Pike River Fishing Guides
A far northern Vermont river that crosses into Quebec and back before reaching Missisquoi Bay, carrying a genuine Lake Champlain steelhead and brown trout run.
Guides on the Pike River
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About the Pike River
The Pike River is one of the more unusual waters in Vermont, because it does not stay in Vermont. It rises in the hills of Franklin County, runs north into Quebec, loops back across the border near East Franklin, and then crosses into Quebec a second time before emptying into Missisquoi Bay at the north end of Lake Champlain. The gauge sits on the Vermont reach near East Franklin. The country around it is farmland and hedgerow rather than forest, and the river runs through it in a modest, clay-banked channel.
What makes it worth a page is the connection to Lake Champlain. The Pike carries a run of steelhead and brown trout up out of Missisquoi Bay, and those fish are the river’s real draw. The run is not large by Great Lakes standards but it is genuine, and in a state whose fishing reputation rests on mountain freestone streams, a lowland river with lake-run fish is a distinct proposition. Walleye also move up from the bay in spring, and the lower river holds northern pike, smallmouth, largemouth and perch through the warmer months.
The cross-border geography has practical consequences. Fishing regulations, licensing and access change at the international line, and an angler working the lower river needs to know which side of the border the water is on. The Vermont reach around East Franklin is the straightforward one to fish. Flow is rain and snowmelt driven with no significant impoundment, and the clay soils of the valley mean the river colours quickly after rain and clears slowly. The gauge publishes discharge and stage but no water temperature series. Anglers unfamiliar with the area are best served starting on the East Franklin reach, where the water is unambiguously Vermont and the access is straightforward.
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Access
East Franklin - the gauge reach and the main Vermont access, the most practical starting point on the river.
Enosburg Falls - the nearest larger village, for supplies, licences and local information.
Missisquoi Bay - the Lake Champlain bay the river enters, the source of the steelhead, brown trout and walleye runs.
Franklin - the town upstream, with road access to the smaller headwater reaches.
Quebec border crossing - the international line the river crosses twice, where regulations and licensing change and access must be confirmed.
Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge - the federal refuge on the nearby delta, useful context for the migratory fish using the system.
Swanton - the downstream Vermont town near the bay, for access to the lake end of the fishery.
Seasons
Spring: the strongest window, with steelhead, brown trout and walleye running up out of Missisquoi Bay on high, cold water.
Summer: warm and often low and coloured, fishing as a modest warmwater river with pike, bass and perch in the slower reaches.
Fall: the second run, as lake-run brown trout and steelhead move back into the river and the cooling water brings them well upstream.
Winter: iced over through most of the river, with the fishery effectively shifting to the bay and its ice fishing rather than the river itself.
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Questions
What is the current flow on the Pike River?
As of Nov 2, 7:45 am, the USGS gauge PIKE RIVER AT EAST FRANKLIN, NR ENOSBURG FALLS, VT reads 7 cfs. Conditions update every 15 minutes.
What species can you catch on the Pike River?
Anglers target Brook Trout, Brown Trout, Largemouth Bass, Northern Pike, Rainbow Trout, Smallmouth Bass, Steelhead, Walleye, White Sucker, Yellow Perch on the Pike River in Vermont.
Where can you access the Pike River?
East Franklin - the gauge reach and the main Vermont access, the most practical starting point on the river. Enosburg Falls - the nearest larger village, for supplies, licences and local information. Missisquoi Bay - the Lake Champlain bay the river enters, the source of the steelhead, brown trout and walleye runs. Franklin - the town upstream, with road access to the smaller headwater reaches. Quebec border crossing - the international line the river crosses twice, where regulations and licensing change and access must be confirmed. Missisquoi National Wildlife Refuge - the federal refuge on...
When is the best time to fish the Pike River?
Spring: the strongest window, with steelhead, brown trout and walleye running up out of Missisquoi Bay on high, cold water. Summer: warm and often low and coloured, fishing as a modest warmwater river with pike, bass and perch in the slower reaches. Fall: the second run, as lake-run brown trout and steelhead move back into the river and the cooling water brings them well upstream. Winter: iced over through most of the river, with the fishery effectively shifting to the bay and its ice fishing rather than the river itself.
Where are the fishing regulations for the Pike River?
Regulations change by season and section. Read the current rules on the Vermont agency site: https://vtfishandwildlife.com/fish/fishing-regulations