when everything else is shut.
- Size
- 20 inches.
- Limit
- 5 a day.
Read on 2026-09-14 from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Read in the eRegulations edition of the official Vermont fishing guide, the designated publisher for Vermont Fish and Wildlife. Legal dates were read on the agency’s own page on the date shown beside each entry. Seasons change: the agency link is always the last word.
What the water is doing while the season is open
This is the part an agency page will not tell you. The temperature row above is the seasonal curve we use for the 3 of 13 Vermont waters we track on a landlocked salmon lake profile, and it is why an opening date and a fishable date are not the same thing. A season that opens while the water is still in the forties is a legal invitation, not a biological one: the fish are there, they are just not eating on your schedule yet. Cross the legal band against the activity row before you book the day off.
Where to fish it
We publish a daily report for 13 Vermont waters, each with live flow or tide and today's conditions.
- Lake Champlain — Grand Isle County
- Lake Willoughby — Orleans County
- Clyde River — Orleans County
- Battenkill — Bennington County
- Lake Memphremagog — Orleans County
- White River — Windsor County
- Somerset Reservoir — Windham County
- Waterbury Reservoir — Washington County
- Seymour Lake — Orleans County
- Winooski River — Chittenden County
The licence is a separate question
An open season is not permission to fish. Vermont requires a licence from age 15, and residents pay from $28.00 against $54.00 for visitors. What a Vermont licence costs and where to buy it →
Questions
When does fishing season open in Vermont?
It depends on the species: trout april 11 to october 31; trout april 11 to october 31; bass june 13 to march 15. Every date on this page was read off Vermont Fish and Wildlife on 2026-09-14.
Do I need a licence to fish in Vermont?
Yes. Vermont requires a fishing licence from age 15, from $28.00 for residents. A season being open is not permission to fish: the licence is separate and so are the size and bag limits.
Are these Vermont dates going to change?
Some of them, and the page says which. Dates written as a rule in the regulations are calculated here for 2026, so they follow the rule rather than going stale. Dates the agency sets each year are shown as exactly that, with no calendar band, because inventing one would be worse than leaving it empty.