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Waterbury Reservoir Fishing Report

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

Waterbury Reservoir: an 850-acre CCC-built flood-control lake with rainbow and brown trout, smallmouth and perch, and 27 boat-in campsites.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Lake level
589.63 ft
Air / High
42 / 51 F
Wind
NNE 7 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 04288500, 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.

Waterbury Reservoir asks for patience today: short windows, precise presentations. The gauge reads 589.63 ft, easing 0.63 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind NNE around 7 mph, rising pressure near 1029 hPa and a high of 51. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:24 AM-11:24 AM and 9:54 PM-11:54 PM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Smallmouth bassGood

Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

Yellow perchGood

Ice season. Perch stay active under the ice in both shallow and deeper water, so small jigs or spoons tipped with live bait over known winter areas are the usual approach.

Tomorrow: Similar at 55 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 rainbow trout 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 from WATERBURY RESERVOIR NEAR WATERBURY, VT.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 04288500.

589.70590.11590.51589.63 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp42 F
High / Low51 / 32 F
WindNNE 7-15 mph
Pressure1028.8 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:16 / 17:53
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~47 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 Waterbury Reservoir this week

The best day on Waterbury 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
9:24 AM-11:24 AM and 9:54 PM-11:54 PM
Minor period
3:46 AM-4:46 AM
Sun
07:16 to 17:53
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 7 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

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. Fish hold in slower, deeper water; fish slowly and expect fewer bites until spring warming.

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. Ice season. Perch stay active under the ice in both shallow and deeper water, so small jigs or spoons tipped with live bait over known winter areas are the usual approach.

When to come: the Waterbury 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
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
Smallmouth bass
Yellow perch
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 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 Waterbury 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. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 58 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

4/5 Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 59 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 60 F, wind to 8 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

A Vermont fishing license is required. Waterbury Reservoir has no lake-specific rule in Vermont's index, so the general lake rules apply (Vermont guide updated Dec. 16, 2025): brook, brown and rainbow trout 6 a day combined, harvest from the second Saturday in April to Oct. 31 and Jan. 1 to March 15; bass 10-inch minimum, 5 a day, harvest from the second Saturday in June to March 15. Below the dam, the Little River down to the Winooski has a 2-trout limit.

Access

Little River State Park (3444 Little River Rd., Waterbury) has a motorboat launch and canoe, kayak and rowboat rentals; season from the third weekend in May to the third weekend in October. Waterbury Center State Park (177 Reservoir Rd., a quarter mile off VT Route 100) has a boat launch, day use only, Memorial Day weekend to Labor Day. The Moscow Paddler's Access (Cotton Brook launch) may need a short portage.

About this water

An 850-acre (summer level) flood-control reservoir built by the CCC in the 1930s on the Little River in Waterbury, Washington County, Vermont.

Fishing Waterbury Reservoir: the full guide

A flood-control reservoir

Vermont State Parks says the Civilian Conservation Corps created Waterbury Reservoir in the 1930s as a flood-control project for towns along the Winooski River valley. It is the ninth-largest body of water in Vermont. From late spring to early fall it is held at 850 acres with a maximum depth of 100 feet; in winter it is lowered to 415–610 acres to make room for snowmelt.

What the parks list

Little River State Park lists rainbow trout, brown trout, perch, smallmouth bass, bullhead and panfish in the reservoir. The USGS gauge Waterbury Reservoir near Waterbury (04288500) reports the lake's live water-surface elevation.

Boat-in camping

Little River State Park manages 27 remote campsites along the reservoir shore that can be reached only by boat, in addition to its developed campground of tent sites, lean-tos and cabins.

Spillway project

Vermont State Parks reports that a reservoir drawdown is tied to the Waterbury Dam spillway project, with no defined period yet; the current timeline puts the start no earlier than 2028.

Common questions

Can I camp on the water?

Yes. Little River State Park manages 27 remote shoreline campsites reachable only by boat.

What fish are in the reservoir?

Rainbow and brown trout, perch, smallmouth bass, bullhead and panfish, according to Little River State Park.

Why does the level drop in winter?

It is a flood-control reservoir: the surface is cut from 850 acres to 415–610 acres over winter to hold spring snowmelt.

Is fishing good at Waterbury 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

Winooski River19 miLake Champlain30 miOtter Creek34 miMissisquoi River40 miLake Willoughby42 miAusable River45 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 04288500 β€” WATERBURY RESERVOIR NEAR WATERBURY, VT
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 13:45 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 44.4040, -72.7520 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 6, 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 6, 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.