"Crisp Champlain Bass Bite Continues: November Lake Report from Artificial Lure"

Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Wednesday, November 5th, 2025. Early mornings are downright crisp now, and the big lake greeted anglers today with a chill in the mid 30s at sunrise, warming into the upper 40s by afternoon according to the National Weather Service. Winds out of the northwest at about 10 knots made for a choppy ride on the main lake, but the bite’s been solid if you’re willing to brave the cold.

First off, sunrise hit us at 6:38 AM, with sunset coming at 4:35 PM—short days for folks wanting that late bite. Clouds lingered all morning, with some sun poking through by lunch, and thankfully no rain in the forecast. The lake’s about two feet higher than this time last year, so there’s plenty of shoreline structure to explore.

Now, the fish: Recent club derbies and local chatter from the Plattsburgh marinas point to a robust bite for both **smallmouth** and **largemouth bass**. The smallmouth seem to be the star, with several reports of fish still staging on rocky flats in 12 to 20 feet. Most anglers are reporting bags between 16 and 18 pounds, and folks have landed smallmouth up to 5 pounds this week, with the occasional kicker over that. Largemouth numbers have thinned out on the mats but can be found hugging remaining green milfoil and deeper wood—reliable bags have included a couple of chunky greenbacks among mostly brown fish.

According to majorleaguefishing.com, this season’s best success on Champlain has come from a mix of classic and finesse approaches. Top lures right now:
- **Drop-shot rigs** with shad or goby-profile baits—this technique is producing well for both species on rocky transitions and around isolated boulders.
- **Jigs** with craw trailers fished slow along the bottom, especially black-and-blue or green pumpkin.
- **Blade baits** and the SteelShad are getting lots of play from the local old timers; these are especially deadly now as fish key on dying baitfish.
- If you’re after big bites, a suspending jerkbait in silver or perch color off deeper points is a must.

For live bait, you can’t beat a lively shiner or a fat nightcrawler on a light-jig head, drifted along drop-offs. Vermont tackle shops report that shiners are moving quick, with folks targeting both bass and the occasional slab crappie.

The salmon run is waning but folks are still catching the odd landlocked out around the mouths of Otter Creek and the Winooski, mostly on spoons trolled 20-30 feet down when the light is low. Northerns are lurking weedlines in Missisquoi Bay and the southern end—big spinnerbaits and large swimbaits have landed a few north of 35 inches.

Hot spots for this week:
- **Valcour Island shoals**—smallmouth stacked up on the southern rocks, best early and late.
- **The Inland Sea, specifically around Carry Bay**, where you’ll pick up mixed bags and possibly some late-season pike.
- The mouth of **Otter Creek**, good for multi-species and an outside shot at salmon before they clear out.

Finally, no tidal swing here; it’s pure wind-driven water levels, but keep an eye on the current with all the extra inflow from recent rains.

That’s it from Artificial Lure—a good chilly start to November, and still plenty of action to be had before real winter sets in. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for the latest Lake Champlain inside scoop.

This has been a Quiet Please production, for more check out quietplease dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Artificial lure. Here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Wednesday,
November fifth, twenty twenty five. Early mornings are downright crisp now,
and the Big Lake greeted anglers today with a chill
in the mid thirties at sunrise, warming into the upper
forties by afternoon. According to the National Weather Service, Winds
out of the northwest at about ten knots made for

(00:20):
a choppy ride on the main lake, but the bite's
been solid if you're willing to brave the cold. First off,
sunrise hit us at six thirty eight am, with sunset
coming at four thirty five pm. Short days for folks
wanting that late bite. Clouds lingered all morning, with some
sun poking through by lunch, and thankfully no rain in
the forecast. The lake's about two feet higher than this

(00:41):
time last year, so there's plenty of shoreline structure to
explore now the fish. Recent Club Derby's and local chatter
from the Plattsburgh Marinas point to a robust bite for
both smallmouth and largemouth bass. The small mouth seemed to
be the star, with several reports of fish still staging
on rocky flats from twelve to twenty feet. Most anglers

(01:02):
are reporting bags between sixteen and eighteen pounds, and folks
have landed smallmouth up to five pounds this week, with
the occasional kicker over that largemouth numbers have finned out
on the mats but can be found hugging remaining green
mill file and deeper wood. Reliable bags have included a
couple of chunky green backs among mostly brownfish. According to

(01:23):
Major League Fishing dot Com, this season's best success on
Champlain has come from a mix of classic and finesse approaches.
Top lures right now dropshot rigs with shad or gobie
profile baits. This technique is producing well for both species
on rocky transitions and around isolated boulders. Jigs with craw

(01:45):
trailers fished slow along the bottom, especially black and blue
or green pumptin laid baits and the steel shad are
getting lots of play from the local old timers. These
are especially deadly now as fish fish key on dying baitfish.
If you're after big bites, a suspending jerk bait in
silver or perch color off deeper points is a must.

(02:10):
For live bait, you can't beat a live shiner or
a fat night crawler on a light jig head drifted
along drop offs. Vermont tackle shops report that shiners are
moving quick, with folks targeting both bass and the occasional
slab crappie. The salmon run is waning, but folks are
still catching the odd landlocked out around the mouths of

(02:32):
Otter Creek and the Wenuski, mostly on spoons trolled twenty
to thirty feet down when the light is low. Northerns
are lurking weed lines in Missisquo Bay. In the southern end,
big spinner baits and large swim baits have landed a
few north of thirty five inches. Hot spots for this week.
National cock Wall small mouths stacked up on the southern
rocks best early and late. Best early and late National Sea,

(02:57):
specifically around Carrie Bay, where you'll pick up mixed bags
and possibly some late seasoned pike. The mouth of Otter
Creek good for multi species and an outside shot at
salmon before they clear out. Finally, no tidal swing here.
It's pure wind driven water levels, but keep an eye
on the current with all the extra inflow from recent rains.

(03:18):
That's it from artificial lure. A good chilly start to
November and still plenty of action to be had before
real winter sets in. Thanks for tuning in and don't
forget to subscribe for the latest Lake Champlain inside scoop.
This has been a quiet please production. For more check
out Quiet Please dot a I