Welcome to the 4th Annual Battenkill Fly Fishing Festival in Arlington, Vermont, presented by the Arlington Common. Join us for fun, fishing, music, and camaraderie as we celebrate and raise funds to protect and enhance the Battenkill and provide the Arlington area with a hub for wellness, art, and community.

This year, proceeds from the festival will help launch the newly established Battenkill Fund, created to address human impact on the river and promote responsible environmental stewardship. 

FLY FISHING FESTIVITIES

MORNING

9am- 7pm  

“Celebrating the Wilderness of the Last 250 Years,” Art Exhibit

Watkins House, Arlington Common Campus

9 am-5 pm

Fly-Tyers  at Fly-Tying Discovery Center

The BFFF4 will feature some of the best fly-tyers in the Northeast, focusing on the classic patterns of Maine, the Catskills, and the Battenkill. During the day, they'll be set up in the main tent, and hourly presentations and seminars will be held in the Fly-Tying Discovery Center, with projection and audio to follow along.

Meet master fly tyers Tim Flagler, John Shaner, Peter Simonson, Chris Del Plato, Bill Newcomb, Alan Erdosy, Mike Stewart, Scott Biron, Warren Coleman, Jon Larrabee, and Dan Thomas.

The Arlington Fitness Center

10am - 4pm

Vendor Village (Open to the public and does not require a wristband purchase to enter.)

The Village features both bamboo and graphite rod makers, antique rod and tackle sellers, antique book sellers, fly fishing artists, destination lodges, and fly fishing conservation organizations from all over the US.  Many other vendors, too!

Vendor Village, Arlington Common Campus<

 9 AM -11 AM and 3-5 PM

  The First Annual Battenkill Cup Fly Casting Championship

Compete for bragging rights on the Battenkill.  We have room for 25 participants to compete in an accuracy, distance, and combined event.  The winner of each will receive an Orvis Fly Rod and a coveted Battenkill Cup Trophy

9-11 AM - Pickleball Courts, Arlington Common

3-5 PM - Arlington Rec Park Casting Pond

*Limited to 1st 25 participants (sign up at Will Call when purchasing tickets)

9AM

Festival Wristband Required to enter the following morning events

Official Welcome to the 4th Annual Battenkill Fly Fishing Festival - Bill Bullock, Arlington Common and BFFF4 Chair

9-9:45am

The Battenkill’s Trico Hatch - Fishing the White Winged Curse

Doug Lyons, Author of The Fly Fishing Guide to the Battenkill

Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus

10:00 - 12 noon

Hook Yourself a Trout Today!
Come Create Design and Color a native wild trout ornament to take home. All materials are provided
Ages 1-99 - Free to all - Donations are gladly accepted to benefit The Common and the Battenkill Fund

Hosted by longtime Arlingtonian and Fisher Elementary School teacher Valerie Oakland and her daughter Kristin Oakland

10-10:45 am

State of the Battenkill presentation

Jacob Fetterman, TU Battenkill Home Rivers Initiative; NY Project Coordinator, and

Jesse Vadala, TU’s Northeast Coldwater Habitat Team & Engagement Coordinator (NY/CT)

Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus

10 AM

Family Trout River Ecology Workshop with Declan McCabe, St. Michaels College Professor of Biology.

Join Professor McCabe in a family-friendly exploration of the Battenkill’s bug life.  You’ll take water and bug samples from the Battenkill and then identify them in an open-field lab 

Arlington Recreational Park, shuttle service is available between the Arlington Common Campus and the Recreation Park

10am 

American Fly Fishing Tours (festival wristband will give you entrance to the American Museum of Fly Fishing)

Guided Tour of the American Museum of Fly Fishing (located at 4070 Main Street, Manchester, VT – 8 miles north of Arlington)

AMFF is home to the world’s largest collection of angling and angling-related items, numbering in the thousands. The collections and exhibits thoroughly document the evolution of fly fishing as a sport, art form, craft, and industry in the United States and abroad, dating as far back as the sixteenth century. 

American Fly Fishing Museum, Manchester

10 am-3 pm

Casting Lessons & Demonstrations (Festival Wrist Band Required to enter)

Join a dream team of certified fly fishing instructors from Fly Fishers International, Orvis Professionals, and local Battenkill Anglers for free casting lessons and troubleshooting expertise on common fly casting mistakes. 

Arlington Recreational Park, shuttle service is available between the Arlington Common Campus and the Recreation Park

Live Music featuring

Mixed Roots

7:30pm-10:00pm

Mixed Roots is a genre-blending band that brings a powerful mix of reggae, rock, and AfroBeat to the stage. Led by drummer and vocalist George, who hails from Accra, Ghana, the band fuses traditional African rhythms with reggae grooves for an electrifying sound.

Bassist Brian, an Irishman with deep roots in the upstate New York reggae scene, adds a jam-band flavor influenced by artists like the Grateful Dead. Guitarist Pete, another Irishman, brings decades of passion and experience spanning reggae, rock, and everything in between.

The band’s horn section—featuring Dave and Catherine on trombones and Scott on saxophone—brings a fiery brass energy that elevates every performance. Together, these musicians, from different backgrounds and influences, have found a home in Albany, New York, where they craft a sound that is as diverse as their roots.

Performing Arts Center, Arlington Common Campus

Buy Tickets

Purchase tickets to the Battenkill Fly Fishing Festival.