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Vermilion River

Type
Freestone river, Ohio (Midwest)
Designation
Steelhead / salmon water
USGS gauges
1 live
Guides
1 nearby
Shops
3 nearby

Today on the Vermilion River

Reading the gauge…

Regulations & access Guides & shops

The Vermilion River is a freestone river in Ohio, listed as Steelhead / salmon water by Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife.

More about the Vermilion River

1 USGS gauge on the water reports flow; Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Wildlife lists 1 species. 1 guide and 3 shops nearby are listed here.

Updated · Sources: Ohio's Steelhead Program: Lake Erie tributaries stocked with steelhead, Ohio's Steelhead Program: Lake Erie tributaries stocked with steelhead, USGS Water Data

Representative photograph of similar water; not a photograph of this place.
Representative photograph, not this water.
Where it is

Vermilion River is a freestone river in Ohio.

Flow now at the gauge
Reading the gauges…

Check any river's flow

Follow Vermilion River for flow alerts

Pick one of its USGS gauges and hear from us when the flow moves into or out of its usual range for the date, or crosses a flow you set. We check the public USGS reading every 2 hours and email only when it crosses, at most once every 6 hours. Flow alone is not a fishing forecast or a safety call.

Follow this water

Signed in: one step. Otherwise we email a confirmation link first. Every alert has one-click links to stop it.

Where to fish

About this

Start from the agency's public access map. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Lake Erie fishing guide (public access sites)

Vermilion River on the map

About this

Gauges, shops and guides within 40 miles

Map of Vermilion River: gauges, shops and guides

RestroomsAccess map

Map of Vermilion River with 1 USGS gauge, and shops and guides with an exact address within 40 miles.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

Restrooms near Vermilion River

Restrooms near Vermilion River

Restrooms within 2 miles of Vermilion River in a straight line, nearest first, with what anglers found when they went. The map says a restroom is there, not whether it is clean or open today.

Map of 3 restrooms near Vermilion River

Skip the map; every place is in the list below

Map of 3 restrooms near Vermilion River, numbered as in the list, with the water’s point marked.

Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors · OpenFreeMap · © OpenMapTiles

  1. Restroom

    0.1 mi away in a straight line
    • Public (mapped)
    • Free (mapped)
    • Wheelchair accessible (mapped)

    Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.

    Directions
    We don't know yet: is it clean? · flush or vault? — tell other anglers: show the questions
    • Is it clean?
    • Flush or vault?

    Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map

  2. Restroom

    1.7 mi away in a straight line

    Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.

    Directions
    We don't know yet: is it clean? · flush or vault? · free? · open to everyone? · step-free? — tell other anglers: show the questions
    • Is it clean?
    • Flush or vault?
    • Free?
    • Open to everyone?
    • Step-free?

    Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map

  3. Restroom

    1.8 mi away in a straight line

    Not rated yet — be the first to tell other anglers if it's clean.

    Directions
    We don't know yet: is it clean? · flush or vault? · free? · open to everyone? · step-free? — tell other anglers: show the questions
    • Is it clean?
    • Flush or vault?
    • Free?
    • Open to everyone?
    • Step-free?

    Mapped on OpenStreetMap · see or fix it on the map

Restroom locations and map details: © OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License, read Oct 24, 2026. Ratings, answers and photos are members' own; who shared them is never shown, and every photo is reviewed before it appears. Visits older than 18 months no longer count. Distances are straight-line miles, not driving. Nothing here grants access to private land. Community guidelines.

More water near Vermilion River

  • The shallow Chagrin River below a shale bluff with bare winter treesSteelhead / salmon water
    Photo credit

    The Chagrin River west of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, December 2024. Photo: EF5, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Chagrin River

    Ohio · about 50 mi

    Steelhead

  • The Clear Fork of the Mohican winding between leafy summer woodsSpecial-regulation trout water
    Photo credit

    The Clear Fork Mohican River in Mohican State Park, Ashland County, Ohio. Photo: Tim Kiser ( w:User:Malepheasant ), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons

    Clear Fork Mohican River

    Ohio · about 54 mi

  • The Huron River between wooded banks at Ann ArborFreestone riverRepresentative photo · not Black River
    Photo credit

    The Huron River at Ann Arbor, Michigan, from the Broadway Street bridge. Photo: Chris Rycroft from Madison, Wisconsin, United States, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Black River.

    Black River

    Ohio · about 11 mi

  • The Allegheny River curving through wooded hills in Venango CountySteelhead / salmon waterRepresentative photo · not Rocky River
    Photo credit

    The Allegheny River in Venango County, Pennsylvania. Photo: Ken Lund from Reno, Nevada, USA, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Rocky River.

    Rocky River

    Ohio · about 23 mi

    Steelhead

  • Aerial view of the town of Tyrone in a green valley between forested ridgesSteelhead / salmon waterRepresentative photo · not Cuyahoga River
    Photo credit

    Tyrone, Pennsylvania, from the air: Bald Eagle Creek meets the Little Juniata River in the town (the creek is not visible at this distance). Photo: Quintin Soloviev, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Cuyahoga River.

    Cuyahoga River

    Ohio · about 36 mi

    Steelhead

  • Black-and-white view of the Little Juniata River flowing under a steel truss bridge between wooded banksSteelhead / salmon waterRepresentative photo · not Grand River
    Photo credit

    The Little Juniata River at the 1898 Birmingham Bridge, near Birmingham, Pennsylvania (black-and-white survey photograph). Photo: Jet Lowe, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Not Grand River.

    Grand River

    Ohio · about 61 mi

    Steelhead

Regulations

About this

Seasons, limits, special regulations and closures for each reach are on the agency pages below. Read them before you go.

Official designation: Steelhead / salmon water

Each comes from the agency's own published list; where the list names a reach it is quoted. A designation applies to the listed reach, not necessarily the whole water. Listed in the finder under salmon & steelhead.

The water on the map

About this

Measured from the NHDPlus High Resolution (flowlines and waterbodies) (U.S. Geological Survey, read 2026-11-04) for this water’s own mapped feature. Rounded figures; they describe the channel, not today’s conditions.

Length
66.9 mi (62.9 in OH)
Drains
268 sq mi
Drop
378 ft · 5.6 ft/mi
Watershed
Huron-Vermilion

Public land along it

About this

Areas the Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), public access (U.S. Geological Survey, Gap Analysis Project, read 2026-11-05) lists as owned or held in easement and open to the public, crossed by the mapped channel. Boundaries are mapped, not surveyed. Nothing on this page grants or implies access: check the agency map, posted signs and landowner permission before you fish.

9.6 of 62.9 mi on public land

  • Mill Hollow - Bacon Woods ParkCounty Land · 8.4 mi
  • Vermilion River Reservation CorridorCounty Land · 0.8 mi
  • Robert J Nunney Wildlife AreaState Department of Natural Resources · 0.4 mi

Nothing on this page grants or implies access.

Guides and shops near Vermilion River

About this

Listings marked Unclaimed are built from open map records and the business's own website: confirm licensing, rates, dates and hours directly.

Guides

All Ohio guides

3 shops nearby

All Ohio shops

How these are chosen

Guides whose own website names this water come first, nearest first. After them, fly-focused guides within 40 miles whose website does not name it. Distances are straight-line.

Shops: fly shops first. A distance is shown when the shop’s website gives its location (within 60 miles); otherwise the shop is in one of the towns within 25 miles of the water.

Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories.

Species and hatches

About this

The species the agency lists here; presence varies by reach and season.

Listed by the state agency

  • Two anglers in rain gear standing in a boat on a grey river, one holding a long rod

    Steelhead

    Species guide

    Photo credit

    Winter steelhead fishing on the Skagit River, Washington (Doug Wilson, U.S. National Archives and Records Administration). Photo: Doug Wilson, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

When the bugs come off

Plan a trip here

About this

None of our destination hubs is within 40 miles in a straight line. The trip planner builds a trip around the water itself: the guides and shops listed within 40 miles of it, its gauges and its nearest towns and airports.

No hub within 40 miles

Plan a trip here

Fish these abroad

About this

Matched on the fish the agencies list for both waters first, then the same water type, an official designation or flagship listing on both, and a similar mapped size where USGS hydrography covers both.

At most two waters per country. A shared fish is a listing, not a promise: presence varies by reach and season.

Like the Vermilion River? Same fish, overseas.

  • The wide, milky-green Skeena River between forested slopes, seen from the airFreestone river
    Photo credit

    The Skeena River at Dorreen, from the air. Photo: Sam Beebe, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Skeena River

    British Columbia, Canada

    Same fish: steelhead · also a freestone river

  • The wide milky-turquoise Santa Cruz River between low, dry Patagonian banksFreestone river
    Photo credit

    The Santa Cruz River from National Route 40, downstream of Lago Argentino. Photo: Fredlyfish4, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons

    Río Santa Cruz

    Santa Cruz, Argentina

    Same fish: steelhead · also a freestone river

  • The turquoise Chilko River curving through pine forest in Lava CanyonFreestone riverRepresentative photo · not Dean River
    Photo credit

    The Chilko River at Lava Canyon. Photo: Kevin Teague, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Dean River.

    Dean River

    British Columbia, Canada

    Same fish: steelhead · also a freestone river

Fish it when it's winter here

Southern seasons open while ours close.

  • Lake Taupō's blue water framed by yellow kōwhai and bush, hills across the lakeFlagship water
    Photo credit

    Lake Taupō. Photo: Ériugena, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Lake Taupō

    Waikato, New Zealand

    Season open all year · DOC

  • Penstock Lagoon's open water below a shoreline of tall eucalyptsFlagship water
    Photo credit

    Penstock Lagoon, Central Highlands, Tasmania. Photo: Mike Cline, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Penstock Lagoon

    Tasmania, Australia

    Season open Aug–May · Inland Fisheries Service

  • The clear turquoise Río Limay flowing past green willows and rock outcropsTailwater
    Photo credit

    The Río Limay, Argentina. Photo: P. Hughes, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Río Limay

    Río Negro, Argentina

    Season open Nov–May · Patagonian fishing regulation

  • The broad blue-green Río Puelo between forested banks, mountains beyondFreestone riverRepresentative photo · not Río Petrohué
    Photo credit

    The Río Puelo at Las Gualas, Cochamó. Photo: Nicolás from seno de reloncaví, Chile, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Río Petrohué.

    Río Petrohué

    Los Lagos, Chile

    Season open Nov–May · SERNAPESCA

  • The Río Simpson running past the edge of Coyhaique under cliffs and hills in AysénLake or reservoirRepresentative photo · not Lago Llanquihue
    Photo credit

    The Río Simpson passing Coyhaique, Aysén. Photo: Manxuc, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Not Lago Llanquihue.

    Lago Llanquihue

    Los Lagos, Chile

    Season open Nov–May · SERNAPESCA

  • Lago Nahuel Huapi's blue water and wooded islands below snow-capped Andes, framed by conifersLake or reservoir
    Photo credit

    Lago Nahuel Huapi from Llao Llao. Photo: David, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Lago Nahuel Huapi

    Río Negro, Argentina

    Season open Oct–May · Patagonian fishing regulation

  • The braided Oreti River across green farmland, mountains on the horizonFlagship waterRepresentative photo · not Mataura River
    Photo credit

    The Oreti River near Lumsden, Southland. Photo: Krzysztof Golik, CC BY-SA 4.0, cropped, via Wikimedia Commons Not Mataura River.

    Mataura River

    Southland, New Zealand

    Season open Oct–Apr · Fish & Game NZ

  • Old timber pilings reflected in the still water of Great Lake, a low wooded shore beyondFlagship water
    Photo credit

    Great Lake, Tasmania. Photo: Peripitus, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

    Yingina / Great Lake

    Tasmania, Australia

    Season open all year · Inland Fisheries Service

Gear checklist

About this

A practical checklist for fly fishing small mountain trout streams: a short 3–4 weight rod, light line, a few buoyant dries and simple wet-wading gear, with estimated prices and where to buy.

An angler stands on a boulder at the edge of a fast forest stream and fishes the run

Small mountain streams

7′6″–8′6″ rod, 3–4 weight, floating line · Brook, cutthroat, rainbow and brown trout

Open the checklist
Videos for this water (5)

Watch: reading a trout stream

About this

Seams, shelves and soft water, shown on real rivers.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • How I Learned to Read Water (Fly Fishing)Embedded from YouTube · Mad River Outfitters · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • How To Read The Water with Tom RosenbauerEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Reading the Water to Successfully Locate TroutEmbedded from YouTube · Orvis Guide to Fly Fishing · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on reading water

Watch: nymphing basics

About this

Indicator rigs, depth and detecting the take.

Public YouTube videos from established channels, chosen by us to support this page. Not sponsored; the creators are not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear.

  • 90° Nymph RigEmbedded from YouTube · Huge Fly Fisherman · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube
  • Casting with an Indicator & Better Nymphing TechniquesEmbedded from YouTube · The New Fly Fisher · not affiliated with Legendary Fly Gear. Watch on YouTube

Not sponsored All videos on nymphing

Fish Tales

About this

Trip stories anglers chose to share publicly and tagged with Vermilion River.

No stories from here yet.

Write the first story Share your day

Sources for this page

Not a statement of access, fish presence or conditions.

Something wrong?

All 14 sources and dates

A water page organises discovery. It does not assert public access, legal access, current fish presence, guide availability or fishing conditions.

Flows, gauge statistics and flood stages come from USGS and the National Weather Service when the page is shown. Regulations, stocking, species and season statements link to the agency that publishes them; this page copies only the species names and the quoted sentences. Guide and shop listings come from the Legendary directories. Position: the USGS gauge Vermilion River near Vermilion OH. Water type is our own classification.