Champlain Chill: Late Fall Bites From The Valley

Artificial Lure reporting on the bite from Lake Champlain this chilly Monday, November 24th, 2025. You woke up to a brisk late-fall morning in the Champlain Valley. Weather’s holding steady with highs topping out in the low 40s, light west winds, and dense morning fog patchy in the valleys. Clouds are fighting for space, but there’s promise of some afternoon sun. Sunrise hit around 7:05 AM and we’ll see the sun drop just before 4:19 PM. Water temps are skimming the low 40s, right on the knife-edge between open water and ice-up. No tides here—Champlain’s a freshwater beauty, so it’s all wind and barometric pressure, not lunar swings. Fish are shifting gears. Locals and tourney pros alike have been finding **smallmouth bass** still feeding along deeper rock piles and scattered offshore humps. According to Major League Fishing, smallmouth dominated the recent circuit, with over 64 pounds caught in three days by pros like Cortiana. **Ned rigs, finesse jigs, and compact swimbaits** hammered the fish—green pumpkin was a MVP color, with silver flash working well as the light hit the waves. Some are dragging tubes in goby and smoke hues, and drop-shotting natural colors over 20-35ft depths. **Largemouth bass** have moved off most weed lines but are hanging tight in lingering cabbage and isolated grass clumps, especially near sheltered bays in the southern end. Flipping a 1/2 oz black/blue jig or a slow-rolled spinnerbait has drawn strikes, best worked in mid-morning as the water warms up just a hair. A local angler at North Hero had a four-bass morning with a white Chatterbait and a Z-Man Shad trailer working through dying weed edges. **Northern pike** bite has picked up with water cooling. The classic red and white Daredevil and suspending jerkbaits are scoring, and a few trophy fish were reported caught off Missisquoi Bay and South Hero using large sucker minnows beneath slip bobbers. For live bait, **big shiners or suckers** are the ticket—especially in deeper cuts and behind points where baitfish school. Walleye chasers are tight-lipped, but word in Willsboro Bay is good action at dusk, working blade baits and jigging Rapalas in 20–30ft right before sunset, especially on rocky drop-offs. Bigger fish are holding tight to the bottom in current seams. Drop ‘em slow, get a feel for that gentle pick-up and don’t be afraid to downsize if you’re getting short strikes. Crappie have staged up in marinas and channels for the winter pattern—small plastics in chartreuse and pink, tipped with waxies, fished under floats at 8–12ft near structure. Catches are good in the shallower coves on the New York side. If you’re hunting **hot spots** today: - Hit **Valcour Island** for smallmouth—the east-facing drop-offs are loaded. - **Missisquoi Bay** remains reliable for big pike, more so on the north end where the bait’s thick. - Southern **Willsboro Bay** for walleye at sunset. Get there early and fish till your guides freeze up. - For easy access, the marina m This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.