2026 regulation year

Vermont Fishing Regulations 2026 — License Fees, Seasons, Bag Limits

Last updated June 3, 2026

Vermont runs a single-agency regulatory system through the Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department covering all fisheries statewide — Vermont is one of the few fully-landlocked Northeast states (no Atlantic coastline; no saltwater authority needed), so all regulations are inland freshwater. The VT Fish & Wildlife Department requires a Resident or Non-Resident Fishing Licence for anglers age 15+ in any Vermont waters. Lake Champlain (490 square miles between Vermont and New York and the southern tip of Quebec — 6th-largest natural lake in the United States behind the Great Lakes, one of only approximately 12 deep-water glacial-relict lakes in the continental US, 400-ft maximum depth in the Main Lake basin between Burlington and Essex NY) is Vermont's flagship multi-species water and one of only two self-sustaining lake trout lakes in the state alongside Lake Memphremagog (the QC/VT boundary lake). Lake Champlain operates under the Vermont/New York interstate reciprocity statute — a valid VT OR NY freshwater fishing licence is honored on Lake Champlain main stem + the Lake Champlain border-waters of the Inland Sea + Missisquoi Bay + South Lake (NY DEC + VT F&W jointly enforce regulations). Lake Champlain is also the centerpiece of one of the most ambitious anadromous-fish restoration programs in North America — the Lake Champlain Sea Lamprey Control Program (USFWS + VT F&W + NY DEC since 1990 — using TFM lampricide treatments on tributaries) has restored landlocked Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar — Sebago strain stocking via the USFWS Lake Champlain Fish & Wildlife Restoration Office) + lake trout populations to viable recreational fisheries. Lake Memphremagog (102 square miles spanning the VT/Quebec international boundary — 5 square miles in VT, 97 in QC — the second-deepest lake in Vermont at 351 ft) operates under VT licence only on the VT-portion (no international reciprocity with QC) — Vermont's other self-sustaining lake trout lake. The Connecticut River (the entire 270-mile NH/VT boundary — Massachusetts state line at Vernon VT to the Canadian border at Pittsburg NH/Norton VT) is one of the longest reciprocity waters in the US — either a Vermont OR New Hampshire freshwater fishing licence is valid on the main stem + the four boundary impoundments (Wilder + Bellows Falls + Vernon + Moore / Comerford), already in `lib/data/reciprocity.ts`; reciprocity loop auto-activates with VT as a covered state. The Otter Creek (Vermont's longest river, 112 miles — Dorset Mountain to Lake Champlain at Ferrisburgh — VT's most extensive warm-water fishery, smallmouth + largemouth + walleye + pike + chain pickerel), White River (Vermont's most celebrated wild brook + brown trout river — 60 miles, Granville to Connecticut River at White River Junction), Lamoille River (84 miles, Greensboro to Lake Champlain at Milton — wild brown trout + smallmouth), Winooski River (90 miles, Cabot to Lake Champlain at Burlington), and the Battenkill (the legendary 'Beaverkill of New England' trout stream — 60 miles, Mount Equinox to the Hudson River — VT/NY boundary at Salem NY; Manchester VT carries Orvis Company HQ and the American Museum of Fly Fishing, the species' historic global fly-fishing destination for native brown trout) all carry wild brown + brook trout populations. The Mettawee River, Walloomsac River, Williams River, Black River, West River, and Saxtons River round out the Connecticut River tributary tier. Vermont is DISTINCTIVE — the ONLY US state with a STATE-WIDE BLACK BASS SPRING SPAWNING CLOSURE — April 14 – June 14 catch-and-release ONLY artificial-lures-only on all Vermont waters (one of the most restrictive bass spawning protections in the United States, reflecting Vermont's quality-management approach + the recognition that Vermont bass populations spawn 2-3 weeks later than southern New England + Mid-Atlantic states due to colder spring water temperatures). The Vermont Green Mountain National Forest (400,000 acres across central + southern VT — Bennington, Rutland, Windsor, Windham Counties) carries the upper headwater tier of all major rivers — wild brook + brown trout streams under USFS jurisdiction with VT F&W regs. VT F&W stocks 300,000+ catchable rainbow + brown + brook trout annually via the Salisbury + Bald Hill + Newark + Roxbury + Bennington fish hatcheries — no separate Trout Stamp required (the regular Fishing Licence covers trout fishing statewide, unlike PA + NJ + DE + CT + MD + DC which run separate stamps). Felt-soled wading boots BANNED on Vermont wild trout waters since 2011 (didymo + whirling disease prevention — matches NH + ME rules). Vermont state-record lake trout 35 lb 4 oz (Seymour Lake, 1979); Vermont state-record landlocked Atlantic salmon 12 lb 12 oz (Lake Champlain, 1979 — pre-restoration program, before the modern stocking effort); Vermont state-record northern pike 30 lb 8 oz (Glen Lake, 1977); Vermont state-record brown trout 22 lb 2.5 oz (Sherman Reservoir, 1990); Vermont state-record walleye 14 lb 8.8 oz (Lake Champlain); Vermont state-record yellow perch 2 lb 6.4 oz (Caspian Lake, 2015 — through the ice). Real fees: $32 res annual freshwater, $20 res 1-day, $66 res combination fishing + hunting + trapping, $5 res senior 65+ annual, $0 res permanent disabled, $0 res blind, $0 res under 15; $58 NR annual freshwater, $43 NR 7-day, $26 NR 3-day, $21 NR 1-day, $148 NR combination fishing + hunting. Resident under 15 + permanently disabled + blind free.