Northeast Kingdom Trout Unlimited

25/10/2026

Fishing, is indeed, very fun…. Great turnout, tons of smiles and laughter. Many folks hooked up on fish throughout the day. A really fun day in the NEK. Thank you to all involved. Watch for more of these events in the spring!

23/10/2026

Come celebrate what we love about fishing, and protecting our river spaces.

🎣 Join Northeast Kingdom Trout Unlimited for a Fall Day on the Passumpsic and Moose Rivers — This Saturday, October 24th!

Fall fishing in Vermont is something special, and we’re bringing anglers together for a day celebrating our rivers, our fisheries, and the people who care about them.

We’ll kick things off at 11 AM with a special kiosk dedication, recognizing the work and partnerships that help protect and improve access to our local waters. From there, we’ll head out for an afternoon of fishing on the Passumpsic and Moose Rivers, with NEK TU board members available to offer guidance, share local knowledge, and help anglers get familiar with the water.

Whether you’d like to wade and explore on your own or experience the river from a raft, there will be opportunities to get involved. Raft fishing opportunities are limited, so reach out to us by email if you’re interested in signing up.

After a few hours on the water, we’ll gather from 4–6 PM at a local restaurant for light appetizers provided by NEK TU, a cash bar, and plenty of fishing stories. You’re welcome to order dinner, too.

This is more than just a fishing outing. It’s an opportunity to meet the people behind our local TU’s conservation work, learn about NEK TU’s efforts in fisheries advocacy, education, and river stewardship, and find out how you can be part of that work.

Everyone is welcome! You don’t need to be a Trout Unlimited member or an experienced angler to join us. Bring your fishing gear, your questions, and an appreciation for the wild waters of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

We look forward to seeing old friends, making some new ones, and spending a great fall day together on the river.

Spin, jig, or fly — you’re with us!

21/10/2026

THIS SATURDAY! Come Fish With NEK Trout Unlimited! 🎣

Join us Saturday, October 24th, for an afternoon of fishing, good company, and a chance to celebrate our Northeast Kingdom fisheries!

11:00 AM – Kiosk Dedication & Fishing

📍 Passumpsic River kiosk, just off Elm Street in St. Johnsbury, between Fred Mold Park and the ball field.

We’ll kick things off with a dedication of our new river information kiosk, joined by Jud Kratzer from Vermont Fish & Wildlife.

Afterward, we’ll head out to fish the Passumpsic and Moose Rivers, with NEK TU board members available to offer local guidance.

Interested in a raft trip through the Passumpsic trophy stretch? Email [email protected] to inquire about space. Still a couple seats available.

4:00–6:00 PM – Fishing Social

📍 98 Mill Italian Pub & Grill, 98 Mill Street, St. Johnsbury.

Join us for fishing stories, a slideshow of some of the Kingdom’s biggest fish, and a chance to catch up with fellow anglers.

Come hungry! NEK TU is providing hors d’oeuvres! Cash bar available, and you’re welcome to stay and order dinner.

Whether you fish all afternoon or just stop by for the social, everyone is welcome. Bring a friend and help us celebrate the waters and fishing community of the Northeast Kingdom!

Spin, jig or fly, you’re with us! The Brown trout in this photo was landed in the trophy stretch.

15/10/2026

14/10/2026

🎣 Join Northeast Kingdom Trout Unlimited for a Fall Day on the Passumpsic and Moose Rivers — Saturday, October 24th!

Fall fishing in Vermont is something special, and we’re bringing anglers together for a day celebrating our rivers, our fisheries, and the people who care about them.

We’ll kick things off at 11 AM with a special kiosk dedication, recognizing the work and partnerships that help protect and improve access to our local waters. From there, we’ll head out for an afternoon of fishing on the Passumpsic and Moose Rivers, with NEK TU board members available to offer guidance, share local knowledge, and help anglers get familiar with the water.

Whether you’d like to wade and explore on your own or experience the river from a raft, there will be opportunities to get involved. Raft fishing opportunities are limited, so reach out to us by email if you’re interested in signing up.

After a few hours on the water, we’ll gather from 4–6 PM at a local restaurant for light appetizers provided by NEK TU, a cash bar, and plenty of fishing stories. You’re welcome to order dinner, too.

This is more than just a fishing outing. It’s an opportunity to meet the people behind our local TU’s conservation work, learn about NEK TU’s efforts in fisheries advocacy, education, and river stewardship, and find out how you can be part of that work.

Everyone is welcome! You don’t need to be a Trout Unlimited member or an experienced angler to join us. Bring your fishing gear, your questions, and an appreciation for the wild waters of Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

We look forward to seeing old friends, making some new ones, and spending a great fall day together on the river.

Spin, jig, or fly — you’re with us!

10/10/2026

Trout in the Classroom: Growing the Next Generation of Conservationists in the Northeast Kingdom

One of the programs we’re most proud of at Northeast Kingdom Trout Unlimited is Trout in the Classroom (TIC), and over the past two years, we’ve seen remarkable growth.

Our program has grown from 5 participating schools to 14 across the Northeast Kingdom, and we’re still growing. Today, we estimate that approximately 650 students are directly engaged with TIC, with many more experiencing the program throughout their schools.

Through TIC, students raise native brook trout from eggs in classroom aquariums, monitoring water quality, studying aquatic ecology, and learning what trout need to survive. In the spring, they release their fish into approved local waters, connecting their classroom experience to the rivers and streams around them.

Much of this success is thanks to the extraordinary dedication of Jess Booth, our chapter’s TIC coordinator. Jess has spent countless hours working with teachers, organizing equipment and egg deliveries, supporting classrooms, and building the relationships that make this growth possible. Together with our NEK TU board, she’s helped turn a relatively small program into one of our chapter’s most significant educational initiatives.

Through chapter fundraising and a successful $10,000 grant partnership with Vermont Fish & Wildlife, we’ve invested more than $12,500 in new equipment and support for participating schools. We’re especially grateful to fisheries biologist Pete Emerson, Vermont Fish & Wildlife, and the Vermont Institute of Natural Science (VINS) for their partnership.

Statewide, Vermont’s Trout in the Classroom program reaches approximately 105 schools and an estimated 2,500 students, an impressive accomplishment for a small state.

Why do we invest so much in youth education?

Because protecting our fisheries means helping the next generation understand why clean water, healthy habitat, and functioning watersheds matter. Raising a brook trout teaches children firsthand how closely these fish depend on the health of their environment.

Not every student will become an angler, and that’s fine with us. Some may become scientists, educators, or conservationists. Others will simply develop an appreciation for the rivers and wild places around them. That’s why we also support fishing education and other outdoor outreach programs. These experiences can build connections to our natural resources that last a lifetime.

And as we continue to grow, we’d love to bring more people into the program!

We’re looking for Trout Unlimited members interested in volunteering alongside Jess to support our participating classrooms through equipment setup, egg deliveries, classroom visits, and spring trout releases. We’re also eager to connect with teachers and educators interested in bringing TIC to their schools, as well as individuals and businesses interested in financially supporting future expansion.

A tremendous thank you to Jess, our board, participating teachers, conservation partners, donors, and TU volunteers. This is what a small chapter can accomplish when good people work together toward something that matters.

We’re not just raising trout. We’re helping raise the next generation of people who will care for the waters we all value.

Interested in volunteering as a TU member, supporting the program, or bringing TIC to your school?

📧 [email protected]
🌐 www.nektu.org

08/10/2026

The Clyde River Salmon Run — A Tradition Worth Protecting

Every fall, one of the Northeast Kingdom’s great fishing traditions comes back to life as landlocked Atlantic salmon leave Lake Memphremagog and make their way into the Clyde River.

It’s a remarkable fishery with a history that stretches back generations. At one time, the Clyde was famous throughout the Northeast for its salmon runs. Anglers traveled to Newport to experience a river known for its numbers of fish, their size, and the excitement of watching Atlantic salmon return upstream.

These are true Atlantic salmon, the same species as their ocean-going cousins, except the Clyde’s fish spend their adult lives in the fresh waters of Lake Memphremagog. They enter the river in the spring to feed and return again in the fall to spawn.

Trout Unlimited has been part of the Clyde River’s conservation history for more than 30 years.

Beginning in the early 1990s, members of the Northeast Kingdom Chapter worked with conservation partners and state and federal agencies to improve the river and restore opportunities for salmon migration and reproduction.

One of the most important milestones came in 1996 with the removal of the Newport No. 11 dam. It was a significant achievement for river restoration, and one in which local TU members played an important role. The work of David and Francis Smith, Gary Ward, Kevin Coffey, Jake Wheeler, and many other dedicated conservationists helped establish a legacy that our chapter is proud to carry forward today.

TU remained involved as the river’s remaining hydropower project went through relicensing, participating in the decisions that helped shape the fish passage program we have today.

So, what exactly is the Clyde River’s Trap-and-Truck program?

It’s actually a pretty interesting approach to helping salmon reach their historic spawning habitat.

As adult salmon migrate upstream from Lake Memphremagog, they encounter the hydroelectric development in Newport. A fish passage facility allows migrating salmon to enter a collection trap, where they can be safely captured.

Those salmon are then transported by truck around the dam and released into the upper Clyde River, giving them access to additional miles of spawning and juvenile rearing habitat.

These aren’t hatchery fish being stocked into the river. They’re adult salmon already making their natural fall migration, receiving a little help getting farther upstream.

The program began operating in 2007 and is part of the larger effort to support the Clyde’s salmon population. Vermont Fish & Wildlife continues to study the fishery, and the observations of anglers can contribute valuable information about the salmon returning to the river.

There’s a great deal of history here, and a lot of people deserve credit. The work of Vermont Fish & Wildlife, conservation organizations, local volunteers, and generations of anglers who have cared about this river has helped keep its salmon fishery an important part of the Northeast Kingdom.

For NEK Trout Unlimited, the Clyde represents exactly why local involvement in fisheries conservation matters. Our chapter has a long history with this river, and we’re proud to continue that involvement.

Now we’d like to hear from the people spending time along the Clyde this fall.

What are you seeing during the 2026 salmon run? Have you been seeing fish moving? What have you noticed about water conditions, the sizes of fish, or the timing of the run? How does this fall compare with what you’ve experienced in previous years?

We’d love to hear from longtime Clyde anglers, newcomers experiencing their first salmon run, and anyone who simply enjoys watching these incredible fish return.

One request: please don’t identify specific fishing holes, pools, or holding locations in the comments. We want to encourage conversation and share observations without putting additional attention or pressure on individual spots.

The Clyde River has a remarkable history, and its salmon are worth understanding, appreciating, and protecting.

— Northeast Kingdom Trout Unlimited

03/10/2026

Why join NEK Trout Unlimited?

Because these are our rivers.

The Clyde. The Willoughby. The Passumpsic. The Nulhegan. And hundreds of smaller streams running through the Northeast Kingdom that most people will never know by name.

NEK TU is anglers, conservationists, families and people who simply care about this place. We work to protect and restore wild fish populations, improve habitat and water quality, and keep people connected to their rivers.

And we show up.

We show up through Trout in the Classroom, reaching approximately 650 students right here in the Northeast Kingdom and helping support a statewide program reaching thousands of Vermont students. We show up when our fisheries need a voice, and by supporting the conservation partners doing good work across the Northeast Kingdom. If you have interest in your class or school becoming a TIC participant please don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

Right now, we’re also building a stream temperature monitoring program to better understand what’s happening in our coldwater fisheries. That means putting monitoring crews on the water—and we’re going to need volunteers who want to be part of it. Send us an email with what rivers and streams you would consider donating some time each year for doing sampling and data collection.

And sometimes showing up is as simple as going fishing together.

Join us October 24 at 11 a.m. on the Passumpsic for a chapter fishing event. Come fish, meet some people, and learn a little more about what we’re working on.

There’s a lot of work to do, and all of us have a place in it. You don’t have to be an expert. You don’t even have to fish. You just have to care about these waters and what we leave behind. Renew your membership today. Link is in our bio.

Spin, jig or fly — you’re with us.

28/09/2026

NEK TU is going fishing! On Saturday, October 24th at 11am we will meet with members and the public for our dedication of the Passumpsic River TU kiosk with the fishing event immediately to follow. Members of our board will be available to offer some location guidance and help with the fishing. Gibbs Guides is donating raft trips through the Trophy Stretch of the Passumpsic for the first six anglers to contact us to reserve a spot. Board members will be available to split up to different areas of the Passumpsic and Moose Rivers to join you in the day. Post fishing we are selecting the location for a chance for some food, drink and fish stories so stay tuned to your member emails and right here for more details out next week! For more info respond either here to messenger or to our email, [email protected]. Join us in supporting our local waters.

19/06/2026

Hi again Folks,

We're sorry to announce that we're going to have to reschedule the kiosk dedication and fishing event planned for this Saturday (6/20). With the rain we've had, and the forecast for more between now and Saturday, the Passumpsic is likely to be close to unfishable and potentially dangerous to wade in. On top of that, people may be pretty waterlogged by then and not anxious to attend an outdoor event - even if it's only sprinkling.

With that said, we still think it will be a great way to celebrate some of the work of the Chapter and a good opportunity for members to fish together, so stay tuned for the announcement of a new date, likely in September. Meanwhile, tight lines and enjoy your summer.

NEK TU Board