Artificial Lure here, coming to you bright and early with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Saturday, October 25th, 2025. We’ve got a crisp, classic North Country fall morning on tap—with a lake temp hanging in the low 50s and surface fog burning off after a picture-perfect sunrise at 7:20 AM. Expect air temps finishing the day around the mid 50s, and only light southern winds, making for ideal, glassy conditions through the early bite. Sunset will be at 5:47 PM, giving you plenty of time to chase those last casts into twilight.

As for tides—while Lake Champlain isn’t tidal like the coast, water levels are quite low this year. The Mountain Times notes the lake’s sitting at historic lows, so watch those shallow launches and rock piles, especially up north and in the bays.

Now: onto what’s biting. Bass fishing is holding strong! According to the Lake Champlain Daily Fishing Report, the smallmouths are in their late October frenzy on the exposed flats and rocky humps. Fish are keying in on bait schools, so fan-cast any points and gravel drops from Plattsburgh Bay to the Epson Narrows. Captain Ryan Latinville, as reported by On The Water, boated a six-pound smallie last week, so there’s quality to be found with quantity! Largemouths are still cooperative in the milfoil edges in Missisquoi and Malletts Bay. The morning bite is hot, but big green bass are coming out of midday grass mats on slower presentations.

For best lures: anglers are crushing smallmouths with topwaters like the Whopper Plopper and walking baits worked fast at first light. When the sun’s up, switch to jerkbaits (Smithwick Rogues, Rapala Husky Jerks), blade baits, and 3-inch swimbaits in alewife colors. For largemouths, try pitching a black/blue jig with a craw trailer into dying weeds, or work a slow Texas-rigged creature bait around docks and laydowns. If you’re after a mixed bag, live shiners and nightcrawlers under slip bobbers are still turning up perch, crappie, and the occasional walleye along the deeper drop-offs at dusk.

Big northern pike, or “gators,” are starting to stack up near river mouths and marsh edges, especially in the Lamoille and Ausable river outlets. Cast big white spinnerbaits, or slow-roll a black/silver suspending jerkbait—you just might tie into a 36-incher before lunch.

In terms of recent catches, Bass Fishing Daily reports that boats are finding solid stringers—groups reporting consistent catches of 10-25 bass a day, most in the 2-4 pound range, with the odd 5+ in the mix. Yellow perch are thick through the Inland Sea and South Hero, great for filling a bucket if you find the schools on sonar.

For hot spots, don’t miss:
- The rocky flats off Valcour Island—killer for early smallmouth action.
- Missisquoi Bay south of the bridge, where weedbeds hold late-season largemouth and pike.
- Converse Bay and Shelburne Bay for mixed bags—look for bait balls and be ready to rotate presentations.

As always, safety first—water’s chilly, and with low levels there’s extra debris and surprise shoals, so keep an eye out and wear that PFD. Locals always recommend grabbing a midday bite at Shelburne Farms if you’re nearby; it’s got panoramic lake views and a real fall harvest vibe.

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