FISHING

The Mad River is a tributary to the Winooski River in Vermont. It has its headwaters in Granville Gulf, then flows north through the towns of Warren, Waitsfield, and Moretown before entering the Winooski River just downstream from Middlesex. 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. The hot summer months means that instead of fishing for the cold water species you change to the warmer water of the numerous ponds and lakes in the area. A favorite is Blueberry Lake which is home to some rather large bass, pumpkinseed, perch and even trout in early season which VT Fish & Wildlife stock not just the rivers but also lakes and ponds.