Autumn Angling on Lake Champlain: Chasing Smallies, Walleye, and More in the October Chill

Artificial Lure chiming in with your October 28th, 2025 Lake Champlain fishing report, delivered local-style and loaded with the fresh details every angler wants for fall on the big water. Sunrise rolled in at 7:22 a.m. with the sunset set for 5:50 p.m.—plenty of low, golden light for that classic fall bite. Weatherwise, we started off crisp, temps scraping the low 40s, but things are expected to warm into the mid-50s under mostly sunny skies by noon. Winds are blowing out of the northwest at 12–15 mph, which’ll keep the surface chop up and make boat control tricky until late afternoon. No tidal swings here on Champlain, as we’re landlocked, but you can expect surface water temps hanging in the mid-50s (about 56°F by mid-morning). Fishing action this week has fit the season: morning hours have been a grind with sluggish fish, but as the sun gets up and those surface temps nudge upward, the action fires up. According to Advanced Bassin’ Plus reports, the morning saw folks scratching for a bite, but the afternoon bass bite got “on fire” with plenty of smallmouth and a few quality largemouth mixed in. Bass have been caught in good numbers when anglers find the right structure—think deeper humps and edges near rocky transitions. Walleye have made scattered shows at dusk, especially in the north trenches around the Sandbar, but catches haven’t been as hot as last week. A few anglers still picked up mixed bags near Port Henry and the mouths of the Lamoille and Ausable rivers, with the occasional bonus lake trout or pike. This week’s hottest lures and rigs have leaned toward the classic autumn tactics: - Drop-shot rigs tipped with Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worms in green pumpkin or smelt colors have been putting numbers in the boat. - Natural-colored marabou jigs in 1/8 to 1/6 ounce, especially black and brown, have tricked shallow cruising smallies under calm edges. - Carolina rigs with a Zoom UltraVibe Speed Craw drew better bites off deep weedlines (12–20 feet), while Texas rigs produced in the thicker grass. - A finesse football jig paired with MaxScent Lil’ General, dragged slowly, remains a killer along deeper rock piles and ledges. Live bait is the backup plan for pickier fish: medium shiners or small suckers near bottom structures have caught a few lazy bass and the odd walleye. Recent catches have included “loads” of smallies up to 4 pounds, a handful of legal largemouth, and sturgeon caught and released by bycatch crew near the river mouths—remember, you can’t target them, but they’re flexing those fall muscles right now according to recent Quebec reports. Pike have mostly stuck to the shallows between Sand Bar State Park and the Missisquoi, especially around midday when it’s warmer. For the fly crew, streamer bites have picked up in the back bays, with olive or brown bunny leeches stripped fast over submerged grass catching some bonus ‘bows and browns. If you want a couple of hot spots: - **The Inland Sea near Grand Isle:** Cons This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.