Fishing Season: Vermont and New York OPEN

Battenkill - VT

Fishing Outlook & Conditions

Water Temp:

56

Orvis Manchester's Tip of the Week

Go Fishing! The fall colors are beautiful and the fish seem to be enjoying the weather as much as the leaf peepers. Swing some streamers where there is deep water and tri and figure out the emerger patterns that all the fish seem to be feeding on.

Directions open in app

Map of Battenkill

Water Flow Data

Orvis-Endorsed guides nearby

Ray Berumen
Peter Basta
Ralph Yusavage
Brew Moscarello

5-Day Outlook as of 10/19/24

The water is low but much cooler from these cold nights. Pick your spots and try to find deeper water away from the high traffic at visible pull off spots.

Techniques & Tips as of 10/19/24

Emergers, Nymphs, Dry Flies, and Streamers

Local Species Available Vermont and New York OPEN

  • Fish Icon

    Trout

Orvis Manchester's Recommended Fly Patterns

"Must-have" fly fishing patterns in descending order of importance:

Name: Colors: Size(s):
Zug Bug Tan/Green # 12-16
Bead Head Stonefly White #12-14
Sparkle Soft Hackle Vt Tan #14-16
Hornberg Wet Black 10-12
Blue Quill Black and Olive #4-6
CDC Budding Emerger White 4-6

Zug Bug

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Item #0487

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Orvis Manchester's Recommended Gear

Description: About Battenkill

The Battenkill is a small to medium-sized river that is famous for its incredibly difficult brown trout and relatively abundant brook trout. A freestone stream but rising out of many springs in marble bedrock, it stays cold all summer long and is famous for its good midsummer fishing - although in the past 20 years this summer fishing has become difficult because of large crowds of canoes and inner tubes on warm summer days. The river is all wild brown and brook trout throughout its Vermont section, and both 2-year-old and yearling brown trout are stocked in the New York section almost to its confluence with the Hudson River. There are also wild trout in the New York stretch. The Battenkill used to be known for its abundance of small brook and brown trout, and although the brook trout are still abundant (it's rare to find wild brook trout in a river of its size outside of northern Maine), brown trout have become scarcer but much larger. Twenty-inch-plus brown trout are taken all season long on streamers and occasionally by the dry-fly angler patient enough to find and stalk one of these bigger fish. Best fishing is from mid-May to mid-July, but early mornings and evenings are good throughout the season, especially in midsummer. Fall fishing is un-crowded but seldom spectacular. The Battenkill is a difficult river because of its clear, silky, and fast currents, lack of large insects, and wary trout with little midstream cover. A few fish a day is considered very successful on this river. Anglers looking for easier fish (but tighter and tougher casting) should try its two headwater branches upstream (north) of the town of Manchester, or one of its tributaries like the Roaring Branch, Green River, or Bromley Brook.

Nearest Airport:

Albany International Airport (ALB)

Best Time to Fish:

Morning and evening