Mad River Trout fishing

June 23, 2023
River Fishing

The Mad River begins in Warren Vermont in the Green
Mountains. It's a freestone stream that's a tributary of
the Winooski River. Fly fishing the Mad River is greatly
improved by the beautiful scenery of the Green
Mountains. If there's any problem with fly fishing the Mad
River, it's the tourist in the area. There's plenty of water
and you can always find a secluded location to catch
trout even when it seems there are a lot of visitors.

The river is formed by the confluence of Stetson Brook,
Austin Brook and Mills Brook. These are small brook
trout streams and so is the upper part of Mad River. In
the area of Waitsfield you will find the river gets larger,
changing from a small fast, pocket water stream to
sections of riffles, long runs and large pools. Brook trout
are replaced with brown trout. There's also rainbow trout
in both these sections of the stream. It has somewhat
limited access in Waitsfield area but there's still an
adequate amount available.

Downstream of Moretown, the Mad River gets larger and
flows through a valley of beautiful dairy farms. There's
plenty of access in this area of the stream all the way to
the Winooski River. Mill Brook in Fayston, one of the
tributary streams of the Mad River, is also a good small
stream to fish. It can be accessed from state highway
#17 that runs out of Irasville.

The Mad River's headwaters can be accessed from
state highway #100. It follows along the river from
Moretown to the Green Mountain National Forest. State
highway 100B follows the river from Moretown
downstream to Middlesex.

The Mad River has plenty of aquatic insects to feed its
trout. Most all of the mayflies, caddisflies and stoneflies
that are in the Green Mountains are found in this river. It
also has plenty of terrestrial insects in the lower section
where it flows through pastures and open fields.
Grasshoppers are plentiful in this area as well as
beetles and ants. Don't overlook using a streamer,
especially after rains when the water is a little off color.

Seasons:
The season follows the standard Vermont trout season -
see season on the left.
Spring:
There are many hatches that occur in the Spring but
high water can be a problem.
Summer:
The upper area of the Mad River stays cool all Summer
long and the fishing remains good.
Fall:
Early Fall is a great time as well as a beautiful time to
fish the Mad River.