Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Sunday, September 21st, 2025. We’re sitting in the heart of early fall on Champlain—a season that’s got both the Vermont and New York sides fired up and full of action.

Weather’s been classic September, cool mornings warming to the low 70s by afternoon, with a mix of sun and broken clouds. Winds today are pushing in from the northwest, 10 to 15 mph, which is just enough to put a ripple on the water but not enough to keep you off your favorite shoals. Sunrise hit at 6:37 AM, and sunset’s coming at 6:46 PM, so you've got a solid stretch of daylight to get your lines in.

Lake Champlain isn’t tidal but expect slightly dropping levels thanks to last week’s spell of dry weather. Water’s running clear in most areas with typical late-summer weed growth hanging on, especially in the southern and inland bays.

Let’s talk fish: the *smally bite is still red hot*. The Bassmaster EQ was just on the lake, and folks, the numbers have been wild. Emil Wagner landed 69 pounds, 2 ounces of smallmouth over three days—the heaviest bag on record for a Champlain B.A.S.S. event, and that’s saying something. Another angler, Matt Messer, brought in over 68 pounds. Top bags were all big smallies, and the field reported catching dozens of fish per day, many over 4 pounds. Regional reports Saturday had limits of 5 bass at weights well north of 20 pounds per boat, and there’s been no sign of a slowdown. Largemouth are starting to fatten up too, holding tighter to thick weeds and docks as the water cools off. Pike have also been in the mix, taking spinnerbaits on deeper weed edges, and anyone after bowfin or perch will find steady action in back bays.

Best bets for lures: tournament results and local chatter both point to **3/8-ounce unpainted jigheads with soft-plastic minnows** for deep, suspended smallies, fished on breaklines dropping from 7 to 40 feet. Saturday’s shift to a **1/4-ounce green pumpkin finesse jig** made a noticeable difference in pressured spots. In shallow or over weed edges, anglers crushing it with **buzzbaits**, especially the new louder, larger-bladed varieties—perfect for pulling big bass up from cover on calm mornings or windy points. If things get tough, switch to a drop shot rigged with a 4-inch shad/green pumpkin worm, or work a topwater walking bait at first light.

If you’re headed out looking for numbers and size, try these **hot spots**:
- The sand flats off Valcour Island and the west-facing drops along the Charlotte shoreline—prime for schools of feeding smallmouth in 15 to 30 feet.
- Inland bays like Missisquoi and South Bay, where largemouth and pike are holding along thicker grasslines.
- The mid-lake humps north of Thompson’s Point for suspended smallies chasing alewife—work your jigs just above the breaklines, and stay mobile if the fish get spooked.

Live bait’s not the ticket for bass right now, but if you prefer it or you’re taking kids along, a dozen fathead minnows under a slip bobber will fill the cooler with yellow perch and slab crappies in still-water bays.

That’s the Lake Champlain story for September 21st: the fish are biting, the lake’s alive, and you couldn’t pick a better weekend to be out. Thanks for tuning in. Don’t forget to subscribe for daily updates—whether you’re chasing that new PB or just soaking up the view, we’ve got you covered.

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This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI