Excerpted from Trout Fishing Sourcebook by Mark Williams

Vermont's trout centerpiece, the Batten Kill River is visited by out-of-state visitors and locals alike. Its legendary waters have produced many stories of big fish and broken tippets.

But the Batten Kill isn't the only quality fishery in southern Vermont. The Walloomsac River, West River, Furnace Brook, Harriman Reservoir, Somerset Reservoir, Hoosic River, Green River, Saxton's River, Williams River, and Emerald Lake are just a few of the outstanding trout fisheries in the southern region.

Otter Creek

Otter Creek begins like the Batten Kill, at Emerald Lake, running north for nearly 90 miles until it empties into Lake Champlain. This popular fishing stream has sections that are seldom-fished, and these sections occasionally turn up big brook trout.

The Green River is a feeder stream to the Batten Kill, full of brook trout. In the fall, brown trout often run up the pretty stream. Four backcountry brook ponds near the town of Stratton also provide off-the-beaten-path trout fishing: Little Pond, Stratton Pond, Branch Pond, and Bourne Pond.

The Metawee River

The Metawee River is a narrow, deceptive trout stream accessed by VT 30 near Dorset. It is not much on looks, but as it runs through farmland and rolling hills, it bends and twists and has lots of pools that hold browns and rainbows of size.

Most of the river is shallow, less than three feet deep except for the pools, and it is usually cold, even in the summer. The Metawee enjoys good caddis, stonefly, and some mayfly hatches. As a tribute to its quality fishing habitats, it has been designated a wild trout river and receives no stocking of trout for the 17 miles before it enters New York.

The Ottauquechee River

Another medium-sized trout stream in the southern part of Vermont, the Ottauquechee River is a tributary to the Connecticut. Fly fishermen love this river since they can easily wade it and there is lots of holding water.

If you have a guide or some endurance, try to fish the clear, fast water in the Quechee Gorge below Dewey Mills Dam. Much of the lower Ottauquechee is tailwater, the result of four hydroelectric dams, and as such, water levels fluctuate. Anglers need to beware when fishing.