Winter Steelhead in Vermont: River Run Timing and Flows

Q: When do steelhead run in Vermont?

Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department describes spring spawning run from Mar 20 to May 10, heaviest Mid to late Apr. Steelhead from Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog run their tributaries to spawn from late March into early May, and the jumping at the Memphremagog falls is usually best on warm days in mid to late April.

Q: Which Vermont rivers have winter steelhead?

The rivers Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department names with steelhead in the river between December and April include the Willoughby River, Barton River, Black River, Johns River, Lewis Creek and Winooski River. Each one is listed below with its agency timing and the source sentence.

Q: When is the peak of the steelhead run in Vermont?

Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department gives these peaks: spring spawning run: Mid to late Apr; Willoughby River: Mid to late Apr. Rain and water temperature move the week from one year to the next, which is why the live gauge readings sit beside the table.

Q: Where is the Vermont steelhead fishing report?

Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department publishes the Willoughby Steelhead Rainbow Trout Will Be Jumping (annual press release) (annual) and the VT Fishing Report, week of April 29, 2019. All are linked below.

Q: How high is the Barton River running today?

The rivers table reads the latest discharge straight from USGS for 4 Vermont steelhead rivers with a USGS discharge gauge, the Barton River among them, and sets each flow beside the gauge's median for today's date from its full record.

Q: Is the steelhead run the same as the fishing season in Vermont?

No. A run window is when the fish move, and it is biology. Seasons, licences and river closures are set by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department and change inside a year; its current regulations are linked beside the rivers table.

Q: Are Vermont steelhead native?

Great Lakes steelhead are a stocked and naturalized fish. New York DEC writes that steelhead have been stocked in Lake Erie since the late 1800s and, though not native to the system, are now a naturalized part of its fish community. In Vermont, Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department describes spring spawning run Mar 20 to May 10.

Rivers and flows

Vermont steelhead rivers, run timing and flow today

Each river below is one Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department names for steelhead, with the timing it gives and the sentence it came from. Beside it, the latest discharge from the river’s USGS gauge and the median discharge for today’s date across that gauge’s years of record, so a reading of 150% means the river is carrying half again its usual flow for the day.

Vermont steelhead rivers named by Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, with the latest USGS discharge and water temperature and the median discharge for today’s date over each gauge’s record.
River	Run timing	Hatchery	Flow now	Median for today	Water temp
Willoughby RiverLake Memphremagog The best known run in the state: VTFW calls the steelhead leaping Willoughby Falls in Orleans one of Vermont's premier wildlife watching events, and the whole river and its feeder streams are spawning and nursery water for these fish. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department source	Mid Apr to early MayPeak: Mid to late Apr	See the note	Run timing from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, with the note and source beside it.
Barton RiverLake Memphremagog The Willoughby's parent river; lake run steelhead move through the whole Barton watershed in spring and use the mainstem and tributaries for spawning and nursery habitat. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department source USGS gauge 04296280	Apr to May	See the note	Loading	Loading	Discharge only at this gauge
Black RiverLake Memphremagog Adult steelhead from Lake Memphremagog reach the river above Irasburg and its tributaries, leaping the Upper and Lower Falls in Coventry on the way up. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department source USGS gauge 04296000	Apr to May	See the note	Loading	Loading	Discharge only at this gauge
Johns RiverLake Memphremagog A small meadow stream that loops through Quebec before reaching Lake Memphremagog; the state calls its lower reach critically important nursery water for lake run steelhead. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department source	Spring spawning run, Mar to May	See the note	Run timing from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, with the note and source beside it.
Lewis CreekLake Champlain Champlain steelhead climb Lewis Creek well inland to the Hinesburg and Monkton reach, and VTFW names the falls in North Ferrisburgh as a place to watch them jump. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department source USGS gauge 04282780	Late Mar to early May	See the note	Loading	Loading	Discharge only at this gauge
Winooski RiverLake Champlain Steelhead gather with landlocked salmon below the Winooski One Dam at the Salmon Hole, a short drive from downtown Burlington. Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department source USGS gauge 04290500	Late Mar to early May	See the note	Loading	Loading	Discharge only at this gauge

Run calendar

When steelhead are in Vermont rivers

The months Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department gives for each river, laid on a July to June year so a winter run reads as one bar. Rain and water temperature move the weeks inside those months from one year to the next.

Willoughby RiverLake MemphremagogMid Apr to early May
Barton RiverLake MemphremagogApr to May
Black RiverLake MemphremagogApr to May
Johns RiverLake MemphremagogSpring spawning run, Mar to May
Lewis CreekLake ChamplainLate Mar to early May
Winooski RiverLake ChamplainLate Mar to early May

Spring spawning run
Nov, the current month

Vermont steelhead months by river, from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department. Fish in the river across Mar to May.

The runs, in Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department’s words

Spring spawning run, Mar 20 to May 10, peak Mid to late Apr. Steelhead from Lake Champlain and Lake Memphremagog run their tributaries to spawn from late March into early May, and the jumping at the Memphremagog falls is usually best on warm days in mid to late April. Multiple Lake Champlain tributary streams support runs of migratory steelhead rainbow trout. These fish spend much of their life eating and growing in the lake, but they will run streams in the spring to find gravel areas to spawn. Some of the best fishing occurs from late-March through early May. Source

Water temperature and the run

By mid-October the run has intensified as the water temperatures of the streams drop to the optimum range of 45-58 degrees F for migration.
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation

A person in waders and a knit cap crouching in brown river water, holding a bright silver steelhead with a pink cheek low at the surface — A steelhead from a Lake Erie tributary in late November, kept low in the water. Steelhead are not native to the Great Lakes; New York has stocked them in Lake Erie since the late 1800s, and they run up tributaries from the lakes in fall, winter and spring. “Great Lakes Steelhead” by ColtonOrbaker, CC BY-SA 3.0

Reports

Vermont steelhead reports and counts

Where Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department publishes the current picture: fishing reports, weir and hatchery counts, and creel surveys, each with how often it is updated.

Willoughby Steelhead Rainbow Trout Will Be Jumping (annual press release)Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, fishing report, annualWhile the annual migration occurs over several weeks, the best opportunities for seeing jumping fish only last for a few days when flows and water temperatures are just right.
VT Fishing Report, week of April 29, 2019Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department, fishing report

Mist lifting off a wide river on a cold grey morning, bare and yellowing trees on both banks and a bridge faint in the distance — Mist on the Salmon River in New York on an October morning. The Lake Ontario tributaries take their first steelhead in fall, and fish keep entering through the winter into spring. “Can you tell how cold it must be on the salmon river - panoramio” by Ron Shawley, CC BY 3.0

Elsewhere

Steelhead run timing in other states

Questions about Vermont steelhead

When do steelhead run in Vermont?

Which Vermont rivers have winter steelhead?

When is the peak of the steelhead run in Vermont?

Where is the Vermont steelhead fishing report?

How high is the Barton River running today?

Is the steelhead run the same as the fishing season in Vermont?

Are Vermont steelhead native?

River timing from Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department pages, each linked beside its river. Flow, water temperature and the daily median from the USGS Water Services. Compiled September 21, 2026.

Salmon run timingThe chinook and coho runs on the same rivers, in the months before the steelhead.Vermont trout stockingThe same species as a freshwater fish, stocked on a schedule.Vermont river levelsEvery USGS gauge in the state against its own record for the date.