Fishing at Seymour Lake
by Bill Bilowus
Type of Fish in Seymour Lake
With a reputation for quality fishing in northeastern Vermont, Seymour Lake is a 1,750 acre lake with nearly 10 miles of shoreline. This fertile fishery is nicely populated with bass, trout, perch and salmon. Much of the shoreline is private property with lots of boat docks, but resourceful anglers can find many places for fishing from the bank. Bass, trout, and salmon are big draws here but winter ice fishing is also popular. The boat launch ramp is located at Morgan Center in the northeastern corner of the Lake off VT Rt 111.
Seymour Lake Amenities and Contacts
Amenities at Seymour Lake include the following;
- Boat and Engine Repair
- Boat Launch Ramp
- Boat Greeter/Inspectors
- Lodging
- Convenience Store
- Bait Sales
- Restaurant
Amenities not found at Seymour Lake:
- Marina
- Boat Rental
- Campground
- RV Hook-up
Helpful Contact Information:
- Morgan Country Store 802-895-2726
8411 Route 111, Morgan
- S&W Boat Repair 802-895-4246
5240 Valley Road, Holland
- Vermont Fishing License 802-828-1190
- Seymour Lake Lodge 802-895-2563
28 Valley Road, Morgan
New State Regulations
Due to the number of small lake trout in Seymour Lake, the State no longer stocks lake trout in our Lake. The State does stock 1,000 smelt-sized salmon, about 6” in length, and a few hundred brood stock salmon up to 24” in length.
Beginning on January 1, 2022, the length limit, daily harvest limit and the number of lines in the water will all be changed to regulation standards: 2 lake trout 18” or greater can be kept daily using 2 lines in open water or 8 lines on ice. Salmon regulations changed, also: they must be 17” in length. Aggregate fish regulations are still in effect, both now and beginning in January 2022: only 2 trout or salmon are allowed daily in aggregate.
Brook trout are raised from eggs in the Morgan Hatchery, now called the Peter Engels Hatchery. It is operated by the Morgan Conservation Group in Elliott Acres off Route 111. It starts with the eggs in December and in early April passes out the 1-2 inch fry, to people in the area who have beaver ponds that are open to the public for fishing.
Update on Smelt/Feeder Fish
For a variety of reasons, it’s been difficult for the 2021 smelt runs in the donor brooks in Vermont that have been supplying the smelt eggs for Seymour Lake. First, we had a late icing of Seymour Lake and the other lakes and an early melting of the ice on the lakes due to the warm temperatures in the 70’s this spring. This caused Seymour Lake and other donor lakes to be warmer than usual in late March and early April and the brooks to be low. Second, the snow came a couple of times in April and lowered the brook temperatures and raised the water level in the brooks and the lakes. This caused confusion for the smelt spawning and set everything back a couple of weeks.
Then the suckers had their spawning run which has always been a few weeks after the smelt spawn. Well, we had 6 burlap bags of smelt eggs in our brooks before the snow came and the sucker run and put 13 more burlap/smelt eggs in after the snows came and the two day sucker run. You can’t beat Mother Nature, but I think Pete Emerson and crew of Vermont Fish and Wildlife did a good job putting the smelt eggs into our brooks. Our SLA Smelt Committee worked hard monitoring the burlap/smelt eggs during the snow, cold water temperatures, and the high and muddy waters. Overall, we put 19 burlaps with smelt eggs into brooks as compared to 10 burlaps last year. Next Spring we will be in the third and final phase of our smelt restoration. We will put in smelt eggs again and hopefully the ones we put in our first year, will be big enough (5 to 6 inches) to come up our streams and spawn.
Fishing Rules
Please note: In the map and charts above where it says “Smelt” – “Abundant”, it would be more correct to say “Smelt” – “Work in Progress” as indicated by the article / information above the map.
Fishing Stories
Fishing Lore at Seymour Lake by Woody Woods
Article From SLA Newsletter 1987
Learn More
Vermont Fish and Wildlife Department