Connecticut River
The rule for this water, with the receipt.
Special regulations for Connecticut River, as the state words them
Orange County · River · VT
Today's rule hereParsed
- Season
- Not captured yet - consult the statewide regulations
- Gear
- Each line may not have more than two baited hooks or three artificial flies or two lures with or without bait.Statewide
- Bait
- Baitfish may NOT be transported to or used in a different waterbodyThis water
- Poles
- Six lines are allowedThis water
| Species | Daily limit | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|
American Shad | 0 | min. NA | Statewide |
Anadromous Atlantic Salmon | 0 | min. NA | Statewide |
Lake Sturgeon | 0 | min. NA | Statewide |
trout | 2 trout | - | Statewide |
Brook, Brown and Rainbow Trout | Through the ice, the daily limit is 2 fish, except the daily limit is 1 fish from the Samuel Moore Dam downstream to the Route 18 bridge. | - | This water |
Horned Pout | 25 fish | - | This water |
Northern Pike | 1 fish | min. 28” | This water |
Pickerel | 10 fish | - | This water |
Walleye | No person shall take walleye 16”–18”; the daily limit is 4 fish, of which only 1 can be larger than 18”. | - | This water |
black crappie, white perch, yellow perch, and sunfish | 25 fish for each species | - | This water |
The official text, verbatimOfficial text
Straight from VT's official regulations. Rules in force today lead; out-of-season rows are dimmed. Nothing is paraphrased. Not legal advice: verify the posted rules at the water.
- All fishBait Baitfish may NOT be transported to or used in a different waterbodyDefined as all waters of the river including the bays, setbacks, and tributaries, only to the first highway bridge crossing said tributaries on the Vermont side. Also including Ottauquechee River to the top of the North Hartland Dam in the town of Hartland; West River to the Interstate 91 highway bridge in the town of Brattleboro including Retreat Meadows, Brattleboro.
- All fishPoles Six lines are allowed
- All fishAll New Hampshire- and Vermont-resident fishing licenses are valid for the taking of fish from the Connecticut River as defined above. All other nonresidents with a New Hampshire nonresident fishing license shall only take fish east of the Vermont low-water mark while on the Connecticut River.
- American ShadCatch and release only.
- Atlantic SalmonNo open season for Atlantic salmon until declared by the Connecticut River Atlantic Salmon Commission. (dates as written)
- Brook, Brown and Rainbow TroutThe season for taking brook, brown, or rainbow trout by all legal methods shall open on Jan. 1 and close Oct. 15. (dates as written)Daily limit Through open water, the daily limit is 5 fish or 5 pounds (whichever limit is first reached), except the daily limit is 1 fish from the Samuel Moore Dam downstream to the Route 18 bridge.
- Brook, Brown and Rainbow TroutDaily limit Through the ice, the daily limit is 2 fish, except the daily limit is 1 fish from the Samuel Moore Dam downstream to the Route 18 bridge.
- Trout
- Black Bass (Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass)No closed season for black bass. (dates as written)
- Black Bass (Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass)From January 1 to May 14 (dates as written)Daily limit 2 fish
- Black Bass (Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass)From May 15 to June 15 (dates as written)Daily limit Catch and release only.Gear By artificial lures and flies only.
- Black Bass (Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass)From June 16 to December 31 (dates as written)Daily limit 5 fish
- CarpGear May be taken by any legal method, and by bow and arrow with cord attached, in that part of the river beginning at the point on the northern boundary of Grafton County in New Hampshire, which is directly opposite the town of Concord, Vermont, south to the Massachusetts border.
- Horned PoutDaily limit 25 fish
- Northern PikeDaily limit 1 fishSize 28”
- PickerelDaily limit 10 fish
- River Herring (alewives and blueback herring)Closed to the taking of alewives and blueback herring. (dates as written)
- WalleyeDaily limit No person shall take walleye 16”–18”; the daily limit is 4 fish, of which only 1 can be larger than 18”.
- black crappie, white perch, yellow perch, and sunfishDaily limit 25 fish for each species
- All fishDaily limit The daily aggregate possession limit is 50 fish for all listed species, including horned pout.
How this answer was assembled
- StatewideStatewide river rules are the base layer: default season, gear, bait, and limits.
- This waterSpecial rules written for this exact water replace the statewide defaults where they speak.
- Emergency orderEmergency orders in effect today override everything else. They sync quietly when the phone has coverage and never lock you out of the app.
Where this section begins and ends
The drawn shape is the named water, matched from the official list against OpenStreetMap and accepted only because the name resolved to a single feature in this water's county.
Different sections of this water can have different rules. The exact section boundaries are not marked on the map yet; each rule above describes in plain words where it starts and ends, and that written description is the authoritative boundary. Map boundaries come water by water, never as a guess.
At the water nowContext
Streamflow: 3,390 cfs at connecticut river at wells river, vt (2026-10-14 12:30)
Forecast: National Weather Service. Flow: nearest active USGS gauge in this water's area, which may sit on a different reach. Conditions are context, not rules.
What are you fishing for here?Advice
Pick from the species named in Connecticut River's rules. Setups are checked against the gear rules in force today, and your picks are remembered on this device only. These are rule-aware suggestions, not a claim about what is biting; advice, not law, and the rules above govern.
You also need (Vermont)
- Who needs a license (age 15 floor). Everyone fishing in Vermont must be licensed unless they fall under a listed exception. Children under 15 never need a fishing license.
- Free Fishing Days and free mentored weekend. Two license-free days: the second Saturday in June and the last Saturday in January, open to residents and nonresidents, with all normal methods and limits still applying. Separately, over Labor Day weekend up to four unlicensed anglers aged 15 or older may fish alongside one licensed angler for the three-day period.
- Must be carried and shown on demand. You must carry your license while fishing or transporting fish, and show it on demand to a game warden, another enforcement officer, or the landowner whose land you are fishing. An electronic or digital copy is acceptable. The department also advises carrying a photo ID.
Checked against Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department, 2026 Vermont Fishing Guide & Regulations (official eRegulations digest), License Information and License Fees sections on Aug. 4, 2026.
Receipts
Local services near Connecticut River
Tackle shops, guides, and boat launches that serve this water will appear here - a separate lane below the rules, so a local business can reach you without ever getting between you and the regulation.
Run a shop or guide service on Connecticut River? Get listed.