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Home › Waters › Vermont › West River
Tailwater · Southern Vermont, below the Townshend flood-control dam in Windham County, running southeast past Newfane and Brattleboro to the Connecticut · Vermont

West River Fishing Guides

The southern Vermont river below Townshend Dam, better known for its scheduled whitewater releases than for the trout that live there the rest of the year.

A red covered bridge crossing a river in full New England autumn
Gauge location. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Guides on the West River

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About the West River

The West River is two different rivers depending on the weekend. For most of the year the reach below Townshend Dam is a pleasant southern Vermont trout stream running over ledge and cobble between wooded hills. On the scheduled spring and autumn release weekends the Army Corps opens the gates and it becomes one of the best-known whitewater runs in New England, with paddlers lining the banks from Ball Mountain down. Anglers need to know that calendar before planning a day.

Townshend is a flood-control structure rather than a water-supply reservoir, so the release is not the steady cold bottom draw that defines a classic western tailwater. What it does provide is flow discipline – the river below holds water through dry spells that would drop an unregulated Vermont freestone to bones, and the deeper pools below the dam stay fishable when neighbouring streams do not. That is worth more in August than it sounds in April.

Brown trout are the main quarry and the state stocks the river well, with holdover fish reaching respectable size in the deeper ledge pools. Rainbows share the water. Brook trout hold in the colder tributaries and the upper reaches. Smallmouth bass take over as the river warms and widens toward Brattleboro, and fallfish are abundant enough that a visiting angler should learn to recognise them before declaring a trophy.

Access is good. Route 30 follows the river for most of its length, Townshend State Park and the dam recreation area anchor the middle reach, and there are pull-offs and informal paths at frequent intervals. Check both the gauge and the Corps release schedule before travelling – a release weekend makes the river unfishable and the parking impossible, and the same water two days later is perfect.

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Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

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Posting to West River.

JPG, PNG or WebP, up to 12 MB. We resize it and strip the location data out of the file.

The name shown under the photo. Leave blank to stay anonymous.

Reader photo license v1.0 — the short version:

  • You grant Guided Floats, LLC a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, resize and crop your photo on guidedfloats.com and in GuidedFloats’ own social posts and apps. You keep the copyright and can use the photo anywhere else.
  • You confirm that you took the photo yourself, that publishing it does not infringe anyone else’s rights, and that anyone recognisable in it (or a parent or guardian, if they are under 18) is happy for it to appear here.
  • Credit is printed beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, using the credit name you give us. Leave it blank and we use your name; write “Anonymous” for no name. Your email address is never published.
  • Withdrawing is one email to hello@guidedfloats.com naming the photo. It comes off the site within 7 days.
Read the full license

Version 1.0, dated 6 September 2026. Applies to every photograph submitted to GuidedFloats through the contact form, a species page, or the community board.

1. What you give us

By ticking the box on the form you grant Guided Floats, LLC (“GuidedFloats”, “we”) a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to store, copy, resize, crop and display your photograph on guidedfloats.com, in GuidedFloats’ own social media accounts and mobile apps, and in material that promotes the site itself, in connection with the fish, water or community feature you sent it in for. The license lasts until you withdraw it (section 4).

You keep the copyright. The license is not exclusive, so you can use the photo anywhere else and license it to anyone else. We will not sell your photo, license it on to anyone else on its own, or use it in paid advertising for a third party.

2. What you confirm

You confirm that you took the photograph yourself (or otherwise own the rights to it), that you have the right to grant this license, and that publishing the photo does not infringe anyone else’s copyright, privacy or other rights.

If any person is recognisable in the photo, you confirm that they have agreed to its being published here, and that a parent or guardian has agreed on behalf of anyone under 18. Please do not send photographs of other people’s catches, screenshots, or pictures copied from other websites or social media.

3. Credit

We print the credit name you give us beside the photo wherever it appears on the site, and record it as the photo’s creator in the page’s structured data. If you leave the credit blank we use the name you gave us on the form. Write “Anonymous” if you prefer no name at all. Your email address, phone number and the exact spot the photo was taken are never published.

4. Withdrawing the license

You can withdraw the license at any time by emailing hello@guidedfloats.com, or by using the contact form, and telling us which photo you mean. We will remove the photo from guidedfloats.com within 7 days of receiving your message and stop using it in anything new. Copies that are already outside our control — search-engine caches, social posts that have already gone out, printed material already produced — may take longer to disappear or may not be recallable, and we are not responsible for those.

5. What we may do

We choose which photos to publish and may decline any submission without giving a reason. We may crop, resize, sharpen or colour-correct a photo for display, and we may remove a photo at any time. We will not alter a photo in a way that misrepresents the fish, the water or you.

6. Your details

We keep your name, email address, the credit name, the water and date you gave us, and the network address the submission came from, with the submission record, as our evidence of this license. We hold that record for as long as the photo is published and for the retention period described in our privacy policy. Location data that your camera or phone embedded in the file is removed before the photo is published.

7. Versions

The version of this license you accepted is stored with your submission and printed with the photo. A later version does not apply to a photo you have already sent unless you agree to it.

Access

Below Townshend Dam - the gauge reach and the top of the regulated water.
Townshend State Park - developed access and campground on the middle river.
Townshend Dam Recreation Area - the main parking and river access at the structure.
Route 30 pull-offs - roadside access at frequent intervals along the corridor.
Newfane - village access on the middle reach.
Jamaica State Park - upper river access below Ball Mountain Dam.
Brattleboro - the lower river and the Connecticut confluence.

Seasons

Spring: high water and the scheduled whitewater release; fish the edges or wait it out.
Summer: the best trout fishing of the year, held up by the release when freestones drop.
Fall: cooling water, a second release weekend, and strong brown trout activity between them.
Winter: cold and largely iced, with limited access along the corridor.

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Questions

What is the current flow on the West River?

As of Sep 17, 5:30 am, the USGS gauge WEST RIVER BELOW TOWNSHEND DAM NEAR TOWNSHEND, VT reads 79 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.

What species can you catch on the West River?

Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Fallfish, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, White Sucker on the West River in Vermont.

Where can you access the West River?

Below Townshend Dam - the gauge reach and the top of the regulated water. Townshend State Park - developed access and campground on the middle river. Townshend Dam Recreation Area - the main parking and river access at the structure. Route 30 pull-offs - roadside access at frequent intervals along the corridor. Newfane - village access on the middle reach. Jamaica State Park - upper river access below Ball Mountain Dam. Brattleboro - the lower river and the Connecticut confluence.

When is the best time to fish the West River?

Spring: high water and the scheduled whitewater release; fish the edges or wait it out. Summer: the best trout fishing of the year, held up by the release when freestones drop. Fall: cooling water, a second release weekend, and strong brown trout activity between them. Winter: cold and largely iced, with limited access along the corridor.

Where are the fishing regulations for the West River?

Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Vermont agency site: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/fish/fishing-regulations