The Wild Side: A Documentary on Vermont's Trout 

Phenomenal watch all the way through! All the information and context is so interesting. Looking forward to the next story!

Well done. I appreciate your love of fishing and your concern for the habitat challenges we face here in VT.

I think we know enough now that we’re starting to ease up on the brook trout a bit…and while developed areas are kind of hopeless (civilization and brook trout just don’t mix…we also have to be careful about where we’re introducing browns), there are places where the brook trout populations are seriously, predictably intact. For instance, I fish a lot in the white mountains and there are areas where, if the conditions are met, you WILL find brook trout…thousands of them. Last year, my brother and I stumbled upon a stream that was less than a half rod length across…miniscule…and inches deep in many areas. But the thing was somehow teeming with brook trout. Any little hole at could possibly contain them did. It was really cool. On top of that, this is within walking distance of three solid brook trout streams, in an area that contains DOZENS within close driving distance of eachother. Experiences like that in recent years have given me hope for the future of brook trout as long as we stay vigilant.

Having fished broken trout in our small Alpine streams. I can tell you that the biggest factor in eliminating brook trout from streams the were once abundant is the change to no minimum length. People kept every fish they caught and eliminate the next generation of trout.

Great doc, bro

Didn’t get the chance to see the premier due to work but worth the wait. This is absolutely incredible. I live central vt and fish the white and otter watersheds mostly so it was interesting to see your focus on some other areas of Vermont. I’m sure you are proud of this and you should be!

Great film Jake!

Awesome video!! Well done!

Very interesting documentary

Whenever I fish with friends in heavily stocked rivers and streams and are very successful, I remind them that they are in Disney world, it’s not real. But it is still fun. And a great place to learn the sport and practice catch and release.

Fantastic video. I'd love to have the opportunity to fish Vermont and Maine for trout. The brook trout limits here in Northeastern Ontario have been at 5 fish as far back as I can remember. All streams and rivers are naturally reproducing fish and all stocking efforts happens in small lakes. With the exception of Lake Superior, its tributaries and Lake Nipigon proper, anglers are only allowed 1 fish over 22" . When these limits were implemented it raised an uproar with anglers, but since then, the amount of fish catches over 18" are very common. An 8 hour fishing trip well worth the drive. Over harvesting sections of a stream is definitely a reality. I've witnessed it myself where a certain area along a river or stream become completely void of fish. Eventually it may bounce back but only over time, it being a wild population.

Nice video man. I’ve been going to school in upstate ny near the west branch of the Delaware. Been going there probably like 6 times a semester for 3 years and have caught one huge brown on the main river and on some small tributaries I’ve caught maybe 4 small wild fish. Wild trout fishing is hard as shit but I keep coming back.

Nice job, I do like fishing VT, just one comment a tree stump is not lost habitat unless it’s all the trees in the riparian zone. A perched culvert or altered stream bed is. VT and NH definitely need better regs to protect native Brook trout

My suggestion is catch natural insects thru nets and fed the ntural fish

Instead of stocking game fish, the primary focus needs to be on stocking a forage base e.g. baitfish and aquatic insects then natural as well as hold over populations will bounce back. Also, work could be done on scooping out areas to create some strategically placed winter holdover pools that are silted in. As far as climate change goes, that's the one thing you can count on , the climate is constantly changing! Every day is different! lol

🙏 'Promo sm'

Most Americans aren’t fish eaters

O u eating fish that's chemical induced. Same as fish farms in the see. It will harm humans when eaten

Jud has no idea what’s actually going on