River Salmonids of the North Country

One of the amazing things about our Northern New England’s river fisheries is that we have a wide variety of wild salmonid species we can target.  Wild and native Brook trout and landlocked salmon, (as well as non native wild salmon in some fisheries) and non native wild rainbow and brown trout are abundant depending on the particular river.  All characteristics of each species unique habits are generalizations, and I’ll only be focusing on wild stream born fish.Geographic location varies by species as well as the overall abundance.  Some rivers are home to all four.

Wild Brook trout can be found in most every geographical region of New England, but Maine is surely tops when it comes to quality and quantity.  In Maine, even some large river systems are dominated by the brook trout.  As we move west and south from northern and central Maine, brook trout become less the dominant fish in a river system, usually replaced by higher concentrations of non native browns and rainbows.  Most rivers in NH and VT see few large brook trout in the main stems of rivers and are relegated to higher mountain streams in the coolest, cleanest water. They are quite abundant in these environments.  We find a few quality brook trout up to around 17” in mid sized streams during early spring in my area of Vermont. Brook trout, even large trophies, readily eat dry flies, nymphs and streamers. I tend to find them in slower deeper pools and pockets, particularly the extreme tails of pools and pockets. Large trout inhabit lake/ river systems moving between the two depending on time of year and water conditions.They are fall spawners. I have found an orange/yellow streamer works well to elicit a reaction take. 


Landlocked salmon will be found in similar geographic regions of New England as brook trout, but Northern NH and VT have quality LL Salmon fisheries as well. Some river systems are dominated by salmon, but many areas they live along side other salmonoid species.  In river/ lake systems a large portion of fish move from lake to river in the spring and fall, but many adults can be found in the rivers at any time of year that water temps allow. I have found them in VT in good numbers during high water, only for them to be almost all back in the lake a week later when the water drops.  They are also fall spawners.  Salmon living in river systems are very inclined to eat dry flies, even adults.  I’ve seen adult salmon in VT fresh out of the lake rising to BWO’s in the fall. Skating a dry fly in the spring can be super effective and fun.  They can often be found in fast skinny riffles.  My daughter hooked an 18” salmon last June while walking through ankle deep water with her fly dangling behind her.  


Wild Rainbow Trout are also found throughout Northern New England.  My area of North Central Vermont is home to the highest concentrations of wild rainbows.  Many of our rivers are dominated by beautiful silver bullet rainbows that put up a great fight.  You can easily tell the difference between a stocked rainbow and a wild in the same run by the fight.  The wild fish also have very few spots on their sides except for a few bigger males. Mature fish average 13-18” with a rare few going 20-24”. These fish are uniquely adapted to warm water temps and range from high mountain streams to our big, wide and warm rivers. As you move any direction from North Central VT the abundance of rainbows drops and more often brown trout take over unless you go northeast as mentioned above. By the time you get to Maine, Southern NH or VT there aren’t nearly as many rainbows, save for a few isolated concentrations. Wild rainbows will be found throughout a river from fast whitewater to pools, They will eat dries and streamers but nymphs are surely the go to. They spawn in early spring.


Brown Trout again, can be found throughout the north.  They are found from small streams  down to large warm rivers. Giant fish are caught alongside smallmouth bass in the lower ends of big rivers, though 20+” browns are not uncommon from smaller streams. Southern New England and westward are where browns dominate, but throughout Northern NE they are the predominant species in some rivers.  Browns tend to inhabit all parts of the river, but unlike rainbows, relate more to structure like downed logs, rocks, overhanging vegetation and banksides. Generally, if you find structure, you can bet there is a brown there. They tend to be predatory as they grow large, but trophy fish will be found sipping dries and eating small nymphs as well.  They also spawn in the fall. 

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