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Somerset Reservoir Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Somerset Reservoir: a hydro storage reservoir at the head of the Deerfield River, with an undeveloped shoreline inside the Green Mountain National Forest.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~62 F est.
Air / High
46 / 48 F
Wind
NNE 9 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Somerset Reservoir is in transition: bait on the move and predators following. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 9 mph, rising pressure near 1028 hPa and a high of 48. Water sits around 62 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:25 AM-11:25 AM and 9:54 PM-11:54 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Brook troutExcellent

The best band: Vermont's ideal is 55-60Β°F. Fish feed in daylight, since Michigan DNR notes they are more diurnal than other trout, and in ponds and lakes Maine IFW says spring and fall bring them near shore and the surface.

Smallmouth bassGood

Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Yellow perchGood

Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Tomorrow: Similar at 51 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Vermont requires a fishing licence from age 15, from $28.00 for residents. What a Vermont licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing smallmouth bass here? Check the size and bag limits with VTFW before you keep anything. The season dates for Vermont, read off the agency, are on the Vermont seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp46 F
High / Low48 / 32 F
WindNNE 9-16 mph
Pressure1027.6 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:15 / 17:56
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~62 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Which day to fish Somerset Reservoir this week

The best day on Somerset Reservoir this week looks like Sunday Oct 25, at 4 out of 5, against 2 today.

Best day this week: Sunday, Oct 25 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Tough

Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Solunar majors
9:25 AM-11:25 AM and 9:54 PM-11:54 PM
Minor period
3:47 AM-4:47 AM
Sun
07:15 to 17:56
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 10 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Somerset Reservoir: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Spring pre-spawn and fall: Iowa DNR notes the larger bass come up to shallow structure, where a shallow-running minnow bait or a spinnerbait just under the surface works.

Yellow perch illustration

Yellow perch

Caught all year, including under the ice through winter

Yellow perch are schooling panfish of the Great Lakes and northern lakes, and Michigan DNR calls them the game fish most often caught in that state. Spring and fall: perch hold shallower and, by Michigan DNR's account, feed through the day, so shoreline weed edges, flats and the shallows near spawning areas are worth searching.

Brook trout illustration

Brook trout

Spring and fall in ponds and lakes, when fish come shallow; summer in the coldest headwater streams

The brook trout is a char native to eastern North America, a fish of cold, clean streams and ponds, and the state fish of Michigan. The best band: Vermont's ideal is 55-60Β°F. Fish feed in daylight, since Michigan DNR notes they are more diurnal than other trout, and in ponds and lakes Maine IFW says spring and fall bring them near shore and the surface.

When to come: the Somerset Reservoir calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Smallmouth bass
Yellow perch
Brook trout
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 62 F (estimated, not a reading).

4050607080JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~62 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Somerset Reservoir today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Smallmouth bass led the card at excellent. High of 55 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Brook trout led the card at excellent. High of 53 F, wind to 9 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Brook trout led the card at excellent. High of 58 F, wind to 11 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Vermont requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Vermont fishing license. Somerset Reservoir is not listed among the waters with special regulations in the 2026 Vermont Fishing Guide, so the statewide rules (Table 1) apply.

Access

Great River Hydro's recreation area just northeast of the dam has picnic facilities, a gravel boat ramp, a carry-in access for paddlers and trails. Its facilities are day-use only, from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

About this water

A 1,623-acre hydro storage reservoir (Great River Hydro; Vermont lists 1,568 acres) at the headwaters of the East Branch Deerfield River, Windham County, Vermont.

Fishing Somerset Reservoir: the full guide

A storage reservoir

Great River Hydro manages Somerset Reservoir, in Stratton and Somerset, as part of the Deerfield River Hydroelectric Project (FERC P-2323). The company describes it as 1,623 acres and 5.6 miles long at 2,133.58 feet above sea level, with the entire undeveloped shoreline owned by the company and protected by a conservation easement within the Green Mountain National Forest. Vermont's Use of Public Waters Rules list it at 1,568 acres.

What lives here

A Vermont DEC basin plan for the Deerfield lists smallmouth bass, rock bass, pumpkinseed, chain pickerel, brown bullhead and yellow perch in Somerset, plus stocked brook trout. The same plan warns that Somerset and Searsburg reservoirs are subject to significant seasonal water-level drawdowns, which change the shoreline from season to season.

Boating rules

Vermont's Use of Public Waters Rules ban personal watercraft, waterskiing and wakesports on Somerset, make the whole reservoir a no-disturbing-wake zone and limit vessels with internal combustion motors to 10 mph. There is no horsepower cap in the rule.

Common questions

Is there a horsepower limit on Somerset?

No. The Vermont rule limits boats with internal combustion motors to 10 mph, makes the whole reservoir no-wake and bans personal watercraft and waterskiing.

Can I camp at the boat launch?

No. Great River Hydro's recreation facilities are open for day use only, from half an hour before sunrise to half an hour after sunset.

Does the water level change?

Yes. Vermont DEC notes significant seasonal drawdowns at Somerset, which is operated for hydroelectric storage.

Is fishing good at Somerset Reservoir right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Battenkill12 miDeerfield River24 miOnota Lake39 miMohawk River41 miLake Bomoseen48 miLake George53 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 42.9795, -72.9475 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.