Fly Fishing the Dog River. Bob Shannon

      20 . Dog River

       Location: Central Vermont, about a 1-hour ride from Burlington; a 2-hour ride from Manchester, New Hampshire; a 3-hour ride from Hartford, Connecticut; and a 3-hour ride from Boston, Massachusetts. Full-service airports are available in all four cities.

      The Dog River originates in the town of Roxbury, Vermont. It flows north approximately 20 miles through the pastoral villages of Northfield and Berlin before terminating at the Winooski River in Montpelier—the state capital. The major tributaries of the Dog River include Felchner Brook, Bull Run, Stoney Brook, Sunny Brook, Union Brook, Cox Brook, and Chase Brook. The river supports a self-sustaining population of native brook trout in its upper reaches. It also has wild rainbow trout and brown trout. This affords the fly fisher the opportunity to catch Vermont’s trout grand slam.

      One advantage to fishing the Dog River is that there are a lot of other things to do in the area. You do not have to travel far to enjoy some of Vermont’s finest New England charm. Montpelier is just up the road. Its gold-domed capitol building was built in 1859. The Vermont Historical Society is just a short walk from the capitol building. The town of Warren— just a few miles away—is home of Sugarbush and Mad River Ski areas. Twenty minutes north on Vermont’s historic Route 100, you will find the village of Stowe—home to the state’s highest peak, Mount Mansfield, and Stowe Mountain Resort. These areas offer a plethora of summer activities, from farmers markets, to antique car shows, to small specialty retail shops. The famous Ben & Jerry’s ice cream factory in Waterbury is Vermont’s number-one summer attraction.