WATERBURY, VT -- The Vermont Fish & Wildlife Department is holding a public informational meeting to discuss trout fishing regulations in the Johnson-Hyde Park section of the Lamoille River. The meeting will be held from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Tuesday, October 4, at the Commons in the Lamoille Union High School, Route 15 in Hyde Park.

The department received public input during a recent statewide fishing regulations review process in which some people expressed dissatisfaction with the existing special regulation section of the Lamoille River between the Railroad Street and Route 15 bridges in Johnson. The regulation includes a 16-inch minimum length and a daily limit of one trout, and fishing is restricted to artificial lures and flies only. The regulation, established in 2001, was part of a statewide program to protect and improve wild trout fisheries, which also included special regulations on sections of the Winooski, Dog, New Haven and Mettawee Rivers.

The department has been asked to reconsider the current Lamoille River special regulation in Johnson Village due to the concern that it restricts nearby children and others who prefer to fish with live bait and keep more trout. However, the Lamoille River Anglers Association and other anglers have expressed strong support for special regulation management for wild trout.

The department would like to gather public input on the options of keeping this special fishing regulation in place, removing it altogether, or moving it to another location on the Lamoille River. This input will help the department prepare a recommendation to the Fish and Wildlife Board.

The department urges anyone interested to attend the meeting on October 4. Any recommended changes to the Lamoille River special regulation would be addressed by the Fish and Wildlife Board before trout fishing season opens next April.

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For Further Information please contact: Brian Chipman at 802-879-5697 or email to brian.chipman@state.vt.us