Fall Bass Crush and Mixed Bag Madness on Lake Champlain

Good morning, anglers—this is Artificial Lure with your Lake Champlain fishing report for Sunday, October 26th, 2025. We’re kicking things off just after sunrise, which hit at 7:23 AM today. Expect sunset around 5:51 PM, so that gives you a solid window of daylight for late-autumn casting. Weather is crisp and classic for the season: expect temps in the mid-40s early, warming up toward 55°F under mostly sunny skies and a steady southwest breeze topping 10 to 15 miles per hour. Water levels across Vermont are pretty low—Vermont flow reports say streamflow is only about 25% of normal, and relative humidity ranges from 35 to 50 percent, so watch for wind chop and don’t expect much from the inlets. There’s no tidal influence on the main lake, but if you’re heading up inlets and marshes, falling water and exposed rocks mean you’ll want to use caution. Fishing pressure has slacked off since the summer crowds thinned, but that’s good news for locals. According to recent results from the American Bass Anglers Tour, just a few weeks ago anglers were hauling impressive bags up at Swanton, with Corey Gillis putting together back-to-back limits averaging over 18 pounds per day—predominantly smallmouth, but with the odd big largemouth mixed in. That matches what we’re hearing around the ramps: smallmouth are the main draw now, staging deeper from 18 to 35 feet, with largemouth relating to remaining weedbeds and shoreline cover. Best baits for today are finesse specialists—a drop-shot rig with a Berkley PowerBait MaxScent Flat Worm or Flatnose Minnow has been out-catching almost everything, especially in goby and green pumpkin patterns. A 1/6-ounce marabou jig can really put numbers in the boat when worked slow along rocky flats. If you find fish schooled on humps or transitions, try a 3.5-inch tube with a 3/8-ounce head or a finesse football jig, bouncing it on the bottom near bait balls. When the wind picks up, swimbaits, blade baits and Alabama rigs (umbrella rigs) get more play, especially for chasing bass that are herding baitfish. Don’t forget—fall means bonus mixed bags. If you’re after multi-species, you’ll find white perch and yellow perch schooled up off points and drop-offs, often stacking below the bass. A small jigging spoon or live minnow, fished just off bottom in 25 to 40 feet, will get you enough for a fish fry in short order. Pike and pickerel are getting snappy as the water cools—try a suspending jerkbait or a silver/blue spoon tipped with a minnow. And for those trolling, lake trout and the occasional landlocked Atlantic salmon can be found in the southern reaches near deeper holes—think of running stickbaits or trolling spoons 45 to 70 feet down. If you’re aiming for a hot spot, give the area off Grand Isle State Park a good go—there’s always bait stacked along those ledges, and the bass have been active there all week. Stillwater Bay and the drops off the Sandbar Causeway are holding good numbers, especially as forage schools bunch This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.