I arrived in Manchester Vermont around 10 AM. It was sunny, hot, and humid. I didn't plan to start fishing until the evening. The day was going to be spent scouting the river, collecting supplies, and taking pictures.

The first stop was McDonald's for breakfast.

There aren't a lot of fast food chains in or around Manchester. There's this McDonald's on RT 11 and a Dunkin Donuts under construction on Rt 7A.

A table at a fast food chain like McDonald's seemed more suitable to rigging fishing tackle than a table at one of the many touristy restaurants in the area.

McDonald's is also more likely to have WI-FI access. I was able to use my laptop to study maps of the area.

I also searched for a hotel room. The cheapest was the Econo Lodge just down the road about a mile out of town. $100/night seemed like too much spend for another day on the river.

The 2nd stop was The Reel Angler to pick up some tackle and a few flies.

The Reel Angler offers a good selection of tackle for both bait and fly casting.

The owners keep up to date with the current fishing conditions and make recommendations based on the reports they receive. His original recommendation was a small brown trout Rappala. He said folks were taking fish with them. When I told him I had brought only fly fishing tackle he suggested going with weighted nymphs and streamers because he had been receiving reports that the water was high and fast.

The Reel Angler had an 8' 4wt Echo fly rod for $120. After picking it up and putting back half a dozen times I decided against buying it.

I drove by the Union St. Bridge to check out the conditions. The river looks better today than it did a few days ago.

Here's another view of the Battenkill from the Union St. Bridge.

This is a great place to step into the Battenkill near the Union St. bridge. I was told that Orvis uses it for their fly fishing classes. There's parking along the side of the road between the bridge and the rail road tracks.

The weather is not looking good for fishing.

I went to Orvis to get a cheap pair of sunglasses because it looked like solar glare was going to be a problem. It was bright and sunny when I went in. This is what it looked like when I came out.

After leaving Orvis I started driving towards New York in search of access points.

There's only 1 spot directly accessible from Rt 7A. The water was over 3' and fast. The river bottom was a patchwork of football sized rocks and mud, deep mud. A wading stick is recommended.

This is where I got my 1 and only hit of the day. I never saw the fish so it could have been anything. I was letting a nymph drift down stream and something hit it just as the line straighened out over the targeted pool.

This picture was taken a few days before I fished. It was raining when I fished.

This is the tackle I bought at The Real Angler.

This is the firt access point on Rt. 313. It's next to a recreation area and is a popular launching point for canoes, kayaks, and float tubes.

This is the access point at the recreational area where Rts 7A and 313 meet. This is representative of the majority of access points I found. Some rock climbing is needed.

This is the 2nd Access point I came across. The picture was taken from the West bound lane of Rt. 313

This is a riverside view of the 2nd access point from Rt. 313 heading towards New York.

This is the third access point I came accross on my way to New York.

No text available.

This is the riverside view of the 3rd access point along rt. 313

This is the 4th and final access point I'm going to point out.

This is a popular exit point for kayakers, tubers, and canoers.

Upstream view of the 4th access point.

Downstream view of the 4th access point I checked out.

I met only 1 other fly fisherman all day and it was the last spot I fished. He was from New York and had made the same circuit looking for a good access point. We agreed that this was the best either of us had found so I promised to redact some detials so as not to burn it. I plan to go back in the fall and winter.