Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Wednesday, October 22, 2025. The North Country served up a crisp, classic Champlain autumn morning—air temps were in the low 40s at dawn, warming to a high just shy of 60 by midafternoon, with a light north breeze keeping things cool. Sunrise eased in at 7:15 AM and we’ll see sunset at 5:58 PM tonight. Surface water temp remains steady in the upper 50s, and after a chilly night, expect fish to stay deep until midmorning.

There’s no tidal movement on Champlain, but these cooling trends and shorter days have definitely sparked the fall bite. According to Lake Champlain Daily Fishing Report, the smallmouth action has been terrific; anglers are reporting smallie blitzes along rocky points and drop-offs, especially on the Vermont side near Thompson’s Point and the New York bays around Willsboro[Lake Champlain Daily Fishing Report].

Top lures this week have been natural-colored jerkbaits, blade baits, and soft plastics—Yamamoto Slim Senkos in green pumpkin or shad patterns are working wonders on the finesse rigs[Gary Yamamoto Slim Senko | Bass Pro Shops Canada]. Mix in a topwater walk-the-dog early in the morning if the water stays calm—anglers pulling in right at first light have been rewarded with some chunky bronzebacks pounding poppers and spooks[Lake Champlain Daily Fishing Report]. Once the sun is up, slow it down and work Ned rigs or tube jigs bounced along the bottom.

Don’t sleep on the walleye, either. Several locals trolling crawler harnesses and deep diving cranks west of the Sand Bar and off the mouth of Otter Creek have landed keeper eyes this week. If you’re after toothy critters, pike and the occasional musky have been showing up in the shallow weed pockets—white spinnerbaits and big swimbaits get the nod there.

Live bait—shiners and nightcrawlers—are still producing, but most are moving to lures as water clarity improves and weed growth drops back. The cooler water puts fish on the hunt, so covering water pays off, but patience with those slow drags will still beat speed most days in late October.

Recent counts from local bait shops and the podcast crowd show plenty of smallmouth in the two-to-three-pound range, a pile of perch for the pan, and a handful of bonus largemouths in sheltered marinas and bays. Perch schools have piled up thick near the Shelburne and Colchester reefs. Drop a small jigging spoon or minnow-tipped ice jig just off bottom—limits are realistic in under two hours.

Champlain continues to reward those who move around. Hot spots today: Thompson’s Point flats for smallmouth and perch, and Kingsland Bay for mixed bags. Deep humps near Valcour Island are another sure bet if you have electronics to find the bait.

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