Lake Champlain Fishing Report: Smallies, Walleye, and Perch Bite Strong as Temperatures Drop

Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for October 26, 2025. We’re deep into fall, and the bite’s reflecting the quick-changing weather—cold overnight dips are carving fog off the water, and those hungry smallies and lakers are on the move. Today, expect sunrise at 7:21 AM and sunset right about 5:47 PM. The morning saw dense fog, but it’s burning off to reveal mostly cloudy skies, temps climbing from the upper 30s into the low 50s, with a light north breeze that’ll pick up later. Water temps are hovering in the high 40s to low 50s, so dress in layers and watch for that chill.

Lake Champlain doesn’t have true tides, but expect some subtle seiche movement and changing wind that can move water levels and bait. This week has seen stable conditions, which has kept the fish in typical fall staging zones—look for bass and perch around sharp drop-offs, rocky points, and lingering weedbeds, especially as baitfish school up.

Fishing action has been solid. Most folks are reporting decent numbers and quality—earlier this week, local angler Corey Gillis bagged a limit of chunky smallmouth near Swanton during the American Fishing Tour, winning it wire-to-wire. He, like many, went finesse: drop-shots rigged with Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worms and smaller tubes did most of the damage. A 1/6-ounce marabou jig also caught big bronzebacks patrolling shallower flats on overcast afternoons, particularly near the Missisquoi Bay and the northern portion of the Inland Sea. If you’re after largemouth, chatterbaits and Texas-rigged creature baits dragged across remaining green grass (try the narrows near Ticonderoga) are still fooling good fish, though the window is narrowing as weeds die back.

Walleye have been a bit trickier, but a handful are showing up during low-light hours on jerkbaits and blade baits off rocky shoals around the mouth of Otter Creek and near Crown Point Bridge. Perch are schooled up mid-depth (15–30 feet), and small jigging spoons tipped with a minnow head are putting numbers in the bucket.

Best baits right now:
- Berkley MaxScent Flat Worms or Lil’ General on a drop-shot
- Marabou or bucktail jigs for finicky smallies
- Swimbaits and blade baits for open-water roamers
- Tubes and finesse football jigs for dragging along rock piles
- For panfish, small spoons or tungsten ice jigs with waxies

Two hot spots to check today:
- **The Sandbar Causeway:** Smallies are stacking here on the rocks as baitfish bunch up.
- **Port Henry to Crown Point:** The deeper humps off the flats are holding mixed bags of bass and the odd walleye at dawn.

Recent catches show a good mix—anglers are pulling 3–4 pound smallmouth with the occasional 5+ if you grind it out, and perch buckets are filling quickly for the panfish crowd, especially in the Inland Sea.

That’s it for today’s Lake Champlain round-up. Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure—don’t forget to subscribe for more local fishing insights. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Artificial lure. Here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for
October twenty six, twenty twenty five. We're deep into fall
and the bites reflecting the quick changing weather. Cold overnight
dips are carving fog off the water and those hungry
smallies and lakers are on the move today. Expect sunrise
at seven twenty one am and sunset ride about five

(00:20):
forty seven pm. The morning saw a dense fog, but
it's burning off to reveal mostly cloudy skies. Temps climbing
from the upper thirties into the low fifties with a
light north breeze that'll pick up later. Water temperatures are
hovering in the high forties to low fifties, so dressing
layers and watch for that shell. Lake Champlain doesn't have
true tides, but expect some subtle seacy movement and changing

(00:43):
wind that can move water levels. In bait. This week
is seen stable conditions, which has kept the fish in
typical fall staging zones. Look for bass and perch around
sharp drop offs, rocky points, and lingering wheatbeds, especially as
bait fish school up. Fishing action has been Most folks
are reporting decent numbers in quality. Earlier this week, local

(01:05):
angler Corey Gillis bagged the limit of chunky smallmouth near
Swanton during the American Fishing Tour, winning it wired a
wire ge like mini went Finesse. Dropshots rigged with Berkeley
power bait. Macent flatworms and smaller tubes did most of
the damage. A one to six ounce Maribou jig also
caught big bronze backs patrolling shallower flats on overcast afternoons,

(01:29):
particularly near the missus Quah Bay and the northern portion
of the Inland Sea. If you're after largemouth chatter baits
and Texas ragged creature baits dragged across remaining green grass,
try The narrows near to Conderoga are still fooling good fish,
though the window is narrowing as weeds die back, while

(01:50):
eye have been a bit trickier, but a handful or
showing up during low light hours on jerk baits and
blade baits off rocky shoals around the mouth of Otter
Creek in near Crown Point Bridge. Percher schooled up nib
depth fifteen thirty feet and small jigging spoons tipped with
a minnow head are putting numbers in the bucket. Best

(02:12):
baits right now Berkeley Max scent flatworms or little general
on a drop shot, Maraboo or bucktail jigs for finicky smallies,
swim baits and blade baits for open water roamers, tubes
and Finnis football jigs for dragging along rock piles for panfish,

(02:34):
small spoons or tungsten ice jigs with waxies. Two hotspots
to check today the Sandbar causeway. Smallies are stacking here
on the rocks as baitfish bunchhop for canbayfish and port
henry to crown point. The deeper humps off the flats

(02:57):
are holding mixed bags of bass and the odd wally
at dawn. Recent catches show a good mix. Anglers are
pulling three four pounds small mouth with the occasional five
plus if you grind it out, and perch buckets are
filling quickly for the panfish crowd, especially in the inland sea.

(03:19):
That's it for today's Lake Champlain roundup. Thanks for tuning
in to artificial lure. Don't forget to subscribe for more
local fishing insights. This has been quiet. Please production for
more check out Quiet Please dot ai