Late Fall Fishing on Lake Champlain Heats Up with Smallmouth, Largemouth, and Pike Action

Artificial Lure here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Sunday, November second, twenty twenty-five. Hope you got your thermos and your woolies, folks—late fall’s crisp air is settled in, water temps are sliding into the high forties and low fifties, and the fish are on the move. If you love the chase, now’s the time.

Sunrise greeted us this morning around six thirty, lighting up misty bays, with sunset expected at five forty-two this evening. The weather is classic Champlain fall—overnight lows dipped near freezing, but we're seeing highs in the low forties by afternoon, and winds out of the northwest at ten to twelve knots, making for a brisk but manageable chop. No big rain in the forecast for today, so it’s a good window to get out before colder fronts set in.

Though Lake Champlain isn’t tidal, be mindful that with the ongoing drought conditions reported by Waterbury Roundabout, water levels are lower than usual. That means shallow structure is even more exposed, and fish are concentrated around remaining deep weed edges and sharper breaks.

Fish activity is still solid despite the chill, especially mid-morning when water warms up just enough to spark feeding. The Bassmaster and Major League Fishing circuits have highlighted Lake Champlain as a battleground for both smallmouth and largemouth this year, and results have been outstanding. At a recent pro event, over one thousand smallmouth and nine hundred plus largemouth were clocked in on the leaderboard—a phenomenal bite for this late in the season, with bags regularly topping twenty-four to twenty-eight pounds.

On the smallmouth front, the drop-shot is still king. Major League Fishing reports pros have relied heavily on a Ned rig—specifically, the Googan Baits Rattlin’ Ned in smelt or green pumpkin goby—paired with a finesse drop-shot setup. The Berkley MaxScent Flat Worm has also been a go-to, nose-hooked above rock piles in twelve to twenty feet. When it comes to largemouth, frog bites are waning, but Jordon put in work with a brown SPRO frog along matted remnants and still had fish chewing it. Swim jigs and flipping jigs with Zoom Speed Craw trailers in green pumpkin or black and orange are hot tickets in the weedier southern bays.

For multi-species anglers, don’t overlook late fall pike—big fish are pushing shallow on sunny afternoons, and large white spinnerbaits or jerkbaits slow-rolled along outer weed lines can trigger those classic Champlain razorbacks. Perch schools have been tight on deeper humps; try live bait or small jigging spoons around thirty feet for a tasty haul.

As for bait, if artificials aren’t getting it done, a fathead minnow or a lively shiner under a slip bobber can be the difference-maker for both bass and panfish as water temps fall.

Hot spots right now? Missisquoi Bay in Vermont is holding big numbers of both smallmouth and largemouth along the remaining green weed patches and near rocky points. Cumberland Head on the New York side is another classic—wind-blown shores are prime for big smallies staging up. Try outer weed edges and transition areas where cobble meets sand in six to fifteen feet.

Remember to dress for the weather, use caution around low-water launches, and keep conservation in mind—handle those big late fall fish with care so we can all enjoy another legendary Champlain bite next year.

Thanks for tuning in to Artificial Lure’s Lake Champlain report. Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a bite.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Artificial lore. Here with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Sunday,
November two, twenty twenty five. Hope you got your thermists
and your woolies, folks. Lake Falls, crisp Bear is settled
in water, temps are sliding into the high forties and
low fifties, and the fissure on the move. If you
love the chase, now's the time. Sunrise greeted us this
morning around six point thirty, lighting up misty bays, with

(00:23):
sunset expected at five forty two this evening. The weather
is classic Champlain fall. Overnight lows dip near freezing, but
we're seeing highs in the low forties by afternoon and
winds out of the northwest at ten to twelve knots
making for a brisk but manageable chop. No big rain
in the forecast for today, so it's a good window
to get out before colder fronts set in the Lake Champlain.

(00:45):
Isn't title be mindful that with the ongoing drought conditions
reported by Waterbury Roundabout, water levels are lower than usual.
That means shallow structure is even more exposed and fish
are concentrated around remaining deep whet edges. And sharper breaks.
Fish activity is still solid despite the chill, especially mid

(01:06):
morning when water warms up just enough to spark feeding.
The bass Master and Major League Fishing circuits have highlighted
Lake Champlain as a battleground for both smallmouth and largemouth
this year, and results have been outstanding. At a recent
pro event, over one thousand smallmouth and nine hundred plus
largemouth were clocked in on the leaderboard, a phenomenal bite

(01:27):
for this late in the season, with bags regularly topping
twenty four to twenty eight pounds. On the small mouth front,
the drop shot is still king. Major League Fishing reports
crows have relied heavily on a ned rig, specifically the
Googin Baits rattle and med In smelt or green Punkin
gobie paired with a finesse drop shot set up. The

(01:48):
Berkeley Max scent flatworm has also been a go to
nose hooked above rock piles and twelve to twenty feet.
When it comes to largemouth, frog, bites are raining, but
Jordan put in work with the brown Espro frog along
matted remnants and still had fish chewing it, swim jigs
and flipping jigs with zoom speed craw trailers in green,
punkin or black and orange are hot tickets in the

(02:11):
weedier southern bays for multi species anglers. Don't overlook late
fall pike. Big fish are pushing shallow on sunny afternoons,
and large white spinner baits or jerk baits slow rolled
along outer weed lines can trigger those classic Champlain razorbacks.
Perch schools have been tight on deeper humps. Try live

(02:33):
bait or small jigging spoons around thirty feet for a
tasty hule. As for bait, if artificials aren't getting it done,
a fat head minnow or a lively shiner under a
slip bobber can be the difference maker for both bass
and panfish. As water temps fall hotspots. Right now, Missus
Squall Bay and Vermont is holding big numbers of both

(02:53):
small mouth and large mouth along the remaining green weed
patches and near rocky points. Cumberland Head on the New
York side is another classic. Wind Blown shores are prime
for big smallies staging up. Try outer weed edges and
transition areas where cobble meets sand in six to fifteen feet.

(03:14):
Remember to dress for the weather. Use caution around low
water launches and keep conservation in mind. Handle those big
latefallfish with care so we can all enjoy another legendary
Champlain bite next year. Thanks for tuning in to artificial
lures Late Champlain Report. Don't forget to subscribe so you
never miss a bite. This has been a quiet please production.

(03:37):
For more check out Quiet please dot ai